So you guys seem to like my job. Well, I just got back from a site visit up north. Where contractors fix things near streams while I run around like a lunatic making sure the fishes are safe. But damn, it is so beautiful up there. And I did get to see the northern lights, hopefully, you guys did too. I also go to see a mama grizzly with her three babies, a herd of Cariboo, and just generally how pretty northern B.C. is. I can't believe it's already been one year since I started. I feel like I just got here and still know nothing.
XXX
He watched the shapes pass by him. It was dark, and they were dark, like ghosts, their faces and clothes muted. They didn't matter much to him, why would they, they were dead. To be fair, he was dead too.
It had taken him a little while to figure it out. But his skin was cold and clammy, and he wasn't bright anymore. He used to be… alive. His skin, his clothes, they used to be alive, the bright red of his shirt, the healthy tan on his face when he spent too much time outside, which was always.
Luffy didn't know what he looked like now, but long gone were the cheerful colors of his cloths, now they were just as grimy, muted and cold as the rest of him. His hands at least were grimy and covered in dirt, and kinda numb. They didn't look very alive at all. That was too bad. He had liked living; he had liked being alive.
Luffy had never spent serious time considering what came next. He hadn't been too worried about it- he had figured that whatever it was, it would probably sort itself out. Besides, it wasn't like he could do anything about the natural cycle of life, so there was no point in sweating about it.
He wondered if he should have spent more time thinking about it. If nothing else, then maybe it wouldn't have taken so long to figure out that he had died. That was kind of embarrassing huh, a ghost who didn't know they were one. That was like a squirrel thinking it was an elephant. Just awkward for everyone involved.
Being dead really sucked. He wasn't expecting that either. He hadn't expected it to be so boring… or cold, or painful. At the very least he had hoped the other dead people would leave him alone. But they kept bothering him, and poking, and prodding, and hitting him, and giving him like a million shots. That was just rude. Maybe they were mad they were ghosts, but it wasn't like it was his fault. He hadn't killed them.
The one good thing was he was pretty sure Teach bit it as well. It was kind of hard to tell with how dark it was, and how dull his senses were. Who would have thought that dying meant your eyes, and ears sucked. But Luffy was pretty sure all the same. Nobody gloated like that moron. That was good. Even if it meant that Luffy was stuck with stupid old dead dumb Teach forever in hell. At least the man was far away from all of the living people.
And besides, it wasn't like they could hurt Luffy now. Yeah, sure, the shots were not appreciated, neither was the rest of it. It didn't feel great. But it wasn't real.
Sure, he had been pretty freaked out when he had woken up… or not woken up… in hell, surrounded by demonic fiends, trying to hurt him, with the memory of choking on blood, watching his own life slowly bleeding away from him. All round not a fun experience. Especially with Teach trying to pull him out from under the bed, where all his demon friends were waiting to tear into him.
But, like everything else in his life- or his death now, Luffy had gotten used to it. Eventually, some of the terror and shock had faded. The fear definitely had. It was hard to be scared with a head as fuzzy as his was. And it just wasn't worth the energy.
Besides, Luffy had it on pretty good authority that even though it hurt, you couldn't actually kill a ghost. (At least he didn't think so). So, there was no point in being afraid. They could do whatever they wanted to him. He was already gone, and so were they. Just dark grey shadows with blurry faces moving around the darkness. Laughing at each other like demons.
He wondered what they thought was so funny.
XXX
Being dead sucked as much as he remembered. Cold, boring, lonely, and muted. Like everything was dark, underwater, and out of focus.
The resident demons were just as invasive and persistent as they had been the first time around. And he was just as scared of them as he had been before. Although he knew eventually apathy would take that too and replace it with an all-consuming numbness.
That was probably just how it worked. Like maybe when you rotted, you did it from the outside in. So first went your eyesight, then smell, and touch, so everything was just cold and dark. That's why he felt so lazy and heavy. And then when the rot crept inwards, it ate all of your organs, like his stomach, so he didn't get hungry, and his brain so all his thoughts were fuzzy, and his lungs so breathing was hard, and eventually his heart, so even the emotions he felt were replaced by nothing.
He crinkled his nose. It was a gross thought. He didn't like that. But maybe that meant if he still kind of cared, he still had at least part of an un-rotted heart. Otherwise, why would he be scared and cold?
Maybe that was Ace.
Like, rule number one of being dead meant you had to be cold. Everyone knew that. But Ace wasn't cold. Or at least, he wasn't as cold as he could be. He was kind of hot n' cold actually. But definitely still warm enough to still be alive. Maybe he was just keeping Luffy company. Warming him just enough to keep the clammy grips of rot from creeping over the rest of his heart.
Luffy hoped so. His head felt slow like a glass bottle slowly spinning to a stop. All round not great. But he had felt more dead before so it must be working. He didn't want to stop caring again. He didn't want his chest to crack again. He didn't want to stop feeling again. It was all he had. Especially now, in a land of ghost people, and demons, and ice. Wasn't hell supposed to be hot? The old Luffy. The one who was bright, and loud, and warm, and alive. These were his thoughts, and feelings, and his strength. And he didn't want to lose that again. Not to the rot.
Not to anybody. Certainly not, stupid dead dumb demon hell things like Chess Teeth.
With that thought in mind, he forced himself to break through the inviting fuzzy haze to wake up. Even though it gave him a headache.
It was still blurry, but it didn't seem quite as empty now. Dark shapes swam in front of him, moving just out of view.
He knew from experience that they were a little like bears. They were dangerous, but they also roamed around the same area he was stuck in. So, it was best to stay out of their way, and not draw too much attention to yourself unless you wanted them to take a swipe at you. Although it depended on what mood they were in. These ones didn't seem interested in him, or they hadn't noticed him yet. That was good.
He pushed himself up, his arm shaking from the strain. It felt like his limbs had forgotten what they were supposed to do, tingling uncomfortably, asking him to stop using them. Why didn't he get to do anything anymore?
Ace was somewhere nearby. He could feel him, even before he saw him. Still blurry and shadow-like. But Luffy just knew. It was probably a ghost thing.
He felt the shapes around him stir, taking note as he started to move, but hesitant to approach him. Not good. These were not the type of ghost-bear-demons, that ignored him.
All the more motivated, he forced his lazy limbs to obey him, climbing up onto a table beside him. In the process, everything that rested on it clattered to the floor with a loud crash. A flicker of pain shot across his knee as he smashed it into something sharp. But it was the least of his worries as all the shapes in the room seemed to freeze, focusing their attention on him.
Oops.
Clumsy as ever Luffy half fell, half crashed down from the table straight on top of Ace. Immediately feeling the gentle heat of his brother. A telltale sign of an alive person. Even if it was more of a soft warmth then actually hot.
Not dead. Ace was okay. Just kind of dim. That thought made something unpleasant twist in Luffy's stomach, pushing past the fuzziness in his head and the numb feeling in his chest in its quest to be felt. Meaning that his plan was already working.
He felt Ace stir, reaching up with his hand. Luffy ducked out of the way, not in the mood for anything, especially not inspirational speeches, long-worded explanations, annoyance, or requests for personal space.
But luckily it seemed like Ace wasn't all that interested in any of the above either as he shifted underneath Luffy, probably trying to dislodge Luffy's knee from his ribs. His brother's arms come up to gently push him off of him, to instead lay beside him.
"You okay?"
Ace's voice was soft, like they were underwater. But they were so close that Luffy heard it all the same.
Luffy settled happily, wiggling closer, feeling another wave of sleepiness crash over him. Content that his little zombie heart wasn't about to rot away, not while it still worked, and it was working right now because he felt happy.
He felt Ace's free hand come to rest on his head. "Lu?"
Well, he wasn't freaking out anymore. Even if Teach and the rest of hell's rejects were waiting around the corner to jump out and grab him the second he let his guard down. Even with all the creepy shadow-bear-blur-blob-monsters still on the outskirts of his vision, moving around them. He was proud of himself for that. Although maybe he was just too tired to react anymore.
"You're okay," Ace told him when he didn't answer.
Well… as okay as he could be, with the dead thing, and the hell thing, and the crazy evil monsters. But if Ace said so.
He pushed his cheek against the hollow of his brother's shoulder. He felt Ace's arm curl around him, warding off the monsters in a way Luffy would never be able to.
He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, hearing the soft and gentle beat of Ace's heart. And suddenly, not even death was all that bad.
XXX
"You don't like to make things easy for me, huh?" Marco told Luffy.
Sometime within the thirty-minute window when Marco left, Luffy had woken up, torn out his IV for the second time. Crawled over a table, where he broke just about everything on it, and managed to stick himself in the knee with a pair of medical scissors, leaving a trail of blood behind him, and all over one of the beds. The nurses were still trying to clean up the chaos, sweeping up glass from all the corners of the room.
Yeah, that was about the level of destruction Marco had come to expect from this family. And Luffy wasn't even trying yet. What a scary thought that was. Although at the moment it was hard to hold anything the kid did against him. Even putting aside, the fact that he was most likely trying to get away from them. Up until today, as in a few hours ago, Marco would have given a lot just for Ace's brother to start causing mayhem again. Not because he liked picking glass pieces out of piles of ruined gauze rolls, nor the bruises that seemed to accompany trying to take care of him, but because he hadn't thought Luffy was ever going to be able to cause any more trouble. And that Marco would have to break the news to Ace, and Sabo, and Thatch.
Sometimes it was nice to be wrong.
So yeah, compared to that, a little glass and some blood was no problem. It was great even. Amazing.
What was less than ideal was the current situation. Marco still wanted Luffy under observation, for at least twenty-four hours. Meaning he wasn't allowed to shrug off the medical equipment and run around.
This was getting to be like a game of hide and seek, where every time Marco and the nurses turned their back Luffy would be in a different spot.
It was unfortunate that the spot kept being Ace, and Ace was playing his own game with fire, and spontaneous combustions. Ensuring that the job of once again separating them would be all Marco's. Not to mention Ace wasn't supposed to be here in the first place.
He sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed, shaking Ace's shoulder. "Ace, Ace."
Ace made an unintelligible noise, leaning away. A marked improvement.
"Ace?"
"-ive 'ore min-ts."
"What?"
Ace rolled away from Marco, as he shook his shoulder harder. "Ace."
"What?" He asked, finally somewhat intelligible.
"Can you sit up?"
"Mn-hm," he said, falling back asleep. Marco shook him harder.
"Ace."
"Okay," Ace said, sleep heavy in his voice. He let go of Luffy, clumsily pulling himself to sit up, yawning widely. "What's wrong?"
Strange hearing that from Ace right now. Like he thought there was an unrelated emergency going on outside that Marco needed his help on.
"Nothing's wrong," Marco promised him. "I'm just checking on you. Do you feel okay?"
Ace nodded slowly, yawning again, "tired."
Marco had gathered as much from the two-week marathon nap.
"Did Luffy say anything to you?"
Ace looked down at the small sleeping lump beside him, and then back at Marco. He shook his head. "Something like what?"
"Anything?" Anything that would indicate where his cognitive functioning, headspace, and mental health might be at.
"No?"
Well, that wasn't all that helpful. Marco doubted Luffy was feeling particularly chatty, but he had hoped he would try and talk to Ace.
"How did you even know where he was? Did Sabo tell you… Ace."
"M' up," Ace said sleepily, rubbing his eye. "Uh, no- Luffy asked me to."
"He… asked?"
"I guess he told me."
"You said he hadn't said anything to you."
Ace sighed, somewhat drawn out, clearly not excited about all these questions. "He- he called me? I guess. He didn't say anything, but I could tell that's what he wanted."
"Is that what woke you up?"
Ace nodded. "Yeah, he was really loud. You didn't hear him?"
Marco shook his head, and Ace shrugged.
"What did he… not say."
"I dunno… he was scared. I thought he was in trouble or some'thin, but he's fine."
Fine being a relative word. But he wasn't currently under attack, which seemed to be all Ace cared about at the moment. Marco wouldn't be surprised if Ace hadn't even noticed the bandages. He was still pretty out of it as well. Although, he was getting more coherent by the hour. That was good.
"What about you?" Marco said. "Does anything hurt?"
Ace started to shake his head but winced. "My back."
Marco nodded. As strong as the drugs were, even they couldn't shut that ache out. Ace was a quick healer, but Marco wasn't sure how much was healable- and how much was forever going to be scar tissue.
"I know," he said after a long moment, feeling rather tired himself. "I'm so sorry Ace."
"Sn't your fault."
Typical Ace response. Marco realized that he had missed him. It had been quiet on the ship without his brand of trouble.
"It's not yours either," Marco told him. "You didn't deserve that."
In comparison, Ace didn't look nearly as concerned. He shrugged again, then winced, before trying the gesture again.
"It's life."
"Yeah, I guess it is."
Marco leaned over Ace to check on Luffy. He tried to rouse him but got no response. Same as usual.
Marco grabbed his flashlight from the desk, checking both of his eyes for a response. Luffy didn't wake up, but his pupils did react to light. Good. The last thing they needed was for him to slip back into a coma. Which was Why, Marco wanted to monitor him.
He tucked the flashlight into his pocket, moving the blankets enough to slide his arms underneath Luffy, lifting him up despite Ace's protests.
"He doesn't want to be there."
"I gathered that," Marco said dryly as he placed Luffy back on his own bed. The skin was torn on his wrist from where he had ripped the IV out for the second time today. Marco bandaged the area, cleaning another spot on the crook of his elbow between the band-aids to insert the needle. There were other methods for ensuring it stayed in, and Luffy stayed put, but no one was going to be a fan of those.
Marco bit his lip, running through the scenarios. He looked over at Ace, a plan forming in his head.
"You know, it's dangerous to get too close to Luffy while your immune system is compromised right?"
Ace rolled his eyes, exactly what Marco figured he would do. The risks of microscopic germs and potential future sicknesses were far from Ace's list of worries right now. Marco didn't even know if he fully understood about all of that stuff. Ace's medical knowledge was both lacking and oddly specific in some areas.
"Fine." He hadn't actually expected either Ace nor Sabo to stay away. Especially now that Luffy was up. He held out his hand to Ace who reluctantly took it. "Careful," Marco said as he helped him to his feet. "You want to help Luffy?"
Ace nodded again.
"Okay, make sure he stays here, ON the bed, not under it. He needs to rest."
Ace nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside Luffy with a sigh. He still looked really sleepy.
"That goes for you too, stay put."
"I get it Mom. N-no playing outside until the chores are done."
He was certainly feeling better. That was good at least. Hopefully, his marathon nap had started to fix whatever was going wrong inside of him. Marco put his hand to Ace's forehead. He still felt a little cold, random shivers running up his frame at odd intervals. Not back to normal yet. Marco wondered if he ever would be.
"What's wrong?" Ace asked once again, pushing Marco's hand off his forehead.
Marco shook his head. "Nothing. I'm going to put a hot water bottle between you guys. Both of your body temperatures are too low.
"-Kay."
Marco sat on the corner of the bed next to him, glancing over at Luffy. He looked better than he had. Certainly better than when Marco had first seen him. Tiny and alone in all that darkness. He reached over and patted the kid's head.
"He's a tough kid. I guess he takes after his brother."
"Hm," Ace said. "He didn't used to be. When we were 'lil, he just wanted me to fix everything for him. I don't know what happened."
"Kids grow up."
"I guess." Ace made a face like he didn't entirely know how to feel about that.
"I know the feeling," Marco said. "There's nothing to be done about it I'm afraid. They'll break your heart, make you sick with worry, make you want to kill them, and then after all that, they'll ask why you're so stressed all of the time."
Ace smiled, small but there all the same. "Are you talking about me?"
"Of course not," Marco said. "You would never do something like that.
"Well then, just in case, I'm sorry I guess."
He wasn't though. Not even a little. Marco knew that. He knew that betraying them had been eating him up inside. But if Ace had to do it all over again he would. Partnering with Teach, kidnapping him, lying to the crew, taking on the world government and the Black Beard pirates on his own, not backing down from Akainu. Not to mention using his own finite life force to protect everyone, and sacrificing himself like cannon fodder. He probably didn't even know that this was what Marco was referring to. Just right over his head.
Marco pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't believe you."
He heard the bed shift, and a weight settled against his shoulders as Ace leaned into Marco, resting back to back with him.
Ace reminded him of a cat sometimes. Especially with his love of falling asleep in the sunniest patches he could find. But not a house cat. No, he was one of the dangerous ones. Like a panther. Really hard to domesticate, prone to taking a swipe at somebody who got too close when they were getting to know each other. Now, he could be aloof at times, and then sometimes, like now, he would just completely drop all his guards.
"You're an idiot." Marco told him, he had said it in exasperation, but there was a bite to his words.
"I know," Ace said, his tone still light as ever. It was no good having this conversation with him right now.
He felt the other lean back, shifting so more of his weight fell against Marco as he brought his leg up, hugging it to his chest.
"You could have told me."
He heard Ace's huff of amusement. Muted from sleepiness but there all the same. "About everything?"
"No," Marco said. Not everything. Most people did not expect to be privy to every single secret their friends carried. Especially Ace, who had enough to fill a series of novellas. If Marco was Ace, he wouldn't go around sharing that stuff either.
"No, everything else I get. You should probably keep a heavy lid on that stuff for safety. But you could have told me you had brothers."
"Seriously, that's what you're worried about?"
"I don't get why you hid it."
Ace snorted again, more amused than he should be. "Why are you hung up on that?"
"Why did it take Teach kidnapping Luffy for you to tell us?"
"I dunno. That was forever ago."
"It was six months ago."
"Forever," Ace agreed. "I was getting around to it. And I didn't."
"Didn't what?"
"Didn't have brothers, I had a brother."
Marco didn't say anything, turning the words over in his head. Ace had told them when they were in the tunnels, that part of the weirdness that had confused him when Marco had first been introduced to the blonde was because of how long they had been separated. But it bothered Ace enough to bring it up right now.
The answer was right there. That's why it was bugging Marco. Because Sabo had 'died', and Luffy was the only family Ace had left. So, he would do anything to protect him. Anything like not trusting Marco with his existence. Because Ace was also keeping other secrets.
"It's because of Roger."
Ace sighed. Not amused this time, and Marco felt him tense up against his back. He didn't want to talk about this.
But Marco knew it wasn't about Roger, it was about them. At the end of the day, Ace hadn't trusted Marco, or Thatch, or Oyaji, or any of them. Not with his lineage. That was understandable. But it was more than that. He hadn't trusted that they were the type of people who wouldn't go after his little brother to get revenge against his father. It didn't matter that he had known them for months, or he had joined their crew, or that they were his friends. He hadn't trusted that Marco wasn't depraved enough to hurt an innocent kid for his own gain. And what was worse, Ace had been right. Maybe not about most of them. But in the end, he had held his secrets as tightly to his chest as he could, never letting down his guard. And it still hadn't been enough.
"I can hear you overthinking," Ace said sleepily. "Stop it."
"I know with everything…" Marco started, "but, you can trust me."
Ace snickered, back to amusement this time. "Oo-kay." He sounded very sarcastic.
"I mean it."
"Yeah," Ace said. "I think we're well past that. But I'll keep that in mind the next time I ask you to help me rescue my secret little brother.
Marco thought about it for a second, before he smiled as well. "Yeah, I guess we are, huh?" Ace needed some kind of interpretive guidebook. One with charts, and diagrams. "Has anyone ever told you, that you are a hard person to know?"
"I'm a bit new to having friends."
"I couldn't tell," Marco said.
"Thanks for looking after Luffy anyway," Ace said. He had been fighting sleep their entire conversation, Marco could feel Ace's breaths even out against his back. "Even though you're mad at me."
"I'm not mad," Marco said.
"Really?" Ace did not sound convinced.
"I'm, I don't know what I am." That had been a lot, especially at the end. He didn't know how to even begin unpacking the tangled mess of emotions that sat heavily against his chest, pressing his lungs down like a constant reminder of everything that had happened. "I'm not mad," he said again, softer this time. "Not at you."
Marco felt Ace's shoulders move against his back, as the younger boy shrugged. "If you say so."
"I'm not. I'm just- why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
Marco shook his head. He knew why. He was just asking because he wanted Ace to give him a better answer. But Ace didn't have one. Marco stood up, and Ace tumbled backward, ending up sprawled out across the bed, with a soft yelp.
"Get some sleep, and keep an eye on Luffy."
"Sabo," Ace started.
"I'll go wake him up," Marco said. "Tell me, or someone, if you notice Luffy is having a hard time breathing."
"Kay," Ace said as he crawled back into place at his little brother's side, his movements sluggish with exhaustion.
"And no more wandering around for either of you, I mean it."
"I would never," Ace said.
Marco rolled his eyes.
When exactly in his great plan of staying aloof, and aware, had he let this idiot get so close? Even when Marco knew all along how bad of an idea it was.
Maybe they were all just idiots.
XXX
I hope you guys are all okay and well.
I know the flashback scenes to the end of the war are sprinkled around these next few chapters. But mainly the war wrapped up exactly like it did in the Manga, with Shanks calling a ceasefire, and both sides ending it before more people died. I'm not sure which parts will get shown but I will do my best to make it unconfusing. There is also a lot of stuff with the Whitebeards following the war that I want to get into.
And as always, if you guys have my head cannons, send them my way. I love hearing them.
Until next time. Be safe.
XXX
Onepeicefan1: Of course. I am glad you liked it.
Polars: Oh man, the update reminder system is wack again. So close yet so far. At least AO3 won't fail us. Keep threatening the software.
A very off screen Teach vs Shanks. The rest of the war played out very similar to the cannon. With everyone going their separate ways. We aren't done going into all of that, but I'm not sure what parts are going to be actually shown.
And thank you. I am really glad you liked my Marco, Thatch. I was proud of that. Poor Thatch was really homesick. More on Luffy next time. But I will do my best to let him know that haha.
It's jetboat training now, and firefighting. My bosses at work will not stop getting all of us training. It's pretty cool, but very random stuff. Who would have thought spy training and normal biology stuff would have so much overlap. (I hope you are okay).
Thank you for the nice review.
Firefiststrawhat: Aw, thanks.
Amelia Pan: Why hello. I listened to that song. It was really beautiful. I could totally see it for that scene. It's funny you thought that because I actually came up with the idea, and wrote the scene specifically for a song. I hadn't heard Dance of the River Spirits, but the theme Ratism from the suicide squad movies really stuck with me. And the scene where all the rats come to overtake the starfish (it's a silly movie lol) inspired the idea of Ace covering everyone with fire. I held onto it for like two years with that song in mind. So I am glad you heard it too : ) even if it was a different song.
Chocolatte33: Hello, of course. I am glad you like it. I don't have a copy of the book. I can make a downloadable PDF if people are interested. But then I would have to do all the editing for it, lol. If you remind me, I can check and see if people are interested in me making one and having it available on my blog for anyone to download if they are interested.
x-EliteAssassin-x: Oh man, I know the FF updated system if having a mid-life crisis. So I began to cross post on AO3.
Aww, sorry to hear that. I still don't know how this story ended up so sad. I think to many tiktok reverb songs I guess haha. But we are at the comfort part, where nothing worse happens to them, and they all stay together.
And Thank you. That is really nice. I took many liberties with Joyboy that I'm sure are not correct, but I did have fun writing it. I promise nothing but comfort from here on out. I have no more mean things lined up (only one teeny mean field trip).
I'm really glad you liked it. Thanks for the nice review.
Mel72000: Thanks.
Crazykittylover: Lots of rest, hugs, and talking, and talking, and more talking about feelings to come. I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for sticking with me. I will keep posting on AO3. Happy easter as well.
Crazykittylover: Thank you. Marco did see ffth gear. Hopefully it wasn't too confusing. But it was more like Marco, and his phoenix powers sensed it from inside of Luffy, and it freaked him out, rather than actually see Luffy transform. Poor Marco. He is not having a good year. I will keep at it, promise. Thanks for the nice review.
Crazykittylover:The fighting is over. Sorry no big fight, mostly they just lost haha. But at least it wasn't quite as much of a tragedy as before.
Shanks is going to be in just a few scenes, just like the manga where he shows up, shatters the world, and dips.
Sabo did his best to protect them, even if he accidentally almost killed them, lol. You can't win them all in life.
That is so nice. Thank you.
Guest: Why thank you. It's probably from writing fanfic, instead of playing outside with friends when I was a kid. I really adore ASL, and I feel like a lot of their backstory is left up to us as Oda is a busy guy. So I had a lot of fun with it. But I feel like they went through a lot together when they were little.
Thanks for reading!
Aquarica: Luffy is pretty out of it. But he will get better. I mean tot include Sabo inthis chapter, but Ace would not stop talking haha. Next time. But I think Sabo is just going to be really relieved that both of them are okay. And then, he is going to listen to Marco's advice, and go back to his own bed and not cause any trouble. (I'm just kidding).
evelynromano0808: Oh no, that was not the intention. Although I guess they might be melancholy for a little while as everyone is still in shock. But they will gradually get lighter.
Wishfull-star: Sabo got cut out, but next chapter will start with him. Thanks.
Eternal She-Wolf: Yay, enthusiasm. That's always a good sign. Hope the seminar went alright. Top secret stuff right.
Yes! Shanks has the hat, meaning he owes Luffy a visit. But my masterplan includes Shanks running into Luffy again, only when Luffy is ready to take it back. As right now, he wouldn't take it back if it was offered to him.
Thank you. That is really nice. Marco's three favorite troublemakers now. I think Jozu had mixed feelings because he didn't know Luffy very well, but in that time, Luffy was afraid of him. Then they failed to save him, and had to lvie with everything that happened. I promise I will go into it in future chapters.
Luffy really trusts his brothers.
Haha, yes, this will pay off for Marco many years down the road. No worries, thanks, You're right.
I like writing happy Ace. It suits him after everything haha. I'm not sure, I havn;t thought about it. I think Ace will have better overall control. I think at the moment his fire is kind of reactive and out of control, so Marco is trying to handle it himself so the nurses don't get hurt. Just because Ace is out of it.
Good guess. Sabo will be back next chapter. Alarmed and very relieved they are both okay-ish. I'm thinking puppy sandwiches until they feel better, with less cracked ribs.
Thank you for the nice review.
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