A/N: Alright! This is going to be a long one! I'm not going to apologize because I just needed to somehow squeeze all this into this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it!
And of course thanks to all those who have been commenting and giving reviews so far, you guys are the best!
Chapter 9 - Turning Point
Lime Juice sat near the helm, taking apart and cleaning his gun. It was a mindless action that was supposed to take his mind off of what was going on down below, but…
Who was he kidding?
Every time he tried not to think about it, his mind was drawn back in some way or another. That fact that in the hold below, they were basically trying to bring Portgas D. Ace back from the dead, was nuts! It felt weird to say, considering all the things he had encountered while sailing the seas, but somehow it was still unbelievable after having personally witnessed what the pirate had gone through.
When his captain had returned to the deck and told him the truth of what was going on, he hadn't believed him. But when the man hadn't concluded his statement with a horribly tasteless laugh and the claim that he was joking, Juice could only stare at him in shock.
And so, here they were a day after the Marineford war, continuing their trek towards Saboady. The plan was to eventually meet up with the Force, while also getting a change of ship and supplies along the way. He had just received a call from both Benn and their allies as to the coming timetable end rendezvous.
Footsteps approaching from behind him had him turn slightly to see his captain making his way tiredly toward him. He nodded to him before standing next to him, watching their heading.
He looked over Shanks, noting the tiredness in his movements that would probably be less obvious to most of those who weren't aware of what to look for. Juice had kept watch of the ship, while also keeping it on its heading and navigating new paths when needed. It was a small vessel so he could do it pretty well on his own, but even then that meant just getting some sleep in little spurts and grabbing food from the ship's stores every so often. Shanks would come up and check on him, getting an update on the current status as well as any communique from the several parties that he was connected with every few hours or so, though he kept to the hold most of the time. He hadn't seen the Phoenix since he had first gone below, and the mysterious miracle-working doctor Miss hadn't shown her face once either.
He had a hard time thinking that they had gotten any more rest than he had. In fact, he was pretty sure they had probably not slept or eaten since they'd arrived.
With that in mind, Juice spoke up, "Captain, have you eaten today?"
Shanks smiled tiredly looking a bit abashed before shaking his head, "Not yet, though I had a little something yesterday. Right now, I'm more so worried about our two doctors down there."
"Let me guess, they haven't slept or eaten either? You guys will do Portgas no good if you all collapse yourselves." the blond pointed out reprovingly.
"I know that…and if you think I look bad, you should see the other two. But they're not going to stop until either Ace is stable enough that they can leave his side for 10 minutes without crashing, or they get some reprieve. Any word on when Lisel will be getting here?"
Lisel was a captain of a small group of pirates that patrolled out in these waters that had become part of the RedHair grand fleet about a year ago. Shanks had contacted Beckman earlier, vaguely telling him that there was a situation without going into any details, asking them to send them new transportation along with supplies. The vice-captain had told him that he would try to find someone who could fit the bill in getting them what they needed.
7 hours earlier
Only minutes ago, Benn had called Juice about getting in contact with Lisel and her crew and that they would meet them along their path early the next day. Juice had relayed that to Shanks who had agreed to the plan, before having to rush back down below to aid the others working there.
This left the RedHair executive to continue working out the details. Benn had asked vaguely how everything was going, the hidden implications obvious. This was supposed that have been a short detour that seemed to be taking much longer than originally thought and no one was getting an explanation.
Juice wished he could have told the man everything, but he knew why the captain hadn't just blurted out everything from the start. What he wouldn't give for a white transponder snail, but they had never thought to take one from the ship! If the government somehow tapped into their transponders and heard the truth about Ace, they would find themselves a very hot target with very few people in a condition to provide protection. He was okay to fight and he knew Shanks would step up. Marco would probably also fight with whatever he had left, but none of them were at their best and it would cost them against a rested and recuperating Navy force. And then there were the two not-Marines, the shadow, and the lady doctor. It was probably a pretty good guess that they didn't want to be found either, though he didn't think the other doctor was able to defend herself either, and the shadow creature had some pretty good defense, it was anyone's guess how long it would hold up and against what.
And so, they could tell no one on the outside what was going on yet at least in direct terms, though perhaps he could try to give vague clues. The Red-Hair pirates had a bit of code that could be used. Shanks would have probably thought to use it if he wasn't so occupied with whatever they were doing to save FireFist. It was worth a shot.
"We're doing well here, Beck. Thanks for getting in touch with Lisel. No need to worry, I'm still looking after the captain. All good here!"
He then jokingly added as if in an afterthought, "Hey Beck, you remember that time when we got apple juice instead of booze?"
We have a situation here. We can't talk plainly, talk in code.
There was barely a pause before, Benn responded with amusement, "Haha, I remember. Shanks drank the whole thing without even realizing the difference. What? Does the captain need some again?"
Did something happen to the captain? Do you need assistance?
Juice continued on, never letting the seriousness of the situation reflect at all in his speech. "Nah, he'll be fine. Wish we could have some of that really good ale though, you know like the stuff from Hongo's hometown? That was some good booze."
Captain's fine, but we could use assistance. Can you send Hongo?
While he could hear Benn's smirk in his voice, it was absent from the snail's face which continued to look alert with concern. "We can see what we can do, I mean as close as we are, it takes at least a day to get the stuff. Maybe faster if we're really desperate."
We're close, we can get Hongo there in a day or less if necessary.
He responded with exaggerated outrage, "Hey! Hey! Not to you idiots! Over here to us! We're the ones that need it. We're goin' dry over here."
It's necessary, get him here as fast as you can.
"Maybe next time, Juice. Maybe we'll get Lisel to bring over some white ale to tide you over."
We'll get you a white transponder snail.
"Thanks a lot, I'll make sure to remind the captain about that apple juice story when I talk to him again."
I'll remind Shanks that we're using the code system.
Beckman nodded, "See that ya do, that guy needs to be reminded of all the times he's been an idiot. I'm keeping it together over here, though even the 2nd place losers over here are getting restless."
Keep Shanks up to speed. I'm holding down the fort. The Whitebeard pirates are getting anxious though.
Juice could understand that. The Whitebeards would be floundering, needing stability and reassurance as the shock of the war began to wear off. But their new shepherd, unbeknownst to them, had to leave the ninety-nine to go after the one lost sheep. They would need explanations as well, though he hoped he wouldn't have to be the one to give them.
"Thanks, Beck, hope to see you guys again soon."
He hung up after that, just in time to feel the obvious tell-tale signs of the Captain's haki. Shanks had been using it in spurts here and there below, doing whatever they had to do in saving the fire kid's life. This though was the biggest one so far.
A few minutes later, he saw Shanks coming up from below one again. However, unlike before, there was a bright grin on his face and a bit more pep in his step. He told him with delight that they had finally been able to get Ace's heart beating and his lungs breathing on their own again.
Considering what Lime had seen of what had been done to him, he couldn't picture FireFist moving anything ever again. So the fact that he currently had a pulse was beyond a miracle.
Lime had liked the kid well enough when he had first come to see them, to thank Shanks for saving Luffy's life. The kid had had a wild reputation, and it had been a surprise to find out how well-mannered he'd been, nor how young he actually was. He had a good head on his shoulders and he looked to be strong enough to make it in their cutthroat world.
When it was revealed that he was to be executed, he had shared his Captain's foreboding. One didn't have the Seer-Seer fruit, and not get some feel for clairvoyance. And then, to become the focal point of the ongoing war between pirates and the government, was not something he wished on anyone. And when the truth about Ace's parentage had been revealed, he had felt his heart sink, not just for Ace himself, but for his leader and friend, who looked as if someone had hit him with a well-aimed kidney punch.
The difference in Shanks' expression now was stark in comparison, as he rambled on about how he, Marco, and the doctor lady, Lily, had rebuilt and restarted the boy's heart. Hope had taken very clear roots, and it was blossoming quite nicely so far. Juice could only do what he could to make sure it lasted.
The redhead drifted off to sleep while chattering, probably not even aware that he had fallen prey to his own fatigue. Juice didn't have it in him to wake the guy up again. He needed whatever rest he could get, as he doubted it would be for long enough.
He moved to shift Shank's cloak to cover him more effectively, before going back to the ship's helm once again.
He called out across the empty deck, "Hey, smoke creature? 'Schaden' was it?"
A sudden shifting to his right startled him, and he would never admit to having jumped just a little bit at how close the creature had been. The shadows of darkness rolled into a thicker mass and glowing purple shapes that resembled eyes, looked back at him, a bit clearer than they had been before. He could only guess that it– he? –had been resting all this time after the captain had attacked it.
Juice indicated towards the door that led below, "Can you go and keep an eye on the guys below? I don't think you're going to be able to get them to take a rest, but just watch out for them to make sure they're okay. If something happens, let me know."
The cloud seemed to hover for a time before he heard a weird noise that was like that of wooden shutters rattling. He could only guess that meant "yes". Schaden slipped into a nearby shadow on the ground, before slithering across the deck and under the door.
Present Day
Shanks had only slept for about 4 hours before jerking back awake and immediately heading back to the makeshift operating room. Lily and Marco had been working tirelessly to get their patient in at least good enough condition to be transferred.
It had been decided already that they couldn't stay on a stolen navy ship for too long, even while it flew the Red-Hair Pirates jolly roger, it would just raise too many questions and suspicions. It was also a small target that might invite trouble to anyone who wanted to be overzealous, whether pirate or marine.
Ace also needed more medical supplies and equipment than the small patrol ship had available and he needed a proper operating table and then further a proper medical bed once everything was said and done.
So it was decided that Captain Lisel would bring a secondary ship from the fleet that they could use. The ship had already been fitted for long-distance travel and so already had a fully functioning sick bay that included an OR theatre.
As Juice and Shanks waited there in the cool of the morning, Schaden, came gliding over to their side. It seems like time had improved the shadow being. He was no longer crackly with pops of electricity, and he now had decided to take up a more humanoid form. He had a human-like body, his eyes were now regular-sized on his face, though most of his features were still obscure, with no mouth or nose or really anything else. He had been going back and forth from below to back on the deck. He didn't seem to linger in the operating room, only staying long enough to check on things, before leaving again. Shanks could sense nervousness from the creature whenever it came close to the surgery area, only seeming to want to watch over Lily but not staying around long enough to distract her.
He could also tell Schaden was as worried as he was about how haggard Lily and Marco were beginning to look. He knew he wasn't getting enough sleep, but he was used to long nights and he had a responsibility to look after his charges. The two doctors also had a responsibility to their patient who completely depended on them, but both had come into this after having participated in an arduous war with no rest in between.
They needed food and sleep, but they couldn't leave Ace unattended in his critical state. And thus the impasse.
He may have to ask Lisel for the use of her medic and hope that he was skilled enough to take over. He wanted to keep this close to home as much as possible. He trusted Lisel and her crew, but he didn't know them. If he had had the time or the forethought, he could have—
"There, Captain." Juice interrupted his thoughts and pointed over toward 10 o'clock at the ship he was seeing approaching out of the morning fog.
The ship was twice as big as the one they were on, though even then it was still on the smaller side. What concerned Shanks was that the ship was alone. Where was Lisel? Shouldn't she be accompanying it?
It took the ship about ten minutes before it was close enough that he was able to sense the presence of who was on the ship and therefore his answer, his mouth stretching into a broad grin.
A couple of shadowed figures stood on the deck, one was at the helm, the other leaning against the balustrade. The second figure on the arriving vessel quickly used a bo staff in hand to propel himself off the ship, across the water, and then to land on the deck of their own boat. Shanks grinned, shaking his head at his executive's theatric actions before walking up to him with more pep in his step than he had all morning. And why not? The answer to many a prayer and concern had just arrived.
"Always right on time! Hongo, I'm not sure what you're doing here, but I'm happy you are! And is that Snake with you?"
The large gray-haired navigator of the Red Force—Building Snake, smiled, waving from the helm, expertly piloting the new ship closer. The one who had jumped over, the brown-haired main doctor of the Red-Haired Pirates—Hongo, dusted himself off from his rocky landing before stowing his staff on his back, a concerned look in his eyes as he approached.
"Snake just tagged along." He gave a questioning raised eyebrow to Schaden, before continuing on the redhead. "Juice asked me to come. Didn't he tell ya, boss?"
Lime Juice responded distractedly while still trying to guide their boat as close to the other ship as possible. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, Captain. I used the code to call for Hongo's help. I figured we needed another medic."
Shanks felt the vein in his forehead twitch, finding himself once again, in only a day, trying not to strangle the blond. "Is there anything else that you neglected to tell me, Juice?"
"Just that Beckman is holding things together on the ship and that the Whitebeards are asking questions and getting anxious."
"And you didn't tell me any of this, because…?"
"You had fallen asleep Captain. And then by the time you woke up, I was asleep and after that, I basically forgot."
This time it was Hongo who stopped his captain from wringing the man's neck, smoothly stepping in between the two and quickly changing the subject.
"Hey, Snake and I picked up the ship from Lisel considering all the hush-hush secrecy and got over here as fast as we could. I only brought Kino and Ko with me just in case."
Hongo's two medical assistants, the brother and sister duo of Kino and Ko, were moving around on the bigger vessel, helping with the rigging and keeping it steady.
The man put his hand on his hip, raising an eyebrow, "So now can you please tell me what's going on? Did Phoenix get hurt really bad or something?"
Shanks sighed before waving the other man along towards below deck. "I'll explain as we go."
"You look like crap by the way."
"It's been a long night."
Hongo followed his captain below, noting mentally all the things he would have to check up on the man. The deep fatigue was obvious and probably expected. Juice as well, though not nearly as bad. Signs of haki strain were also present, though not immediately obvious. Even a haki powerhouse like his captain needed to recharge every now and again. It was probably fine for now but was something to keep an eye on if Shanks would not or could not take his rest.
They had begun the day yesterday planning to stop a war, which eventually led to holding off Kaido, and then finally putting an end to the war. And yet somehow that had morphed into going on a search for a missing body, and now to some super-secret detour that required only trusted comrades and personnel.
Shanks spoke as he led the doctor through the halls. "We've got a situation and we'll be working with the Whitebeards on this. We have to keep this quiet for as long as possible. Have you slept since I last saw you?"
The man nodded in affirmation, "Yeah, I've got energy to spare."
"Great…you're going to need it."
With that weirdly ominous remark, Shanks pushed open a door, allowing Hongo to follow.
The first thing that hit him was that he had just stepped into a really makeshift operating room. The smell of antiseptic, blood, and fluids filled the air. There were multiple lamps and candles lit, some of them having already been used up and replaced, while a few machines and several IVs were surrounding what seemed to be a wooden meeting table.
He saw Phoenix first.
And if he thought the captain had looked bad, then Marco looked like he was the living dead.
The man was clearly dead on his feet, he had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was limp against his scalp and his breathing was slightly labored. Exhaustion was evident in every movement he made—but the determination in his eyes was as stalwart as ever. He was operating across from a young woman who looked practically just as bone-tired and drained as Marco was. Her coloring didn't look healthy to him, something about it looked off even considering the many unique peoples of the world. She was wearing the remnants of a soiled marine uniform, though if Shanks and Marco were okay with that, he didn't have a problem.
Unlike Marco, she wasn't surgical tools but instead seemed to be moving her fingers and hands as if puppeteering a marionette, a white glow in her eyes and around her fingers. Was she using a devil fruit on the patient? That thought finally made him look down at the subject they were both working on and had obviously been performing surgery on for quite some time.
He looked down past their moving bodies. He was greeted with a head full of shoulder-length black hair and pale skin…A dusting of freckles…and a misspelled tattoo…
What in the world?
Seriously?!
Hongo's eyes went wide with shock. "You've gotta be kidding me…"
Lily knew she was at her limit. She needed to sleep for a month and then probably eat 3 horses. If she didn't stop soon her body would collapse without her. She'd seen Schaden's worried looks, though he didn't say anything every time he'd briefly come in to check on her. He wasn't fond of operating rooms, leftover trauma from their days in the facility. Lily herself would have been there right along with him if not for becoming a doctor and a surgeon, it allowed her to become the ruler of the operating table, rather than a victim of it.
Shanks had brought them another ship with better facilities and supplies just as he promised. He had also surprisingly brought his own ship's doctor to take over for her and Marco while they were given time to rest. She was currently explaining to him what they had already done and what he needed to do in the meantime.
"After we got his heart started, I concentrated on repairing the spinal column. The vertebrae took the longest to complete. While I did that, Marco close up what he could temporarily until we can return to finish the job. I grew the skin on his back out enough for it to close again, though it's pretty thin and I haven't had the time or the stamina to do more than a few layers."
Hongo nodded, looking over his new case and seeing the progress that had been done, but all that there still was to do. True to what the girl–Lily–had said, the wound on Portgas' back had been sealed up with all-new skin. It was thin compared to the muscle and membrane areas that hadn't been injured, and the new part of his backbone stood out within the wound. The kid needed the extra layers to try to maintain body heat, though perhaps the presence of his fire fruit would help with that.
He did notice though that the kid didn't seem to have a drop of fat on him, and not in a good way. It was to the point that certain parts of his body had begun to look wane and sunken in. "Why does he look so drawn?"
"I needed to use every bit of nutrients and energy that his body had in order to do this, and I'll need even more. You'll need to keep him intravenously fed way beyond the norm. Not just nutrients either. Saline solutions, antibiotics, electrolytes, blood transfusions from time to time, the entire works." she told to him as she continue to knit, stitch and create.
Marco spoke up as he finished sealing another vessel. "You need to have your people have all the life support machines up and running. Ace's heart rate is doing fine so far on its own, but I'm not going to leave that to chance."
Hongo nodded having already figured that, "I already had Kino and Ko take care of that. I'm heading back after this, we'll be ready to receive him."
"The plan is for Schaden to teleport both myself and him to the new sickbay, limiting the time and distance that Portgas has to be moved. My power will usually hold up at this distance, but I've never tried it in conjunction with Scha's teleportation ability. I'm hoping that I can hold the connection better if he moves us at the same time. It'll be hard for all 3 of us, but it isn't for a long distance." Lily continued. "Once we're over, I will slowly turn him over to you. You will just have to basically keep him alive until I return. If he arrests and you can't resuscitate, wake me up ."
Shanks stepped up, "We have a plan, let's do it. The less time we stay out here like sitting ducks, the better."
The Red-Hair Pirates had already transferred over to the new vessel (it was called the Renata, and the men had already begun to affectionately call it " Ren " for short), with Shanks conferring with his men on the situation and their heading. This left Marco, Lily, and Schaden to finish things on their end.
The Whitebeard captain sighed languidly before finishing with the gauze, bandages, and coverings to keep Ace settled during transport. His chest wound was still mostly open, there not being enough skin to cover it using loose sutures, so they had to be extra careful.
Pulling off his gloves and mask, the blond moved to rub the bridge of his nose tiredly before looking up at Lily. He wasn't surprised that his vision was wavering, at this point, he had been up for over 48 hours nonstop. Taking a breath to steady himself, he walked over and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder. "I'll wait for you three over there."
She nodded back at him, watching him silently leave with only a brief glance back. There had been no way for Schaden to take the strain of taking them altogether, so it was decided that Phoenix would wait till the last minute before jumping ship the normal way.
Now that it was just her, Scha, and the commander once again, it was kind of wild to remember that this was how it had all started. Her partner seemed to echo her thoughts.
'This definitely wasn't how I expected this assignment to go when we first took it.'
Lily nodded with a sigh, "Who knew that saving one man would cause such a chain reaction of events?"
'Hey, at least we got a lot of strong backup for our trip home. I'm kinda glad that the Emperor and Phoenix showed up. I mean doing this on our own would have been murder. They're not bad guys despite their fearsome reputations. At least as far as pirates go.'
She smiled drowsily, 'They're not so bad once you get to know them. I'm going to need you to contact the Chief and check in while I'm out."
Scha came closer to her, 'Should I tell him about FireFist?'
She thought about it for a moment, "Hmm…yes, but make sure the line is secure first. Only tell Sabo…or Dragon… This is too important to trust to some go-between."
'Got it.' Schaden grew in size, blanketing Lily's shoulders. 'We should go, they're waiting, and you need sleep. You got him?'
Lily felt far weaker than she did when she first began to venture. It almost felt like Firefist had tripled in weight. They had already taken him off all the used-up IVs and machines, she was once again keeping his systems running smoothly.
Gathering him closer from off the table, she hugged him closer to herself. She watched amused as his head unconsciously lolled against her shoulder, his long hair falling into his face. She had worked on this man longer than any other patient in her career as a doctor. She had worked herself to the bone, gone against RA protocol, and pushed her power past all kinds of bounds, and she could still not quite tell you why she had decided to save him.
Something about his eyes reminded her of someone.
She wasn't quite sure who, but the moment he had determined to save his little brother's life, no matter the cost. His eyes had changed.
And for just a second, she had seen another set of eyes there.
Whose they were, she had no idea, but she had felt a brief plangency there.
It had been the first string that had formed a connection between them. And now, she held his life literally in her hands and she would do anything to protect it and bring it to bloom once again.
With a tender smile, she pushed the hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ear. "It's time to go, Commander. Let's get you to a better room. Stay with me, okay?"
She pushed her powers to the utmost hoping that she could maintain connection during the transport. "Okay, Scha, let's go."
The Cimmerian covered them both and she felt that familiar jolt of being yanked out of reality for a second. Her weakened body instantly felt nauseated, but she pushed to keep her wits about her.
It was a long half a second before she felt herself land once again on solid ground. She stumbled under Firefist's full weight without the table or Schaden's essence to hold her up. Before she fully fell, a muscular arm moved to reach around and catch her around the waist.
A pair of solid, strong male hands immediately took Ace from her hold and she reluctantly let him slip from her grasp. Her sight had held up during the trip and she could see several figures moving Ace to the new operation bed, quickly and efficiently moving to connect him to all sorts of new equipment. A quick sweep of her sight over his form showed that while the trip had been a bit rocky, he had made it alright without injury.
Thank goodness…
She sagged a bit in relief and was happy that someone was holding her up.
Marco—she could tell it was him from the fact that his cells were now constantly regenerating in haphazard ways—walked up to stand next to her. His tone held a trace of worry. "Is he okay?"
She nodded, "Yeah, he's fine, no tears or anything."
She looked around her for Schaden. "Scha? Are you okay?"
Her friend swirled around the shadows of her feet, 'Yeah, Lil. It wasn't as bad this time around.'
She heard Shanks' voice close to her ear and realized that he was the one holding her up. "He looks okay, I think you all could use the rest though."
"That includes you, captain." The doctor she had been introduced to as Hongo, spoke from his place near the hospital bed.
The redhead had seemed to balk, "But–"
"Don't even try it. Snake and Juice will handle watching and sailing the ship. We have things under control here. Get some sleep, doctor's orders."
Lily would have expected such a fearsome pirate as Red-Haired Shanks to not give in to such a demand without a fight. But instead, she could only hear his sigh as he already knew he was beaten.
"Fine…but at least get me up for the next watch."
"The next time you get up you're eating a full meal. And no, booze does not qualify this time."
Another sigh of defeat. Perhaps he knew that it was useless to fight against his own body's needs. Either that…or he knew the power of a ship's medic and didn't want to mess with any part of that.
Hongo's voice softened a bit as he addressed Lily. "Alright missy, we are ready when you are."
Too tired to argue about the nickname again, Lily simply nodded before concentrating on her patient once again.
Slowly but surely, she began to retreat from his body, letting go piece by piece.
Already she could hear the beeping and shrieking of alarms and monitors as she released him. It was to be expected, but she could already feel the tension increase in the men next to her. Hongo and his assistants seemed to be taking it all in stride, moving to adjust and move things around as they went. She continued her retreat, as one would slowly relax a muscle.
After a few more moments, and after having spent more than 14 hours in that state, Lily had extracted herself from Portgas D. Ace's body.
Honestly, she felt a bit bereft…
"I'm out." she breathed heavily, trying to find her bearings.
The alarms continued to sound and she felt Marco head over to the bed to keep a closer watch on what was going on. She watched herself as Ace's—she could call him "Ace" in her mind by now, right? She felt that she had earned that—cells and tissues struggled to adjust now that they were without her guidance. But thankfully, the brain was a cruel taskmaster and even though parts of his spine were completely new, they were created knowing the basics. His autonomic functions steadily were brought into synchrony, and while the organs struggle a bit to follow, the life support machines helped to keep them from failing. It wasn't long before Ace's body settled, the EKG resounding into a steady if slightly sluggish beep of his heart's beats.
There seemed to be a collected sigh of relief within the room, Lily included. They still had a bit to go and she guessed she'd have to spend at least one more long haul with her mind merged with Ace's body, but for now, she could let go and leave him to others.
She began to let go of her sight completely, allowing her fruit's power to retreat back within her. However, the moment she loosened her grasp, it snapped back like a rubber band that had been pulled nearly to its breaking point. Her eyesight returned to normal in one huge woosh, and she immediately scrunched her eyes closed, curling up on herself.
The lights…
They were so bright!
It burned!
She cried out, instinctively putting her hands over her eyes to block out what she could.
"Lily!"
"Lily?! What happened?"
"Is she okay?"
'Lil!'
She heard several voices call out for her, the hand that was holding her up, clasped tighter. Even with that though, her fatigue seemed to advance on her like a raging tide. She felt her legs turn to jelly and collapse completely, but thankfully the man holding her seemed to anticipate that and moved his arm lower, grasping her lower thighs and his grip before hauling her up, holding her against his chest and cradling her like a child.
A stray thought came to her that it wasn't bad for a one-armed man.
She allowed the relative darkness created by her hands to give her eyes time to adjust, feeling them water with the effort. She relaxed her breathing and blinked several times to clear the spots from her vision.
After a moment, she was able to clearly see the palms of her hands and her fingers with relative ease. Taking a moment, she carefully and slowly moved her hands away, blinking away blindly at the light. The figures in the room that hovered over her came into focus. And for the first time since she had met them, she was actually able to see the faces of the men who had been helping her.
She had already known the faces of Shanks and Marco in her head, and they hadn't changed that much as they hovered over her. The shadows under their eyes and the five o'clock shadows on their faces were different though not unexpected. Both looked horrible (though she guessed they probably all did) but they continued to look over her in concern. She felt Schaden's shadowy tendrils along her shoulders.
Marco was the first to speak, his hand going to her head as if to feel for her temperature. "You okay now, Lily?"
She nodded, "Yeah…it just took a bit for my eyes…to adjust. All of you look like crap…"
Shanks laughed, the sound reverberating against her skin. "We've all had a long couple of days."
She smiled but she could already feel her new eyesight beginning to wane. "D-Don't forget to get me up…if…if…"
Lily fell into unconscious sleep in the middle of her statement without any kind of preamble.
Once Lily had collapsed into sleep, Hongo pushed everyone else out of the sick bay to their appointed cabins on the Renata. None of them were far from the medical area in case of emergency. He also instructed Ko, the female of his two assistants, to follow and place an IV on each of them as they went to sleep. He was concerned with their lack of food and water while they had been working, but knew it was foolhardy to try to get them to eat when their bodies could barely stand straight.
Shanks carried Lily to her room, while Marco followed. Schaden had gone ahead to the room he would share with Lily, to get the bed ready.
Marco was completely exhausted, his phoenix was the only thing keeping him up, and even she was beginning to wane. But even with sleep encroaching on him rapidly, he could recognize the look in his longtime friend's eyes as he stared down at the young girl held in his arm.
He put a halt to that right away.
"Don't even think about it, Scarlet."
Shanks looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, a mock innocent look on his face. "What?"
Marco narrowed his eyes, "I've seen that look on Pops' face more times than I care to remember. I can recognize it when I see it. No, you can't adopt her."
Shanks rolled his eyes with amusement, his voice tsking him, "And may I ask why?"
"Well, first of all, she's one of Dragon's kids…"
"I'm okay with sharing. Dragon's never been selfish with this sort of thing."
"And second…I call dibs."
With that statement, the redhead stopped in his tracks before whirling around on the blond.
"Oh no, you don't, Fledgling. You Whitebeards already run the largest orphanage on the seas, let some other people take a crack at it now and again."
Marco was unbothered by the statement and pushed the other to keep going. "Hey, what can I say? We're better at it than you."
"Don't give me that, you guys are just greedy."
"Newsflash, we're pirates. It comes with the territory."
"And anyway, you can't call dibs since I called it first."
"You totally did not."
"Did so."
There was a slight pause, "I'll fight you for it."
The redhead laughed, "You'd lose, birdbrain."
"We'll make it an arm wrestling competition."
"You'd still lose."
"Not if we had to do it with one hand tied behind our backs."
"Now that's just uncalled for."
"Again–I'm a pirate."
Shanks smirked, "How about we make the competition a Davy Back fight?"
Marco raised an eyebrow, "Why would you do that? We'd win hands down."
He snorted in response, "Please, we'd smoke you. And it would be the best solution."
"No, you wouldn—in what way?"
"Once we win, I'd finally get you on my crew and then you and Lily could both be with us together."
Marco rolled his eyes, "Bastard."
Shanks' responding laughter rang through the hallway.
The Same Day, in Baltigo, Revolutionary Army HQ, New World
Koala was constantly busy on the communique station, trying to keep up with all the new information that was coming in. They had had several different operations happening throughout the Grandline and the seas, and Dragon decided to take advantage of the fact that the World Government had had their hands busy dealing with the Marines' war with the Whitebeard Pirates.
But now that it was all over, they were getting trickling information about the outcome of the conflict, as well as incoming reports from their agents and soldiers spread throughout the world.
She had just hung up on another transponder, when a new one rang, this time on Sabo's nearby desk.
She frowned, knowing that the blond had yet to get back from his mission in Baricadia. Only the agents under Sabo's personal command or his close contacts had this number, so it was probably important. Koala quickly walked over and connected the nearby white snail to his transponder before answering with the passcode.
"Hundreds of dangers await…"
There was no verbal voice, and interestingly, the face of the snail didn't change. Koala immediately let the wary side of her rise up, but then she heard this strange tapping code ring out, made of dits and dahs.
She smiled in relief as she brought over a notepad and began to translate the sounds into a series of dots and dashes on paper.
When it had finished, the sound paused in wait, and she looked it over.
.- -. -.. / .. / -.. - -. .-. - / .-. .-.. .- -. / - - / - .. ... ... / - -. . .-.-.-
"…and I don't plan to miss one." The other half of the passcode.
Koala really didn't need it as she was pretty sure who she was talking to, but one can never be too careful.
This agent wouldn't have had the new daily communication code, so she didn't bother asking.
"Line is secure. Good to hear from you, Black Heron. We were worried about you guys. Is White Egret okay?"
It was unusual for Schaden to call in because of the whole language barrier issue. Sabo was currently in the process of trying to learn the intricacies of the Cimmerian tongue or lack thereof and so far only Dragon seemed to have gotten the hang of it.
The shade responded once again, using sound to communicate.
.- ... .. - . / . -. .-. . - / .. ... / ..- -. -.-. - -. ... -.-. .. - ..- ... / .-. .. -. ... - / -. - .- .-.-.- / .- . .-. .-. . / -. - - -.. / ..-. - .-. / -. - .- -..- / -... ..- - / .- . .-. ...- . / .-. ..- -. / .. -. - - / ... - - . / -.-. - - .-. .-.. .. -.-. .- - .. - -. ... .-.-.- / .. ... / - ... . / -.-. ... .. . ..-. / .- .-. - ..- -. -.. ..-..
White Egret is unconscious right now. We're good for now, but we've run into some complications. Is the chief around?
Koala looked at the message worriedly. Lily and Schaden had been stationed in an undercover operation on Marineford. She knew the last time the two had checked in, Dragon himself had taken the call. Everything had been okay with them at the time, at least according to the man when she asked him about it later. But now that the war was over, she was worried about how her friends had fared.
She responded seriously, "Do you need extraction? Bluejay is out on assignment, but I can coordinate something if it's necessary."
Schaden paused for a moment as if thinking things over, before responding again.
.. ... / -. - .-.. -.. . -. / . .- -. .-.. . / .- .-. - ..- -. -.. ..-..
Is Golden Eagle around?
She shook her head, "No he's away from the Nest right now."
Another pause, before he continued.
.- . / ... .- -.. / - - / .- -... .- -. -.. - -. / - ... . / - .-. . .-. .- - .. - -. .-.-.- / .- . / .- . .-. . / -.-. - - .-. .-. - - .. ... . -.. .-.-.- / .- . / -.. - -. .-..-. - / -.-. ..- .-. .-. . -. - .-.. -.- / -. . . -.. / . -..- - .-. .- -.-. - .. - -. .-.-.- / .- . / .- .-. . / ... . .- -.. .. -. -. / -... .- -.-. -.- / - - / ... -.- -..- / ... - .- . ...- . .-. -..- / ... . ...- . .-. .- .-.. / -.-. - - .-. .-.. .. -.-. .- - .. - -. ... / ... .- ...- . / .- .-. .. ... . -. .-.-.- / .-. .-.. . .- ... . / .- ... -.- / - ... . / -.-. ... .. . ..-. / - - / -.-. - -. - .- -.-. - / ..- ... / .- ... .- .-. .-.-.-
We had to abandon the operation. We were compromised. We don't currently need extraction. We are heading back to HQ, however, several complications have arisen. Please ask the chief to contact us ASAP.
Koala didn't pry. She guessed that whatever was going on was big on the duo's end, which is why they needed to talk to Sabo or Dragon. She simply wrote out a message to leave for the both of them to get back in contact with the undercover pair.
"I'll give them the message, Black Heron. You and White Egret take care of yourselves. I'll see you when you return."
-.- - ..- / .- ... / .- . .-.. .-.. .-.-.- / - ...- . .-. / .- -. -.. / - ..- - .-.-.-
You as well. Over and out.
The transponder went silent and Koala thought of her two friends out there with both relief and curiosity. It would take them weeks to travel back to Baltigo the normal way, though perhaps a little faster using Schaden's teleportation ability.
It wasn't surprising that the two had lost their cover during the war, Koala was just happy that the two were okay. Though the fact that Lily was "unconscious" wasn't good. She hoped the girl hadn't gotten injured! She wondered though, what kind of complications had occurred since they had escaped Marineford. There were infinite options, and she couldn't possibly guess, but she was still a bit curious.
As she sat, lost in her thoughts, a pair of gloved hands were laid softly on her shoulders, and pair of lips whispered directly in her ear with amusement.
"Ya know? If you like my chair so much, I'd be happy to trade with you."
Koala flew to her feet with a completely unladylike shriek. quickly jumping away from the presence she hadn't even felt sneaking up on her!
Turning around she scowled as she looked up at the insufferable tall handsome blond, a smirk on his face and a twinkle in his mismatched eyes as he maintained his position leaning on the back of the chair, one hand now lazily planted under his chin.
She trembled with anger and annoyance at the fact that the idiot had been able to sneak up on her yet again. The jerk!
"Sabo! I'm going to wring your neck one of these days!"
He grinned, "You keep saying that."
She marched up to him, jamming her pointed finger into his chest several times to emphasize her point. "You are an egotistical, aggravating, reckless, idiot bastard!"
He sighed with his hands up in surrender, before glancing back at her with exaggerated sadness. "You wound me, Koala. but it's not my fault that you need to work on your observation skills more. Are you still mad that I left you behind?"
She put her hands on her hips. "Of course not. I understand that it was a one-man mission in Baricadia. What annoys me is that you failed to even have any backup!"
The blond shrugged in response, "I didn't need it."
She raised an eyebrow, having gotten the report for Janite. "They almost shot you."
His mouth took that teasing turn that pissed her off, "But they didn't! I'm fine Koala. No worse for wear. And it's not like I haven't been shot before."
She closed her eyes and rose a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose in irritation. God, give her patience…
A darker, taciturn voice spoke up from behind them both. "As amusing as the antics of you two are, we do have a job to do. Welcome back, Sabo."
The two turned to watch their boss, Dragon—the supreme commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Army, make his way in from the balcony as silent as a wraith. Neither of them even bothered to ask how he'd gotten up there from seemingly nowhere.
Sabo nodded back at the man, "Thank you, sir."
The arrival of both the #1 and #2 men reminded Koala about Schaden's message. She went to grab her notepad from Sabo's desk.
"Hey, Sabo a–"
She was cut off when Kircheis, a Lt. General in the army and a special task force agent and arms trainer, burst through the door to the communications room carrying several newspapers. "As expected, the Paramount War made front page news! Whitebeard's confirmed to have lost."
Other agents began to take up newspapers, asking questions, scanning through the intel, some going over to transponders, and beginning to make calls.
Koala went over to grab a paper and quickly scanned over it. "What are the fatalities? I don't see anything about Iva's death. That's a relief. I'm sure if he was dead, the world government would have plastered that "victory" all over the paper."
Sabo looked at her in confusion, "Ivankov was at the Paramount War?"
She looked at him strangely for a moment before snapping her fingers in realization. "I keep forgetting that you weren't here and were basically in a media blackout out there. Yeah, there was a whole Impel Down breakout prior to the war even starting. Iva, Inazuma, and several others escaped then. I'll get you the whole report later."
The red-headed Kircheis spoke up again, his blue eyes moving through several pages of the paper. "It says that the big fatalities of the war were Whitebeard of the Four Emperors and FireFist Ace."
Koala shook her head in sadness, "This is going to have a big impact up here in the New World. And while I never knew either of them, old man Whitebeard was a legend, and his commanders have all had a good reputation. It always pisses me off when the World Government gets its way!"
She didn't notice that Sabo had silently left her side, picking up a copy of the paper for himself, a shadowy look of disorientation and turmoil on his face. Only two pairs of eyes noticed him silently slip out of the room.
Dragon watched his second with concern at the sudden strange change in demeanor. He looked over at Kirchies, whose ever-present observant eyes had also noticed the change. Dragon signaled silently to the redhead, who nodded and silently went to follow the blond.
Koala had also just noticed her friend's absence, but the dark-haired leader shook his head. Sabo would notice her right away if she tried to follow the other, but Kircheis' ability to hide his presence from others and his observation haki skills were on par with his own. Sabo seemed to need his space. He just made sure there was someone to check on him if need be.
…the big fatalities of the war were Whitebeard of the Four Emperors and FireFist Ace…
Something about those words had caused his heart to skip a beat, and he couldn't quite figure out why.
I mean, it wasn't like he hadn't suspected that Whitebeard had met his end when Din had first told him the news yesterday on the battlefield. And FireFist, he had been the reason for the entire war in the first place. The center point in which everyone had fought. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that he too had fallen in the chaos…
So why was his body reacting in such a way to the news?
Coming to a quiet empty hallway, Sabo leaned against the wall, unrolling the newspaper in his hands.
Sabo had vaguely come across FireFist's image before, but had never really paid that much attention to him. Other than to be kept up to speed on the changes in the crew's leadership and their doings in the New World, The RA had seen no point in keeping an overly watchful eye on Whitebeard and his clan. The name "FireFist Ace" had been mentioned a few times in the news, but it had never resonated with Sabo in this way before.
Looking carefully at the large revealed photo headlining the article, Sabo could feel his heart beginning to thump harder in his chest.
The face of a young man looked out at him from the page, a large cowboy hat on his head, that he knew as an obnoxious shade of orange from his previous glance at his bounty poster.
That's new…
He blinked at the thought. What the? How would he know…
But before he could even think closer about it, other details from the photo caught the man's attention.
The wavy black hair that reached his shoulders vaguely reminded him of his own.
He remembered being 15 and beginning to grow his hair out. Some of his comrades had asked why, many probably thinking that he was trying to cover up his scars. And while this had partially been true, there had been something else…some other reason…that he couldn't quite name.
Then there was that smile.
A D.'s smile if he'd ever seen one. Shining and bright and dangerous and full of reckless abandon.
And the eyes…
Those silvery gray eyes could flash like polished steel, but also on occasion, could be as warm as smoldering ashes.
They're kinder than they used to be…happier too…
The freckles that dusted the man's cheeks…
In his mind's eye, he saw a boy, nearly half the age of the man in the picture. The features were shadowed, but he could make out enough to see the same freckles…all 25 of them.
They'd counted them while bored one afternoon…
"They"?
The tremble of his hands was obvious now, a pounding pressure against his temples matched the pounding of his heart. He looked down at the article below the picture and began to devour the words like a ravenous wolf.
Portgas D. Ace, 2nd commander of the Whitebeard Pirates was revealed to actually be Gol D. Ace, son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger! Hidden for years in plain sight!
Oh, Ace…
Somehow the revelation didn't hit as it should. Yes…for some reason he…he already knew…
But how? How would he know something like that?
Perhaps in the same way that he knew that having this secret revealed to the world in this way would have torn the pirate apart…
The boy in his mind with the shadowed face was now on the ground trying to hide the hurt and bruises from a picked fight behind a fierce, rage-filled facade. He couldn't see it clearly, but he knew the boy was looking at him with barely hidden self-loathing and yet a sliver of yearning desire. The pleading in his voice was deceptively hidden under layer upon layer of false derision.
"You need someone like me? Do you really want me to be alive, Sabo?"
Unsummoned tears welled up in his eyes and one of them overflowed its boundary, streaming unimpeded down his right cheek.
StrawHat Pirate Captain, Monkey D. Luffy charged recklessly onto the battlefield, his objective to free the condemned from the execution stand. Following the revelations of FireFist's true parentage, the world was hit with a one-two punch in that not only was FireFist's brother, Monkey D. Luffy, but that the StrawHat pirate is the son of the World's Most Dangerous and Wanted Criminal, Dragon of the Revolutionary Army! A pact between Dragon and the Pirate King?! One can only guess!
No…just circumstance…or was it fate?
And Luffy…
Their little ball of sunshine…
That silly little idiot! How dare he endanger himself so recklessly like that? He is so getting some sense knocked into him!
The pounding in his head was becoming painful now and he began to hunch over, his head in his hands, fingers tangled in his hair. The newspaper was beginning to wrinkle from being doused in tears, both his cheeks completely drenched in the stuff.
A pitiful keening sob could be heard through the air, like that of a wounded animal.
It took a moment for Sabo to realize it was coming from him…
He was getting to the end of the article now.
In the end FireFist Ace breathed his last, receiving a devastating blow From Admiral "Akainu" Sakazuki, who fought bravely to stop the pirates from escaping. The attack had originally been aimed at Dragon's son, StrawHat Luffy, but in an effort to save his brother's life, FireFist took the attack instead, the admiral's magma proving to be too much for the infamous fire user. His famous fist of absolute justice tore right through Ace's body, ending the Pirate King's legacy once and for all.
His bones cracked hard against the stone floor as he fell to his knees. The paper fell to the ground, his hands falling to the floor on top of it holding it in place and his entire body from collapsing! His entire body shook as he stood there on all fours. Trying to breathe through the sobs!
Voices called through his head, piercing torturously through his skull.
"I'm gonna be a pirate and show them all!"
.
"I won't run away from anyone! I won't lose to anyone! I don't care if they call me a villain! I'll make the whole world know my name!"
.
.
"Hey, you know about this? If you exchange cups, it makes you brothers."
.
.
.
"The three of us will always be brothers. No matter where we are or what we do, this bond will never be broken."
.
.
.
.
"Ha! I'm nearly 3 months older than you! That makes me the eldest!"
.
"Fiiiinnnnneee, we can be twins. Though I'm still the eldest by default"
.
.
.
.
.
"Are you just going to give up, Sabo?!"
He did…
Didn't he?
He just gave up…
He forgot.
He FORGOT them.
His beloved brothers…
Lu!
Ace!
ACE!
Sabo could feel his throat choke up with wailing sobs that were beginning to break into screams. A voice was calling his name in concern, coming to his side, asking what was wrong. Trying to figure out what happened. But he was too far gone to answer.
His head was splitting into jagged shards!
His heart felt like it was being torn in two…no three parts!
How dare he selfishly keep the organ whole, when two parts of it had already been sown together with that of two others so long ago?
The man who died yesterday. Who had been trying to protect their little brother they held so dear, was no unknown, random pirate.
No…that man had been someone who was precious to him.
More precious than gold or silver…
More precious than his dreams…
More precious even than freedom.
That man had been Portgas D. Ace.
His twin….
His big brother.
.
.
.
Sabo screamed…and screamed…and screamed…
More people rushed to him but he could neither see nor hear them.
All he could see was the smile on the man's face in the photo.
Ace's smile…
He felt a violent twist within his stomach. Knowing he was going to be sick but not allowing himself to desecrate the picture in front of him, he turned to the side and vomited violently.
He struggled to breathe, his lungs heaving. He attempted to catch his breath but instead, he threw up again.
As he began to hyperventilate, he felt a rough hand move softly through his hair, an even stronger arm pulled him back to a lounging position, his head leaning against a solid muscled chest. His body shook horribly, his vision hazing in and out, the acrid taste of vomit clung to his tongue, and his breathing was much too fast.
A formidable voice that allowed no resistance quietly commanded him, the low voice talking close to his ear. "Breathe with me, soldier. Focus on me…copy my movements."
Even in his turmoil, Sabo knew his commander's voice. He could feel the way the man's breathing patterns against his back and struggled to copy them.
In. Out.
In.
Out.
The feeling of Dragon's hand moving through his hair soothed him, and he used his steady presence and the feeling of his solid form against his, as an anchor in order to ground himself.
As he settled into a listless state, he could feel himself beginning to lose consciousness, the pain in his head fading fast into comforting emptiness.
Before he completely blacked out, Sabo reached out and clutched the newspaper in his grasp.
He couldn't lose this small piece of him.
He'd already failed in so many ways.
Perhaps in all the ways that mattered…
His brother was dead.
And the world didn't feel like it would ever be right again…
A Week Later, on the seas of Paradise
The Renata had abandoned the naval patrol vessel, allowing it to drift, with the plan to continue on towards Sabaody and then to the New World.
The Red-Haired pirates mainly maintained watch, as well as the tasks that went into manning a ship. Marco had slept for an entire day before feeling even close to normalcy again. Lily was knocked out for almost two days before awakening. After the two had rested and taken back over from Hongo, it was decided that going at a slower pace would be more beneficial for all parties and wouldn't hamper Ace's recovery.
Lily still took the lead, being the main spearhead in the operation with Marco and Hongo assisting her. After three days, they were finally able to close the exit point of the wound in his thoracic cavity. The rest of the time was spent on subsequent systems and outlying symptoms, as Ace's body tried to adjust to the trauma of the wound, but also the stresses of the rapid healing process. During this time, his mind had entered into a deep coma state.
While this was going on, Shanks had kept in constant contact with his crew using the new transponders that Snake and Hongo had brought with them. Marco had gotten a chance to talk to his crew as well. And while Shanks hadn't eavesdropped on the conversation, he understood that it had been a pretty emotional talk.
The plan was still for them to all meet at a certain island in the New World, and hopefully by that time Ace would be fit to be moved to the WB's ships, and then they could discuss their next move.
Or at least that had been the plan.
Currently, they were dealing with the mother of all typhoons trying to rip Renata apart!
The system had arrived suddenly, and even Snake had declared there was no avoiding it.
Rain and wind beat upon the ship as Shanks helped Juice with the sails. Marco had pushed Lily below deck with Kino and Ko to keep an eye on their patient to make sure he wasn't damaged as the waves tossed them around. He then moved to man the riggings and tying down anything that wasn't bolted to the deck. Hongo became the lookout as Snake keep the ship steady through the storm.
All 5 of them operated with smooth efficiency, their knowledge and experience with the sea and its fickle ways were practically unmatched, even in the face of such a storm.
They rode the storm out and after an hour or so, the winds finally began to abate.
The red-haired captain pushed his rain-soaked hair out his face, his drenched clothing clinging to him, chilling him as the temperature dropped.
Thankfully a warmth came at him from behind and the man took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the blue flames warming his skin and drying his garments.
He turned a side eye over to the Phoenix, "Thanks, Marco."
The man replied dryly, "Well, the medical team doesn't have time for a bunch of people catching colds. So call it some "pre-emptive medicine".
He then flew over, doing the same for the rest of the deck crew.
Shanks looked back over the waters as they finally began to calm down. The clouds were even beginning to split, revealing a starry night sky. He smiled, taking the time to admire the peerless world that had been his home all his life. Breathing in the fresh smell of the sea after a heavy rain, the man felt his body automatically relax. After taking a moment, the redhead turned to go back inside.
And that was when he felt it.
His head snapped to the side, his eyes growing sharp. Running back over to the railing, he sent his senses out before him, his observation haki blanketing the sea.
And an answering wave pinged him.
The emperor of the sea felt his mouth stretch into a wide grin as he recognized the haki signature almost immediately.
He called out to his navigator, "Snake! Turn the ship 20 degrees to starboard. Hongo! Keep a lookout for a small one-man vessel."
The two men went to do as ordered, while the others looked on, wondering what had caught the man's eye.
Shanks released one of the sails, allowing them to pick up speed.
After a couple of minutes, the brown-haired lookout called to the others. "Small single vessel, 10 degrees starboard! Looks like it was destroyed in the storm. There…there's a man swimming forward towards us, Boss!"
The redhead continued to smile, indicating to LimeJuice, "Throw a Jacobs ladder over the side. He should be able to make it up without trouble. Ya know…despite the advanced age and all."
The familiar teasing nature in his voice made Marco curious about the nature of who exactly they were apparently rescuing. He sent his own wave of observation haki out and his mouth dropped as he instantly recognized the man who was coming aboard.
A warm gruff laugh sounded even before the man had fully pulled himself up on deck, his clothing dripping wet from swimming the distance.
"I'll show you 'advanced age', brat. Don't think just cause you're an emperor now, that I can't still tan your hide."
The other pirates on deck could only look on in awe as the pirate legend climbed onto the deck. Marco could only smile an unruly grin at the man.
Shanks shook his head fondly and stepped forward to greet the man who had been like a second father to him. "What the hell are you doing out here, old man?"
Stripping out of his soaking upper robes, and pushing a hand through his soused white locks, the "Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh grinned back at the redhead.
"Well, I set off on my way to see a brat…and, lo, I run into an entire ship of brats. Just a bunch of unexpected ones. But, considering recent events and the very interesting spread of your company…"
Shanks watched the man scan the occupants of the deck, pausing on Marco and then even longer on Schaden, who had slinked up from below. The man missed nothing. Ray may be retired, but those eyes were as keen as ever.
Rayleigh put a hand on his hip, looking with knowing amusement at his one-time pupil, "Perhaps the better question, is what the hell are you doing out here?"
A/N 2:Yeah, I'm just going to end it there.😁
Love to hear from you guys, any questions, comments, or the like are always welcome. I don't mind if they're short or long or if you have to send multiple lol.
I know the timeline might be a little interesting, so please ask if you have questions, but just know that all the events happening currently, either took place slightly prior to the Marineford war, or during the 2-week interim period that occurred right after the conclusion of the war.
I also wanted to outline the references for the last chapter, for those that missed them. They include:
Baricadia - many things involving this scene are in reference to the musical/story of Les Miserables. The barricades, the name of the island, and Sabo's pseudonym "Enjolras" are all from there.
Jahryn Din - his name is in reference to the main character of the Mandalorian series, Din Djarin.
Passcodes - the passcodes from last chapter as well as this one, along with the communication code are all Disney movie references! The codes are usually lines from songs, while the codes are usually the date the movie was released with some of the numbers switched around. I used Pocahontas for the last two chapters, but I definitely will be changing it up!
-Sabo makes a comment about the city needing a new paint job and a whole lot of new doors, which is a quote reference from the movie Die Hard.
Ace's Name - just in case you were not aware, Roger's sword was named Ace, and thus his son is named after it. His comment at the end is in reference to that. Also, his line about his weapon being his life, is a Star Wars reference to their lightsabers.
Well, that's it for now! See you next time!