CHAPTER TEN
Shouts, cheers, explosions, and weapons clanging echoed strangely in his ears. Was Zorro and Sanji having a contest without him? Did Franky invent something that blew up before it was done again?
His chest ached, but nothing like how his whole body cried out when he raised his hand to rub it. That pain woke him right up. His head was heavy, but he could open his eyes. A beaded necklace stared back at him. Ace's beaded necklace. Who dared to wear Ace's necklace?
Glaring, Luffy pushed against the chest he was leaning against, so he could yell at the man face to face. The man that looked like Ace. Luffy blinked in surprise, all anger gone. Ace? How?
"Luffy!" Ace called happily. "Don't move too much, okay? Akainu got you really good. Tom said you might not feel it, but trust me, it's bad. I need you to just stay still until we reach our doctors."
Doctors? Akainu? Akainu hurt his chest? Luffy already saw a doctor for that. Tra-Guy was awesome. He didn't need to see anyone else. Except Chopper. Chopper was definitely the best doctor in the world.
His big brother ruffled his hair. "Don't worry Lu. Just sit tight and you'll be fine." The Second Commander shifted suddenly and threw his free hand back to throw out a ball of fire towards a wave of incoming bullets.
Jostled, Luffy tried to complain only to white out from everything else when his chest squeezed tight. He couldn't breathe. He could feel someone shifting him and some blows to his back dislodge something sticky in his throat enough he could cough. Coughing hurt more, but the rubber-man couldn't stop. After spitting out a few globs of something that tasted nasty, Luffy could breathe again. Sounds started coming back to him, but mostly all he heard was a bunch of guys yelling over top each other.
Luffy couldn't move much, but he realized could feel his brother's body holding him. The Straw Hat Captain was hunched over to be able to breath and spit out the icky glop at the same time. Ace's hands carefully supported his shoulder and waist – the side without the nice gash courtesy of the Ice General.
When the coughing finally subsided, the rubber-man just relished the ability to breathe again. "You alright Luffy?" Ace asked as he gently rolled the younger boy so he could see Luffy's face clearly. The pirate captain just glared at the Whitebeard commander. He didn't dare try talking to Ace after that coughing fit. His big brother should know better. "Let's get you a place to sit and rest."
When the Second Commander tried to set his brother down, the Straw Hat Captain grabbed his shorts near the belt on the side. "Not leaving you." Luffy bit out between shallow breaths, holding back the desire to cough.
Ace shook his head slowly. "I can't stay here," he said smiling sadly. "My crewmates are still out there. I need to give them some cover fire." His smile faded a little as he stroked Luffy's hair. "Just stay here. The medics will be by soon and we'll both be getting out of here before you know it. I'll stick nearby, I need to keep the air around you warm still."
"No." Luffy rolled his head back and forth, emphasizing his verbal answer even if he couldn't manage a true shake of his own head. "Take me with."
"Lu," Ace sighed. "I can't fight while carrying you. You've got a hole in your chest. It's not going to stretch like the rest of you. We can't risk a coughing fit like that again."
"Don't care." Luffy breathed out. "You can't die." His body was fighting him every second, screaming at him to pass out and let his brother take care of the rest. But his brother was stupid and broke his promise. Luffy had to do this.
He grit his teeth and closed his eyes. This was his body. It wasn't as bad as when Iva-chan's shot ran out. It was his dream. He could do this. With all his willpower behind it, Luffy raised his free hand and clutched Ace's shoulder.
"Oi! Don't move, you idiot!" Ace yelled but didn't move in fear of dropping his heavily injured brother. Luffy let go of his brother's shorts and grabbed the other shoulder. Shifting his legs, Luffy pushed his body in an upright position, ignoring his chest screaming at him.
This next bit was going to be tricky, but it was the only idea the rubber-man had to stay with Ace. Luffy pulled himself up, switching one hand to grip the same shoulder as the other. Ace yelled some more and started to shift so he could pull Luffy back down. Luffy shoved down on the shoulder, forcing his brother to shift his feet so they both wouldn't fall down, making the fire-man pose in a strange bow. At the same time, the pirate captain lost strength and started to fall.
He rolled his weight, so he fell forward instead of straight back. Just like the Straw Hat Captain hoped, he felt right onto Ace's back. The pain that pulsed from his chest was immense. Luffy ignored it and gripped his big brother's shoulders again to keep from sliding off.
Holding his breath to delay the coughing fit for a moment, the rubber-man stretched his arms to wind them around Ace's chest, under his brother's arms and Luffy's own back, securing himself to Ace's back. His chest wound screamed at the pressure, but the future Pirate King didn't care.
He didn't care that the Second Commander was wiggling to try and get Luffy off. The Straw Hat Captain was busy winding his arms around them both. Luckily his big brother was trying to be nice and not jostle the younger. Luffy took full advantage of it. He pulled his legs up and wrapped them around the Second Commander's waist twice.
Keeping his limbs stretched took effort, but the rubber-man already knew the trick to keep them stuck. He could tuck his feet and hands into his legs and arms so they can't snap back without pulling his feet and hands loose first.
"Hey! This isn't funny Luffy. Let go right now!"
Any response Ace might have received was lost to the coughing fit the rubber-man could no longer hold back. Luffy tried not to squeeze Ace too much, but all he could manage was to hold tight and not pass out. When the coughing died down, his big brother was rubbing his arms and telling him to calm down.
"Sorry," Luffy apologized after he was able to breathe again. The fit was bad, but he felt he could take slightly deeper breaths this time.
"See Lu? You can't even breathe. You need to stay here. I promise I'll stay on the boat and just fire some shots to cover my crewmates, okay?"
The Straw Hat captain shook his head. Hey, his body worked this time!
"Come on Luffy. I'll be right here. We'll both be safer if you just stay still."
"Not gonna do it." Luffy closed his eyes and gave a quick squeeze of his limbs to emphasize the point.
Ace sighed and Luffy tried to stay awake as his big brother started talking to different people. There was shouting all over the place and the boat rocked a lot. Likely from nearby explosions just as much as waves. "Hey, Lu." The fire-man tapped his arms for attention. Luffy hummed a response to his big brother. "I'm going to move a bit. Just stay still, okay?" Luffy nodded his head into Ace's back.
His brother stood up and walked a bit. Luffy kept his eyes closed. If he just stayed still, Akainu couldn't punch a hole in Ace's back without going through the rubber-man first. He didn't really care whatever else happened in this dream. Just being here, on a boat, with Ace still alive was enough. He'd probably wake up before the ship sailed, but it was his dream. If he imagined his brother finally made it out of Marineford, who was going to tell him he was wrong about his own dream.
Hands tried to pry him off his brother. No way. He was staying right here. He squiggled his fingers around until he felt them bind up a bit. They'd have to untangle his fingers to get him off.
"Look at that!" Ace's body jerked by the cry of a Whitebeard pirate. The Straw Hat Captain could feel his brother's body tense and vibrate with rage.
"Teach," Fire Fist growled. What? Luffy didn't need to be taught anything? With that last thought, blackness claimed the Straw Hat Captain again.
SCENE BREAK
If Lu wasn't on his back, Ace would have been in flames right now. The traitor dared to make an appearance here. It gave Fire Fist little pleasure to learn Teach betrayed the Marines just as he had done the Whitebeards. The idiots should have seen that coming.
Almost all of Marineford took a break from fighting as they watched Teach and Pops fight their battle. Ace cursed himself for not warning his Captain about the Dark Dark Fruit's negating power. It wasn't like they had a lot of time to catch up, but why hadn't he even thought to tell him about the traitor's powers?
A smile blossomed on his face as it looked like his old man didn't need the heads up. Whitebeard was winning, hands down. Then the little coward cried for help and that new crew of his jumped right in. The 2nd Commander was right there with all his brethren in outrage as Pops took all those hits head on. Ace broke the railing trying hard not to rush in. Luffy was still stuck to him. He couldn't risk his little brother when the moron was in such bad shape.
"One Piece – is real!" Whitebeard cried out, echoing across the entire island. No. No. This wasn't right. No. His captain, his pops, stood still. He didn't say more. He didn't move. No.
The Marines didn't let the pirates think too long. They surged in towards the unmoving pirates as soon as they realized the Captain was dead. Ace flame bulleted any within range, then took to the ropes to get a better advantage. He climbed all the way to the top of the mast, beyond the crow's nest, and sniped anyone in a Marine coat he could see.
Akainu had come back with a vengeance, calling out for Ace and Luffy's head. The Commanders were dealing with him, keeping him from the boat. Fire Fist kept the marines away from their boat and stayed focus on Pops. The traitor had covered him with a big black sheet while the traitor's crew took care of anyone that approached. What the heck were they doing?
The horror at the answer when Blackbeard reappeared was soul deep. The 2nd Commander held tight to the mast as the ship rocked in the waves from the copied Quake Quake Fruit power demonstration Teach gave.
Rage followed the horror. As the shaking calmed, as the waves steadied, all Ace could hear was the stupid laugh of Blackbeard's, echoing across the shocked island.
His brothers were scattered across the island the traitor just tried to crush. His little brother could be dying on his back while Ace could do nothing. His Pops was dead, and the self-named Blackbeard dared to desecrate his memory by stealing his devil fruit power.
Enough.
Ace looped one of the bands of rubbery arm over the top of the mast, steadied himself, and lifted his free hand over his head. The rage, the pain, the frustration of how useless he's been this whole battle – Fire Fist fed all of that to the flames and gathered them above his open palm. The miniature sun formed faster than he'd ever managed it before.
"Flame Emperor…" As he murmured out his technique's name, he realized it wasn't enough. The sun was wide destruction, but the distance was far. His brothers were still out there. He focused all that flame and pulled it back inwards. Keep it all but condensed it. The power of the sun in the size of a beach ball.
Sweat poured down his whole body. Even Luffy's rubbery limbs seemed to slip a bit. But Fire Fist held firm to the mast and focused more than he had ever done. He could see that little traitor, so joyful about his newfound power. The miniature sun near the coastline hadn't even made him twitch. Blackbeard obviously felt the world was his now and nothing could stop him.
Ace disagreed. Strongly.
His eyes narrowed as he calculated the trajectory. This wouldn't be a lobbing lance of fire. He meant this to be as fast as his flame bullets. Faster. That traitor needed to be ashes. Had to be. Must be. Will be.
"… Rage," Ace gasped as he launched the orb towards Teach. It shot forward faster than Ace could track it. Although that might be due to the fact Ace was having trouble tracking anything. His vision went double, then blurry. Blackspots quickly popped up and the world spun.
Author's Note:
Another chapter I had ready and just needed some polish. Probably should wait to re-read it one more time since I had to re-write the Ace portion of this chapter to match with how the next chapter starts. Meh. Hopefully it's not too bad.
I have one more chapter ready that needs to be reviewed, but it's as short as chapter nine so I want to see if I can add to it first. But Law's perspective is the next bit and it's just not coming to me right now. You'll have to forgive me if there is a long delay. Just blame the surgeon.
Reader's Response (6/16/2022):
SpacePuffs – Summer is always fun, just a bit more chaotic!
alexc123 – Glad you liked it!