A/N: I'm back once again!
I know it's been a little more than a month since my last update, but I can tell you that while the idea of this chapter was simple, the execution was a lot harder than I anticipated.
However, rejoice! This is another long one! The longest chapter I've written thus far!😱
I thought about breaking it up into two sections, but I think it just works best as one whole chapter. SO I hope you guys enjoy it. I am hoping to get back to a regular schedule now that the holidays are over. Here's hoping!
Chapter 15- A Tale of Two Brothers
Ace felt the fatigue pulling at him, his entire body wanting to rest, but he doggedly pushed it away. He'd already slept for so long already, and right now he didn't want to leave or miss this feeling.
He said never been used to being embraced. Dadan and Gramps just didn't do that sort of thing, and as a child, he had done his best to make himself as prickly as possible. It was Luffy and his touchy-feeling nature that first introduced him to "a hug". Eventually, Sabo started also taking part, especially when their little solar flare had just decided that he couldn't bare a touch-starved existence.
And eventually, it just became a way of life, at least where his little brother was concerned. Everyone else? They could keep their hands to themselves. He could remember a time when he would rather fight tooth and nail than be embraced by any of the Whitebeard pirates. Luffy, he was used to. He knew what to expect and he knew how to handle him. But right at this moment? With Marco of all people?
It should feel bizarre and uncomfortable, and yet…
He could still feel faint phantom caresses on his skin, as well as the traces of embraces that seemed to reach into his soul. His mind flickered back to his memory of feeling the loving touch of his parents. He didn't want to forget it as long as he lived. It had felt like coming home. A home he hadn't even known he had…
Marco's warm embrace was vaguely similar, if not as potent. He was finding it rather pleasant, in that one-time allowance sort of way maybe more than one time, but he wasn't going to admit that. The fluffing of the hair? Maybe not so much. That kind of stuff could be saved for little kids and upstart, stretchy little brothers.
"Welcome home, Ace."
Those few words jabbed him in the heart and wouldn't let go. It wasn't until his vision began to waver that he realized he was crying. What was happening to him? He never cried. He never allowed it. And now he has somehow entwined once again in the elder man's arms.
For so long he could never show weakness except with perhaps only two other precious people, and even then, only under desperate situations. But recently, first with mother, father, and pops, and now in front of Marco? He really hoped it didn't become a habit.
But somehow he found himself not caring. He had died, come back to life, had been drenched by an angel, and his body was currently the weakest it had ever been. Shedding a few tears wasn't really going to change anything.
Besides, it wasn't until this moment that he fully realized that he had never expected to come home again. In fact, perhaps it wasn't until this moment that he remembered what "home" was even like.
When he was young, home had been where Luffy and Sabo were. And even when it became just him and Luffy, the two of them sitting around a fire, simply eating roasted crocodiles while sharing stories, became home for the two of them. When he left Dawn and Luffy, he hadn't realized how much he missed and was connected to his brother's presence until it was no longer around. But eventually, he'd found companions on his own ship and eventually on the Moby Dick. He had never consciously thought of those places as "home". Simply places he could return to, where it was safe for the most part and where his friends were.
He didn't know when the Whitebeard crew had become home for him. It had been a soft and gradual process and it didn't happen all at once. In fact, he didn't even think the change had fully happened until now. Prior to the war, while he had fully loved Pops and cared for his crewmate siblings, a part of him had always feared them turning their backs on him when the truth of his lineage was revealed. Sure Pops had accepted him, but what about the others?
The fact that they still fought for him in spite of everything, the fact that Marco was here right now had finally silenced that quiet whispering voice in the back of his head. He could finally, truly, with every part of himself, believe that he was home.
It was a different home than the one he had with Luffy, but that seemed to be okay. It was okay to have two homes and to love them both.
The last he had seen Marco, the man had been fighting fiercely on the battlefield with his father and siblings in a desperate attempt to get him back. He felt a sting in his chest at the thought of Pops, though the memory of how he had looked when he had seen him in the….afterlife? Heaven? A dream ?...helped to mitigate the horrid feeling of pain and loss.
But he knew what had happened to Pops. And now he knew Marco too had survived. What about the rest of the crew?
He found his voice, murmuring into the older man's shoulder. "If you're here Marco, is everyone else here too?"
The blond shook his head, "Sorry, no it's just me….quite a few things happened since you…well 'succumbed to your wounds'."
There was a hesitation in his words and Ace used that chance to observe the man from the corner of his eye. Somehow Marco looked even older. Well, less "older" perhaps… but more mature, maybe? His body held this gravity to it, which while wasn't unusual for him, did indicate that he had had a rough time of it as of late.
He knew that this entire war endeavor had to be hard on his crewmates and the guilt of how much had been sacrificed for him ate up at him. So much had happened since he left the crew all those months ago to chase down Blackbeard. So much more must have happened since the war was obviously over and he was alive once again.
He was missing so much time and so many answers. However, his priorities hadn't changed. His sibling, then his crewmates, then himself—in that order.
"Hey, Marco, where's Luffy? You should know, right? I left him with you guys on that battlefield. He's okay, right?"
The blond looked at him with surprise, having been taken out of whatever internal thoughts had distracted him. He then strangely gave a light laugh at his questions, shaking his head as if thinking of some private joke. "I told Shanks that would be among the first questions you'd ask."
Shanks?
As Marco helped settle him back down on the pillows of his bed again, Ace was gazing up at him with shock.
"You mean Shanks really is here?"
Marco raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm going to assume Lily already told you that. Yes, he's here."
"Lily?" Ace thought back at the feminine name. Was that the name of the angel?
"The woman who was just here. The one who dumped a bucket of water or two on your head considering the fact that you look like a drowned rat."
He frowned in irritation at his soaked state, "It was three. I couldn't even move when she used that weird power on me. Where did you meet an angel like her anyway?"
An angel? Marco didn't know what to make of that, though he guessed that she did play that role to a degree in saving Ace's life. "She saved your life, so be on your best behavior with her. And now that you're awake, keep a lid on your flames. We've had to make enough repairs to this ship without you undoing all their work. We're guests here, so don't make trouble for the RedHairs."
Using his hands and his phoenix flames, he began to dry out the kid from the top of his head down. Ace being Ace tried to avoid the ministrations with the same air as a child trying to avoid his mom's fussing. But Marco was used to this and also aware of the fact that he couldn't move all that much, and so used it against him. Eventually, Ace just settled and let the crew's "mother hen" do what he wanted.
He pursed his lips, "I can do this myself you know."
"Um-hmm, I just said no flames. Also, you going into your logia form is not good for your body while it's still weak. You'll tear your body apart and it will take even longer for you to recover. So until I tell you otherwise, no flames. That's an order."
Ace sighed, "You loved giving orders before, I guess it was all in practice now that you're captain?"
A stunned silence came over the room, and Marco was left looking shocked at the bedspread. Ace realized what he said a second after he spoke, but he couldn't take it back, so he just let the space of silence continue.
Eventually, Marco's eyes softened and he let out a resigned huff. "You know."
It was a statement, not a question.
"I wasn't sure until I woke up, but yeah…I know."
Marco didn't know how Ace had figured it out, and he was surprised that he wasn't screaming in rage or crashing into an emotional wreck. Instead, there were lines of grief that marred his face, and he was biting his lip in that way that showed that he was fighting both his feelings of guilt and of dejection. It was as if he was preparing himself for news that he already intrinsically knew, and was dreading having the truth confirmed.
However, he rarely thought covering up the truth was good for anyone, and mostly just caused even more problems, And so…he began to unfold the end of the story of the war at Marineford.
It took time and once or twice he had to stop to get control of his own emotions. He spoke of Pops and his last stand; his ultimate sacrifice for his sons. He spoke of Blackbeard and the traitorous murderer's action that ultimately led to Whitebeard's death. He explained the nature of Teach's fruit and how he had taken Pop's power and with his fiendish new crew, almost destroyed both sides.
Marco then told him about the arrival of Shanks and the Red Hair crew to the battle and how he ultimately ended the war. Through it all, the raven-haired pirate was silent and listening closely. There were some instances of the falling of tears and snarls of fury, and even a moment of him trembling with ire and hatred, but he never interrupted.
However when he finally came to explain what had happened to Strawhat, Ace erupted.
"WHAT?! Luffy was hurt?! But how the hell—? I left him with you guys! How bad was he hurt? Is he here? Can I see him?" He tried to jump up but found that nothing in his body worked. "Stupid body that doesn't move…where is he?"
Marco was quick to push him back down to the bed. "Hold your horses, kid. Did you forget you just had a giant hole in your torso? As for StrawHat, yes, towards the end, he was injured…rather badly."
Ace could only wait with growing dread, his silvery eyes trembling with apprehension.
The blond tried his best to explain and get across the utter chaos that was the war's culmination. "Ace, after you "died"...your brother, he…..he basically mentally broke. He went nearly catatonic and was non-responsive for the rest of the battle. I don't think he was aware of anything else that was going around him."
You left him.
You broke your promise and left him.
Ace felt these two accusations blaring within him, cutting him to the quick. Somewhere in the back of his head, he probably remembered that he had very much been as close to dead as you could get and would in no way have prevented Luffy's complete collapse. But right now he could only feel the guilt and shame for having not kept his word.
"And then after Pops and Blackbeard and….well everything just became deranged… purposeless. It just devolved into a mindless slaughter after a while. None of us could get to your brother. No one but Jinbe."
Ace looked up at that. Jinbe has done that? But hadn't he said…? Had he really…?
The blond continued, his mind still back on that battlefield. "I told him to get the kid out of there in whatever way he could. But Akainu was relentless. He's got it in for Dragon and to him, StrawHat had to pay for his father's defiance. He attacked both Jinbe and your brother, nearly killing them both instantly."
Akainu…
A flash of burning crimson. The sound of sizzling flesh. The feeling of skin burning, blood boiling, the sensation of a foreign invader touching parts of him that should never experience the feel of human hands. His heart…lungs…all sorts of inside parts were being pushed outward beyond their means and then simultaneously cooked–like so much roasted meat.
His body began to tremble and he wished he could wrap his arms around himself. He would not forget how that felt no matter how much longer he lived. His heart began to react to his emotions and annoyingly the monitor attached to his chest started to beep in response. Marco simply stopped and watched him, not saying anything more but allowing him time to breathe.
I'm fine." he muttered, not liking that the other saw him beginning to become agitated at a mere memory.
The blond nodded, "I know you're not. It's okay."
He frowned at that, not liking the attention paid to his weakness. Though then again, what could one see in him except weakness at this point? He changed the subject, letting his feeling flow back into familiar anger. "What is that guy's problem? I can see why he's trying to take everything out on me, but Dragon's alive. Just go get him if he's so pissed!"
"Your brother was a much easier target. But he should no more bear the weight of Dragon's actions than you should have to bear Roger's."
Ace felt the weight of his legacy once again and was trying to figure out how to approach the subject now that everyone knew. It was a subject that he had avoided like the plague before, but now that everything was out there. He didn't quite know what to do. He remembered his declarations when he was about to be executed, but at the same time, he also remember the intimate presence of the man who had held him, told him stories, made him laugh, loved heartily…and was so much not what he had expected.
He decided that he'd just start by explaining and see where that went. "Marco, I…"
"You know I knew, right?"
He looked up in shock at the blond, only to see him smiling exasperatingly at him. "Pops told me eventually, but I kind of figured it out on my own anyway."
"B-But how?"
"Now don't get pissed, but you're a lot like him."
His denial was instantaneous, though perhaps not as cutting as usual. "No, I'm not!"
Marco didn't seem to take offense, merely shrugging, "How would you know? You never met him. Though then again, I only met him briefly a little more than half a dozen times. So what do I know? There are others on this ship who could probably give you a better assessment."
Ace wasn't quite sure what that meant, but the other had already gone on. "Anyway, the point is, that I've known for quite some time about your lineage Ace, and it never made me think any differently about you."
He reached up and ruffled Ace's hair again, which this time he definitely tried to avoid, but again, he was stuck at the blond's mercy. "You're still the aggravating, hotheaded, lovable idiot you always were."
Feeling self-conscious at the affectionate words, Ace decided to once again turn the conversation back to what was important here. He could deal with how he felt about Roge–his father's legacy later. Luffy came first.
"Back to my brother, you said he was hurt really bad. How's he doing now?"
Marco looked away slightly, his smile dropping which only caused his own anxiety to skyrocket. "I don't know."
The pit of his stomach dropped at that and his teeth clenched, "What do you mean, 'you don't know'? You have to know!"
"After Jinbe and your brother were wounded, they got separated from the rest of us. Again remember that it was utter chaos at this point. It was hard even to keep track of each side, and our own allies. The two of them were pursued without mercy and at this point, Jinbe was too wounded to fight back. They would have been done for if a young supernova from the North Blue hadn't stepped in and volunteered his services to take them both on his ship and get them away from the battlefield. Your brother and Jinbe are still with him. They were probably in critical condition then. We don't have a current update though and we don't know where they went afterward. We haven't established contact with Jinbe and none of us have a way to contact the supernova kid. I think his name was Trafalgar Law, but I might be misremembering."
As he finished his explanation, Ace was sure that his insides were turning knots over one another. Fear, worry, concern, and anger all roiled together as he realized the truth of the situation at hand. He normally trusted his little brother to be able to handle things on his own, especially once he went off to become a great pirate and fulfill his dream. But the kid had taken a direct hit from an admiral. One that had nearly killed him for goodness sake! And from how Marco had described Lu's mental state, even if he wasn't hurt so badly, he wasn't in any shape to defend himself or take care of his own wounds. He could be in any number of dangers, was hurt badly, and not even in his right mind. He was alone, among untrustworthy strangers, who could be doing who knew what for all he knew! Or worse!
When he finally found his voice, both incredulity, and savagery had made their way into his tone.
"Wait a minute. You mean to tell me, my baby brother, is horribly injured, and in the hands of some stranger? Who happens to also be his supernovae rival?!"
"Uhhh….yes?" the blond had never thought about it that way, but he guessed that Ace's priorities were different than his?
However, this just seemed to incise the younger man even more. "And you have no idea where he is? Or even who hands he's in right now? Or even if he's alive or dead? What if this rival wanted revenge on Luffy or something? He could be torturing him for all you know!"
"Um, if he wanted Strawhat dead, he simply needed not to intervene."
Marco mentioned, trying to insert just a bit of reason before things got out of hand.
"Not if it was personal! Lu has a habit of pissing people off." the other interjected, "I know that more than anyone."
The incident with Porchemy still haunted him to this day. He would never forget how the sight that greeted him when they had finally figured out what had happened to the new annoying little upstart that they thought would rat them out.
Luffy would never go through something like that again, at least as long he was around to have a say about it.
"There weren't a lot of choices at the time, Ace. It was either certain death by the Marines, or a possible rescue from a stranger. But I promise we're doing our best to find out what happened to him. The moment we get information, I'll make sure you're the first to know." The Phoenix got up off the bed and walked over to the machines monitoring Ace's vitals.
"For now, you need some rest, Ace. You just woke up and you're already overexerting yourself. When you wake up again, we'll see about getting you some food, okay?"
However, Ace wasn't listening, the worry had fully taken over his mind. He had known Luffy was running on adrenaline and fumes even back on Marineford. It was the reason that he hadn't been able to move out of the way of Akainu's attack. And so, he had done the only thing he could do and had shielded his brother's life with his own.
He remembered their last moments together vividly. At the time, he had assumed that Luffy would be okay–eventually. The younger D. had always pulled through everything thrown at him. He had thought he wouldn't have the luxury of worrying about Luffy anymore.
He should have known better.
And now that the thought had entered his head, that age-old stubbornness had taken hold. He had to see Luffy. Had to know that he was alive, had to know that he would survive and fulfill his dream. But even more than that, if Luffy was alive—and he had to be—then he also had to let his brother know that he had survived.
It wasn't that Luffy would hold a grudge, he was too simple and spontaneous for that. But he also knew very well that Luffy's emotions ran deep, and he also remembered very well what Sabo's death had done to the kid. Yes, he believed that now that Luffy had his crewmates and friends and others to lean on, he would be okay, eventually...to keep his survival from him would be too cruel. He couldn't do that.
Luffy was also tactile in nature, he had to experience and touch for things to really sink in. A transponder call would not suffice. Simple words could fail. He had to see him in the flesh…for both their sakes.
Marco had been watching the emotions playing out on his brother's face and could see the resolve forming. He inwardly sighed, but again it wasn't like they hadn't already known this was going to happen. They had already planned on it. Might as well let the kid in on their plans before he did something foolish—like trying to drag himself out of bed by his teeth or another such stupid idea.
"Ace, don't worry about your brother. As soon as we—"
A voice from the door interrupted, "Well, look who finally decided to join us in the land of the living. Good to finally see you awake, sleeping beauty."
Ace's eyes went wide at the sudden appearance but Marco could only roll his eyes. He turned around ready to tell the crimson-headed annoyance off, only to stop himself at what he saw.
It was indeed Shanks, as delightfully roguish as usual, however, he had changed clothes and demeanor since their meeting only a little while ago. During their time together on the ship he had been in a relaxed, comfortable state, sometimes even going without his cloak or walking around barefoot and often leaving his weapons in his room. The man now stepping into the room was the very image of the emperor of the seas that he presented to the world. Armed with Gryphon by his side as well as surrounded by his famous black cape, fresh clothes, and wearing boots this time, he cut an impressive figure.
He doubted that he was doing it to make any sort of impression on Ace. Something must have happened.
For the younger pirate confined to the bed, the actual appearance of the RedHair captain was a bit surreal. Both Ange and Marco had said he was on board but to actually see him in the flesh was something altogether. Ace had gotten a chance to see all of the other emperors at one point or another, and while Pops would always be the best in his eyes, Shanks was a close second. Of course, the fact that he owed him for saving Luffy's life at the expense of his own arm helped, but also his little brother himself had done nothing but sing the praises of the RedHair crew and their captain when they were kids. He was pretty unassuming, at least at first glance. He was about the same age as Marco, the youngest of all the emperors, but his reputation was unmatched and anytime Ace got near him, he could feel the power lying beneath the surface.
He walked over to his bedside and looked down at him with a soft smile and a disarming warmth and tenderness that hadn't been there the last time they had met. It was strange, but one of the reasons he had forced himself to learn manners had been because of this man, and from what he understood so far, his miracle recovery was partly thanks to this man.
He couldn't really get up and bow to this man, but he attempted to incline his head as far as he could go. "I've heard I have you to thank for being able to breathe right now and for helping my crew escape with their lives. So, I thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I've gotta second chance. I owe you a lot."
Shanks' gaze became slightly softer and his smile twisted into a slight smirk as he leaned on the wall above Ace's head. "Hey, I didn't do that much. There's someone you need to thank way more than me. But for now, you're welcome, kid."
"What's going on, Shanks?" Marco demanded, if trouble was coming he needed to be prepared.
The smile twisted into a grimace and he looked at the blond in all seriousness. "The Seaside Pirates got attacked, they just called me for aid. They said it was Cipher Pol."
The Phoenix straightened up at that, "They're who we got this ship from, correct?"
He nodded in confirmation, "I have to go help them, but I'm sure you can guess why this could be the start of all kinds of problems. Cipher Pol's involvement especially is worrying. They'd have no other reason to bother with a small-time operation like Lisel's crew."
The blond frowned, but his eyes were flattened to that stern determined visage. "So how do you want to deal with this?"
"We split up. I and my guys will go to help the survivors and see what's going on. But you need to take everyone else and go in the completely opposite direction. That plan we just talked about? We've gotta put it into effect now."
There was a pause as Marco began to make plans in his head. He asked, "So you sent for another ship?"
At this, the redhead looked away, a bit conspicuously. "Hmm, no, not exactly."
The other pirate frowned, "What do you mean 'not exactly'? How do you expect us to split up with only one ship?"
This time there was more fidgeting and Marco's suspicions arose. "Well, I was thinking that you could…fly?"
For a few seconds no one said anything, the two simply staring at each other, one with a hopeful, crooked grin and the other with a frozen straight face. This lasted for only a couple of brief moments before Marco turned his head to the side reminiscent of his epithet. "Wait, could you say that again, because I'm pretty sure I heard you wrong. Cause I thought I just heard you say 'fly', and I know you can't be that stupid."
"Come on, it makes sense if you just consider—"
"No. No! Are you a complete idiot? What am even asking for, you'd have to be even to suggest that."
"Okay, you don't have to hurl names around, Fledgling."
"Shut up, Scarlet. I'm going to call you worse things in a moment. You expect me to fly with how many people on my back? Even subtracting you and your men, that's at least four others, and that's considering one of them can't even move and needs medical assistance!"
"You could carry the extra ones in your hands!"
"What hands?! My hands turn to winds when I fly, Scarlet."
"I'm talking about your feet-bird-talon things!"
"Seriously?!"
Ace watched back and forth between the two men as they argued and while he wasn't quite sure what was going on, he found himself smiling at the sharp banter. Who knew that Marco could act so candidly, and with Red-Hair Shanks no less? A quiet pang came to his heart as the two reminded him of how he and Sabo would argue and fight over the silliest things, often for hours or even days. Sometimes they'd have Luffy be the decision maker, though not often since Luffy almost always took Sabo's side.
Though I guess he was often always right. He admitted balefully.
"Those two are at it again, are they? Don't let their barking fool you, they're pretty good friends when they're not arguing with each other."
If he had the energy to jump, Ace would have flung himself up from the bed at the sudden new presence that had appeared right next to him! As it was he could only jerk his head around to face the person who, without a sound, had come in and sat by his side on the bed.
It was an older man, about Gramps' age though definitely a fellow pirate from his bearing, with long silvery hair and spectacles. His gait was casual but his eyes were keen and similar to Shanks, Ace could feel raw power hiding underneath a subtle facade.
No one else in the room seemed to react to his appearance, and nothing seemed to jump out against his instincts so he had to guess the man at least wasn't there to attack him.
"Who are you, old man?"
The man looked down at him with a slight edge of surprise, but that quickly shifted to an understanding kind, warm smile. Unusual, but not as scary as Gramps'. "Ah, I forgot that we haven't actually officially met before. The name's Rayleigh, Silvers Rayleigh. I am truly happy to see you awake, brat."
His eyes grew wide with shock. He knew that name. Any pirate worth their salt knew that name. But he even more than most had taken the time to learn the names of key players in his crew. What was such a legend doing here of all places? It was also the first time he had come directly into contact with a member of the infamous Rogers Pirates. His mixed emotions about his father notwithstanding, he didn't know how he currently felt about that.
It took a few moments before he found his voice, "You! You're…you're—"
The older man simply raised an eyebrow, though his smile never changed. "I am."
"B-But why're you here?"
Rayleigh seemed to think about it, "Hmm, I actually ended up meeting with Shanks and Marco by accident. But they helped me out and then I found out about you and that you had lived despite the Marines' best efforts. So I stuck around to help them bring you around."
Ace became thoughtful at that with a trace of modesty. He was so used to being independent, to not needing help from anyone. He hated showing weakness in any form, as depending on others tended to mean opening yourself up for possible betrayal and rejection. And yet there was no denying that he couldn't have saved himself this time around. (In fact, he hadn't been able to save himself since Banaro.) But to know how much help he must have needed to pull him back to the land of the living. First Ange, then Marco, Shanks, and now the Dark King himself? How many people was he going to owe by the time it was all said and done?
He looked down at the sheets of his bed, murmuring quietly "Thank you, I–"
"You don't owe me a thing."
Ace looked up at that, watching the man becoming comfortable by his side. "But I—"
"I did what I did because it was my own desire to do so, not because I wanted to gain your favor or anything. And I'm sure those two brats would also agree with me if they weren't so busy arguing."
He tilted his head at that, not sure about the statement, but the man sounded sincere. He did note the casual tone that he spoke about the other two veteran pirates in the room, who were still going back and forth, the idea of just throwing one or the other overboard and having them swim the rest of the way was being bandied about.
He concentrated back on the old man, "You know Shanks and Marco?"
At this, the man looked genuinely shocked. "Shanks never told you?"
Ace frowned. Told him what? He shook his head, "This is only the second time I've met him directly, though I've seen him from afar a few other times."
Rayleigh's shock turned to an exasperated sigh before transforming into a light laugh. "I have a strong feeling that that will be fixed in the very near future."
The younger of the two didn't know what to make of that statement. How long was Shanks going to be hanging around?
Ray continued, "As for how long I've known those two. Practically all their lives. I basically helped raise Shanks, and I've known Phoenix ever since we first met the Whitebeard Pirates."
Well, that was surprising, though he had never thought about Shanks or Marco as children before. He knew both were veteran pirates and that Marco had been with Pops for forever. As for Red-Hair…wait a minute… "helped raise"?
"Wait, did Shanks know him too?"
The Dark King nodded in return, not even needing to wonder who he was talking about. "Of course. It's surprising that no one has told you before now, but Shanks was a member of the Roger pirates prior to creating his own crew. He was similar to us, what Marco was for Whitebeard."
Like what Marco was to Pops?
A cabin boy…later an apprentice…..a trusted right hand…..a son?
Ace turned and looked at the redhead, seeing him with completely different eyes. It was not what he had expected, and he didn't know quite how to feel about it. Had Shanks known about him? If so, had he always known and just not said anything? What about back on Dawn Island? Had he learned he was there? Had he cared?
Many different thoughts went through his head as he stared at the famous emperor. And even while bickering with Marco, the man in question's eyes seemed to meet his, concern beginning to bleed through at the troubled look he found there.
"You're thinking the wrong way, brat."
He turned back to the ex-vice captain by his side who was watching him with perceptive comprehension.
"There are a lot of questions on your heart and it looks like you're finally ready to ask them. Shanks and I will explain our parts in due time. But just know that you needn't be jealous of him. There are a lot of empty holes that need to be filled in, but one thing I know for sure is that my captain loved you with all his heart. No one could have taken your place."
'…No matter what you might hear about me from now on, know this: I love you. I loved you when you were still small in your momma's womb. I never stopped loving you. You must believe that.'
Those words once again flickered up into his consciousness. They had felt so sincere at the time, and Rayleigh's words seemed to do nothing but confirm them. But his old insecurities battled against them and he was beginning to feel so muddled and confused! Stupid father, making things so complicated. For twenty years he had been sure as to how he felt about Roger and how he had wanted nothing to do with him. His hatred of him was like venom in his veins. And then boom, one little near-death experience and it had turned nearly everything on its head! He was beginning to get a headache. He really didn't want to deal with this right now.
He decided to change the subject and think about all this heavy stuff later. "What are they even arguing about?"
Ray accepted the shift in conversation and sighed exasperatedly. "The two idiots are wasting time is what they're doing. Basically speaking, we're going to take you to see your brother."
He jerked his head around at that. "You know where Luffy is?!"
"I have a pretty good idea. We'll try to get the two of you reunited as soon as possible. How does that sound?"
"That'd be great–hey! How do you know about Luffy anyway?"
"The whole world knows, remember? At Marineford? It's been in the papers for days now."
"Oh," Ace had forgotten how that little fact had come out too, not that he minded that so much. His relationship with Luffy was the one thing that he'd never been ashamed of.
"Also I met Luffy in Sabaody not long ago, so we have had an introduction." The old man continued.
The younger man blinked a bit as he noticed a bit of fuzziness in the corners of his vision. His head was also beginning to get that slight tingly sensation that usually preceded one of his narcoleptic episodes. He tried to blink it away but wasn't really successful. He recognized the signs, but didn't want to fall asleep right now! He'd missed too much time and too many meals as it was! He also wanted to be there for all the decision-making.
But Ace wasn't the only one to recognize the signs.
Rayleigh nudged him softly, "Hey, I know you're tired. You've been through a lot and you're body is still recovering. Get some rest and when you wake up, you'll be that much closer to seeing your little brother again."
He tried to shake his head in denial, "But I'm not sleepy, I'm…not…"
He fell back onto the pillows snoring softly, his body succumbing to both his condition and his tiredness.
"Yes, you are." Rayleigh rose from the bed and carefully tucked the boy in, careful of the wires and monitors. "My goodness Rog, of all the things to pass on to your offspring, it had to be your narcolepsy…"
Finishing with that, he then turned to the two brats in front of him. Alright, enough was enough.
With a single quick movement, he stepped forward and kicked the other two brats to the ground where they sprawled onto their backs.
"What the hell, old man?" Shanks moaned rubbing at his backside.
Marco didn't say anything, though he did wince a bit a bruise to his side that his regen powers were taking their time in fixing. Must have used some strong haki in that kick.
Ray crossed his arms and looked down at them sternly, "Quiet. Ace is sleeping. Are you two idiots done? We don't have time for any of this. Shanks, you have people relying on you that you are letting suffer and possibly die."
He turned to the blond, "Marco, is this what we can expect from the new captain of the Whitebeard clan? Because I know I expected better."
The words hit sharply and the two, thoroughly chastised rose up from the floor silent and reserved.
"Now, unlike you two children, I have come up with a plan that I think can work. I talked with Schaden and he said if he has the necessary infrastructure, he can make it work."
The two looked at each other. Infrastructure?
Rayleigh raised a hand to his lips and whistled first high and then low. After a moment, the shade creature suddenly popped into the room.
'You don't have to be so loud, ya know.'
Rayleigh laughed apologetically, "Sorry, I'm a little out of practice, did you find out if you have what we need?"
The Cimmerian took his more humanoid shape and walked up to him, his violet eyes glowing. 'Well, that's okay. It's just nice to meet another human who is smart enough to understand me.'
He walked around and looked over the hospital bed as well as the machines around it taking a measure of the whole setup. 'I was able to find a whole half a house that was in good order. If we take the generator from the ship to power everything it'll work. Are we going ahead with this plan?'
The older man's eyes flickered over to the other two pirates who were a bit lost in the conversation. Normally he would stay out of it and let them decide on things. But since they had shown themselves incapable of the task, so he would step up this once. Stupid brats, didn't they know he was supposed to be retired?
"We're doing it, Schaden. Get everything ready, inform your partner of everything then meet us back here in as soon as you can."
The shadow creature nodded before disappearing once again.
Ray then turned to the other two. "Marco, yes Shanks' plan was shortsighted, but he had the right idea. Currently, we have a situation where the government might be onto us and have possibly laid a trap. We need to split up and we need to move and move quickly. At your top speed, in full zoan form, figuring in enough rest for yourself, how quickly can you get to Amazon Lily from here?"
The question threw the blond for a loop, "Amazon Lily? Umm, well we're close to Sabaody, so by ship, it would take a little over 2 weeks. By air and not having to deal with the calm belt, it would take me half that or even a little less."
"Can you do that with a passenger?"
He sighed in response, "Like I was telling Shanks, I can only take two people max, three if the 3rd person is small. And I couldn't take someone like Ace who is basically bedridden."
Rayleigh had already figured that, so instead he asked, "Can you take Schaden?"
Marco's eyes went wide, "Schaden? Just him? Sure. I doubt he weighs more than a single adult human, probably a lot less. But why just him. Isn't the purpose of this to get Ace as far from Cipher Pol as possible?"
The older man nodded in confirmation, "Shanks and his men will take the Renata. You're going to take Ace, Ms. Lily, and myself inside of Schaden, while Schaden himself travels with you."
Completely clueless blank faces met him, totally at a loss at what he had just said.
Shanks tilted his head in confusion, "Wait, what?"
"This is what you get for missing out. Remember what I told you about how we first found out about Cimmerians and how we spent an entire month inside the land of Styx?"
He nodded, though Marco still looked lost. "What's a Cimmerian? Or Styx for that matter? And you can understand Schaden?"
"I'll explain that later. What you need to know for now is that the reason that Schaden can teleport himself and others from place to place, is because he's really traveling between different planes of existence using his body as a conduit. He creates a gate at one end, travels quickly into a separate dimension, and then exits again, this time in a completely different location from where he started. With me so far?"
The two nodded. It was a lot but they followed, so he continued.
"The separate dimension that he travels through is called 'Styx' and he has access to it at all times. Its atmosphere can be toxic to normal humans if they are around the open air, which is the reason he can't just teleport people willy-nilly. BUT if the humans stay inside a sealed structure, they can stay there for much longer periods of time. The Roger Pirates were able to stay in Styx for a month because I had already placed a resin seal on the ship. It protected us during that time until we figured a way out."
"Sooo, you want to move Ace into this Styx place?" Marco asked for clarification.
He nodded. "Styx isn't empty, there are all sorts of stuff in there. Both things that Schaden's kind have constructed and things that they took in from this dimension. He found a house there that we can use that won't require much sealing. The three of us will stay there while Schaden himself travels with you. He can't just teleport us all because of the strain, but he can keep us there for the duration of the journey. Decreasing the strain for you and keeping Ace stable and safe."
Both of the younger men were trying to wrap their heads around all this information, but eventually, Shanks simply shrugged. "If you think it will work, Rayleigh, then let's go for it."
Marco sighed, "We'll see how this goes. If we need to change things up later I can always land and we'll figure out another way. Though I do have to have to ask something. Why are we heading for Amazon Lily exactly? Shouldn't we be going to the New World?"
Rayleigh waved that away as if it wasn't all that important. "We're going to Amazon Lily because that's where Strawhat Luffy is."
Lily was finishing giving her report to Dragon, who had asked her to go through everything in excruciating detail. By the time she had finished, she almost felt like she had lived through every moment for double the time.
"That's everything, sir. Currently, Portgas is awake and resting and talking with Marco."
There was a bit of quiet on the other end of the line. She could only guess what the man was thinking on. He hadn't hung up, that was for sure, so she merely waited patiently.
Eventually, he came back on, asking her another question in a voice pensive and thoughtful. "You say that you are on your way to the New World via Saboady? Do you know what your first stop is after that?"
She shook her head, "No sir, though if we need to disembark and travel alone from there, we can. I think the pirates can handle things from there."
"No, stay with them. There's safety in numbers and few would dare to cross the company that you're currently keeping. However, discover what the first projected long-term destination is. At that point—"
Suddenly Schaden popped up in front, suddenly startling her. "Schaden! Can you stop doing that!" she hissed at him.
'Sorry Lil, sorry sir,' the male apologized, 'but we've gotta go, there's been a change of plan.'
This alarmed her, "What do you mean a change of plan?"
'There was some incident with the pirate friends of RedHair, the ones who gave us this ship, and long story short, Cipher Pol is now involved and Shanks had decided for us to split up. We'll be traveling with Phoenix and the Dark King with your patient. You need to get ready, we're moving out ASAP.'
"Wait, wait! How is this going to work? Ace is in no shape to suddenly be moving from place to place. He just woke up!" She understood that danger was afoot and CP was no joke. It was an emergency, but even then she wasn't going to compromise the recovery of her patient by hurriedly pulling him from one place to another!
'Don't worry, Silvers thought up a plan that's actually pretty ingenious, I'm surprised I didn't consider it before now. I'd explain, but it'd probably be faster if I just show you. Get our stuff from the room and meet me in sickbay.'
He was about to head off but an authoritative voice stopped him in his tracks. "Black Heron."
The two turned back to the transponder snail Lily was holding, which had been on the whole time. Her cheeks turned slightly pink at the fact that she had basically put her boss on an impromptu hold.
"I'm so sorry, sir!"
Schaden came up close to the snail, 'Yes, sir?'
"Am I to understand that your current group is splitting up because of possible discovery by the world government and are preemptively moving Portgas D. Ace to a more secure location?"
'Yes, sir.' Dragon was another one of the few who understood his language, so it made conversation easier.
"And you two will be traveling with him?"
'Yes, sir.'
"And this secure location is….?"
Schaden looked at Lily for a moment before speaking again, 'Amazon Lily, apparently.'
That surprised both his partner and his military commander. Lily asked, "The island of women? But why there? Only women are allowed there."
Schaden stared at the transponder for a moment before shrugging. 'Apparently, Silvers Rayleigh has connections there, and…..he believes that's where StrawHat Luffy is. It should take us a week to get there.'
There was silence for several moments before Dragon spoke up again, obviously having come to a decision. "Go with them, keep aware of your surroundings, and mind your training. Cipher Pol no matter at what level is nothing to play at. And you've put yourselves in the crosshairs by getting involved here, so things are going to get dangerous for you. Stick close to Phoenix and the Dark King, they won't forget a debt. Contact me when you arrive, in the meantime, I'm going to send some agents to meet you in Amazon Lily."
Lily frowned, not thinking that was necessary, but perhaps the situation was deeper than she herself was aware of and Dragon figured the extra manpower was necessary. "I-I'm sorry if I brought trouble to the Nest, sir."
She didn't regret her choice, but she also was aware of her role as an agent and soldier in the Revolutionary Army and how her decisions could impact the bigger picture.
Surprisingly though, she heard Dragon laugh. Okay, that's a bit bizarre and even somewhat terrifying.
"You haven't done anything wrong, Egret. In fact, what you've done?… You don't realize how far-reaching the impact of your decision is going to go. You did well to follow your instincts."
Lily glowed under the praise, "Thank you, sir!"
"Golden Eagle, out."
Ten seconds after that, the power on the Renata went out, the ship's generator having vanished.
A few seconds later, the several crates and barrels of food, water, and supplies from the ship also disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
In sickbay, Schaden expanded his body to consume the medical equipment, supplies, and bed. Ace, who was still asleep, was held closely in the Dark King's arms. Both Lily and Marco kept an eye on him, but his body seemed to do well even without the support of the machines.
One moment the giant shadow cloud was there, the next he was gone, along with everything else.
This left only the humans themselves, which the Cimmerian had to move one at a time. He popped back into the room, by himself this time and this time when over to his partner.
'Ready?'
Lily had never stayed in Styx other than when she teleported with Scha, but she trusted him with her life, so she had no problem saying yes.
He enveloped her completely before disappearing once again. She felt the familiar jerk before she was dropped once again on her feet. Schaden's haze receding, she opened her eyes to reveal herself standing in a plain small bedroom with wooden walls, floor, and ceiling, looking very much like one found in a cabin. The atmosphere was a bit heavier here, but she was okay. It was clean and relatively empty except for the medical equipment and bed lining the wooden floor. There was a window facing the outside, but all she could see out of it was inky darkness.
'Don't open the windows or outside doors. Nothing's been fully sealed yet. Though you can move around the house itself. I'm going to get the others now.'
She nodded, letting him go back to their world as she decided to go and explore.
Schaden reappeared on the ship and asked Rayleigh if he was ready. The man nodded. "We'll keep you in the loop, Marco. If we need to switch out or there's anything else, Schaden will keep the lines of communication open. Needless to say, transponder snails don't work in Styx."
He then turned an eye to Shanks and smirked, "See ya later, brat."
Schaden then surrounded the elder and his young charge and they all disappeared in an instant.
With it now just the two of them remaining, the redhead spoke up. "I'll investigate this whole mess and see what's actually going on. Depending on time, I might just have to ditch this ship, rejoin with the Red Force, and then meet you on Amazon."
Marco glanced over at him, "You know you don't have to do this. I can handle things from here. Izo and the others are still waiting around here. We can meet you in the New World for Pops' funeral."
Shanks raised an eyebrow, "And have you steal Lily away from me? I don't think so."
The blond sighed and rolled his eyes, That's what he gets for trying to be serious with the ale-brained jerk.
However, the pirate captain had more to say. "I made some promises, Fledgling, and I am going to keep them. I'm with you for the long haul."
Marco stood silent for a moment, his eyes studying the other man carefully before exhaling heavily and looking away but still offering his hand. "If you insist. ...Til the end of the line?"
A fist bumped into his hand, silver eyes twinkling with mirth, "Til the end of the line, and beyond."
At that moment, Schaden popped back into the room, but once again, he was now twitchy and weak, his body having over-exerted itself with all the teleportation. Marco bent down to try to pick him up from the ground, but he found it hard to get a grasp on him. Scha however was able to move up his arm and shift his way around the man's shoulders, before resting there. While he was a bit cold and tingly, the blond didn't find him heavy at all, practically light as a feather.
"Can you hold on there? Are you okay?"
The shadow gave a bit of a nod before settling down once again tiredly.
With that, all three moved to the ship's deck. As per his last orders, the Red Hair pirates were already sailing the ship quickly towards the last known location of the Seaside Pirates' main ship.
Marco walked up to the side of the deck, planting a foot on the railing. He turned around to Shanks who had stopped a few feet behind him. "Let me know how it goes. Despite my better judgment, any advice for the road?"
The other man laughed, "Don't let that high and mighty 'empress' bully you."
Marco smirked before nodding, "That goes without saying. See ya later, Scarlet."
And with that, Marco completely let go of the reins on his phoenix. Usually, he always had some hold on her, but if he was going to travel at his fullest, he would need to use the totality of her power.
Blue flame consumed his entire body, his limbs changing into great wings and fiercely curved talons. His eyesight changed to the telescopic vision of a raptor, his face elongated, producing a keen razor-sharp beak. He took a backseat to the mythical predator, only emerging slightly to make sure that Schaden was securely attached to the small of his back. He knew he looked a lot wilder than he usually would, almost pure avian.
With a mighty scream, and fully unfurling her wings, the Phoenix pushed off the deck, taking a leap into the air. With a few powerful wingbeats, she raised herself in the air, tucking her legs beneath her. She soared higher and higher, leaving the ship looking smaller and smaller below.
With a flaring farewell burst of fire, the Phoenix took off across the sky towards the southwest.
Baltigo, New World
This time when Sabo woke up, it didn't take as long to reorient himself to his surroundings. This was partly because he automatically registered the bed as not his own, and also—because his wrist happened to be handcuffed to the wall.
Blinkingly, he opened his eyes to what he recognized as the bland white tile of the medical center ceiling. His body felt numb and painful and exhausted all at once. He looked at the restraint attached to his left wrist and saw that it was one of the advanced ones for really tough prisoners. And one of the few that he hadn't figured out how to lock pick. It was also armament haki proof, and Sabo didn't even know how they had managed to do that.
He sighed before closing his eyes again, his voice rough and groggy. "Seriously?"
"Yes, seriously."
His eyes flashed open to look over at the owner of the familiar voice and wasn't surprised to see Koala sitting by his side her arms crossed with a raised eyebrow.
Sighing once again, he let his head go back to his pillow closing his eyes once more. "I'm going to guess that I've been confined to the medical bay?"
"Of course. What did you expect after that stunt you pulled? You obviously don't know how to take care of yourself. What were you thinking, Sabo?!"
The blond groaned but didn't answer or even look back over at her.
"Do you know how worried I was about you? You've been asleep for another whole day, they've got you on multiple IVs and stimulants because of how exhausted and beaten your body was!"
He could indeed feel the strain still present in his body. He had pushed it far beyond the norm. Parts of him were also bandaged up and even though he could tell that painkillers were staving off the worst of it, his body still felt pretty banged up.
Koala took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, trying to release her anger and gain back her understanding. Her friend was going through something that had caused him to be destructive, capricious, and self-harming, all things that she'd never seen in Sabo before. He hadn't been able to tell her before, but perhaps she needed to be more direct.
She let her voice soften as she asked the question she should have asked the first time. "Sabo….who was Portgas D. Ace to you?"
At this, he froze and his eyes snapped open, his countenance grim and morose. He finally looked over at her and even though he didn't shed any tears this time, she could see that he still cried them on the inside.
He then turned to look up at the ceiling, trying to keep his face as blank as possible. His voice was still rough from the disuse, but it was clear enough to hear.
"You remember that I'm from the East Blue, right?"
She nodded, "Yes, you were found injured in the waters near Goa Kingdom."
"Turns out, while I did hate my blood family, I had actually run away from them when I was 5 years old. While trying to survive on my own in the trash dump that surrounded the kingdom, I ran into another boy the same age as me. And while we had a rough start, we eventually became friends and later, partners."
Her eyes looked at him searchingly, her mind quickly putting things together. "Portgas D. Ace."
He bit his lip before nodding. "Eventually we basically did everything together. We were both kids running away from our pasts and wanting to just be wild and free. Neither of us really had anybody so we kind of ended up looking after each other. Ace taught me how to forage and hunt and how to fight. He was a wild and feral kid at the time, nothing like what he was known for now. He fought first and asked questions never. Forget about being rough around the edges, Ace was ALL edges. But there was a lot more to him once you got past his many barriers, and he became my best friend."
Koala reached for his hand, giving him her support. She was happy to see him clasp it weakly rather than push it away.
He let out a ragged breath, "By the time we were 10, we had a system and we were good at it. We supported ourselves, getting out own food and selling stuff to make money. I lived in the woods and Gray Terminal while he lived with a group of bandits on a mountain. We'd steal anything valuable we could get our hands on, cause fights, and have adventures in the jungles of the mountain. That's until the day our lives changed when someone else got thrown into the mix."
Her eyes widened at the realization of the only person it could be, "Strawhat Luffy?!"
He again nodded, "While we resisted him as much as possible in the beginning, even trying to kill him at the start—"
"Sabo!" She gasped in dismay.
He smiled deprecatingly and shrugged, "Hey, we grew up rough. Though I will say that phase didn't last long. Eventually, Lu became a part of our lives and went with us everywhere. He's 3 years younger so we often looked out for him, but in his own way, Luffy looked after us too. He pushed us to be even closer than we had ever been before. And eventually Ace proposed for us to swear an oath to each other, sealing it with a cup of sake. An oath to become brothers."
"Oh, Sabo…." Koala felt her insides twist and her eyes become misty.
"We eventually figured out that between the two of us, Ace was older by a few months, which made him the de facto older brother. It was a role he took on with relish and it seems still did till the end. Luffy was our little brother but because we were so close in age, we decided to call ourselves "twins". However, Ace always considered himself the eldest and would watch out for Luffy and me in kind."
"You want to know who Portgas D. Ace is…was…to me?" He gritted his teeth in an effort to keep a hold of his emotions. "He was my brother."
Her tears were falling constantly now and she clasped his hand tighter. "Oh, I'm so, so sorry, Sabo."
The two sat there together in silence, his hand in hers as she offered her comfort and consolement, and anything else she could give. To have been so close to someone and then have forgotten for so many years, only to realize it once you had lost that person forever.
No wonder he had been so distraught and broken ever since the news from the war had come out.
Koala had never had siblings herself, and all her friends were in the RA with only a few exceptions among the fishmen who saved her from a life of slavery. The very thought of losing any of them brought her deep sorrow. And yet, it seemed to pale in comparison to how it had shattered her partner.
"You know? Thinking back to the Binary Stars, I think I never fully understood what Rein was talking about when he said that Kircheis was his 'other half'. But now…surprisingly I do. I understand it perfectly. Because it feels like I'm a bird and I've had half my wings torn away." Sabo spoke quietly.
He then gripped her hand tightly, a determined look on his face. "Koala, there's something I absolutely have to have."
She used her other hand to wipe at her eyes and looked at him in question. "What's that, Sabo?"
"The Flame-Flame fruit. I have to have it."
"A devil fruit?" She asked in confusion. Sabo had never wanted a devil fruit before. He'd seemed happy to rely on his haki and his fighting skills. Why would he want to give up the ability to swim and have a weakness to water and seastone to become a fire logia—?
Oh.
Duh. You nitwit.
Portgas "Firefist" Ace.
"But where would you find it, Sabo? It could be anywhere by now."
He shrugged, "I'm not letting that stop me. I've found harder-to-find things before. I'm not letting anyone else have my brother's fruit."
She thought about it for a second, trying to think of where they could find a lead when she thought of something else!
"Wait, what about Strawhat Luffy?"
He sat up slowly, testing out the tenseness in his body. "Luffy…should be alright with it. He already has a devil fruit so—"
She shook her head rapidly and stood up, "No, not that! I mean, Luffy's alive right now!"
Sabo looked up at her while remembering Dragon's words about his condition, "Yeah…he is…"
She smiled brightly, "Don't you see? You should go see him, Sabo!"
His countenance fell at that and his eyes looked away, more and more unsure and uncertain. "Umm…Koala, I…"
"Luffy hasn't seen you in ten years! And he's gotta feel as horrible as you do!"
"Koala…"
He tried to interrupt her, but she was already on a roll.
"You two really need each other right now. You two shouldn't be alone in this. I can go and talk to Dragon about giving you leave to go!"
"Koala."
"I'm sure he'd be okay with it, after all, it's his son and while he might act like he doesn't care, don't think I haven't noticed—"
"Koala!"
She stopped and looked back to the bed and felt her excitement drop as rather than being relieved, Sabo's head was bowed and his hands were gripping the sheets tightly, slightly trembling.
He spoke quietly his tone somber and disheartened. "I can't do that, Koala."
She gingerly sat back down again, watching him concernedly, "Can't do what?"
"I can't go see him. I can't face Luffy. Not right now."
"It doesn't have to be right away, Sabo. If you want to wait a little while, I'm sure Strawhat needs time to mend as well. I just thought…"
He looked up at her, stating brokenly, "I don't think I can face him, ever."
"Oh, but Sabo! I'm sure that he wouldn't blame—"
"Why not?" he cut in morosely, "To get back the so-called brother who he knew for barely a couple of years, for the price of losing the one who basically raised him for more than a decade? What kind of trade-off is that?"
"Sabo, you're thinking about this all wrong!"
He shook his head and placed a hand over his eyes before collapsing back down onto the bed. "I think…perhaps things would be better if we never meet at all. Perhaps it's better if he never knew about me."
Koala felt her spirit fall even more, this was a lot more complicated than she had initially thought. Sabo's stubbornness was beginning to show its big ugly head and once it did, it would take who knew how long to disperse it again. She sighed, trying perhaps the harshest thing she could think of.
"So, are you willing to abandon him, then? To leave your youngest brother all alone? Are you relinquishing your role, breaking your vow?" She asked somberly.
'Because I got nobody else! …I'll be all alone. I don't want to be alone! I hate it more than being hurt!'
Those long ago far away words pulsed into Sabo's traitorous memory. He quickly shook his head. His eyes were still dry, but it was mostly because he had exhausted his entire well of tears.
"I can't do that. I'll watch over and protect Luffy for the rest of my life for as much as I'm able." He admitted.
"Then–"
"But," he clarified, "I'll do it from afar. He's a great pirate now with his own crew who he can now depend upon. He doesn't need me bursting in on his life."
He exhaled sorrowfully. "No…it will be as it was before. Nothing will change. I will be the only one to carry this burden of what could have or should have been."
From outside of the medical center's doorway, a shadow moved and then vanished down the hall, having heard all it needed to. Dragon stalked through Baltigo's hallways towards his office, his features shadowed in purpose.
With one hand he called on his wrist transponder to the two he was going to need for this new most delicate mission. "Reinhard, you and Kircheis report to my office. I'm giving you a new assignment."
The younger man responded promptly, "Yes, sir. We'll be there presently."
And true to that, by the time Dragon reached his office, the two were already waiting at attention by the doorway.
"Sir," The leader of the Binary Stars greeted him.
He nodded before letting them in. As he followed, closing the door, he immediately got to business.
"I'm sending you on a retrieval and reconnaissance mission to Amazon Lily. Two of our agents had to abandon their assignment and are now presently heading there. You are to go there, debrief them and find the lay of the situation they have found themselves in and then bring them back to HQ."
The two nodded, though they silently wondered why not send a female agent to do the job, as they would probably have an easier time if there ended up being any interaction with the Kuja warriors.
However, their leader's next statement confused them even more. "It will be you two, as well as the Chief of Staff on this mission."
There was a bit of an uneasy silence at that before Reinhard indicated that he wished to speak.
"Permission to speak freely, sir."
He nodded and so Rein continued.
"Sir, Chief of Staff Sabo is in no condition mentally, emotionally, or physically to do a mission, sir. Both he and the objective would be compromised."
Dragon looked up at him staidly, "That's because, the Chief of Staff IS the mission."
A look of surprise crossed his face before he looked over at his partner. Kircheis didn't seem to have any better idea than he did.
The dark-haired older man got up from his seat and locked the door. The room also started to become quite breezy, a special wind current that could be used to disrupt sound, a precaution against eavesdropping or accidental leaks.
"What I'm about to say is not to leave this room, is that understood?"
Both men nodded. The only person they had trouble keeping secrets from was each other, other than that they were steel traps.
And then he told them. Dragon explained and laid out all that Lily had said. He explained to them how Lily and Schaden were compromised and had to fight their way off the battlefield. He told them about how she had found Portgas' body and discovered that he just barely lived. He spoke of the resuscitative efforts of Lily as well as members of both the Whitebeard and RedHair Pirates and that after a week of pushing her devil fruit ability to its limit, Firefist was now very much alive if tired and severely weakened.
By the end, even the enigmatic pair were in shock.
Kircheis was the first to speak. "But sir, why not reveal the truth to the commander? Surely he would be overjoyed?"
"Because his fear and pride and regret would get in the way," Rein answered thoughtfully, a hand held to his chin.
Dragon sighed and stood up, his hands laced behind his back looking away to the window. "Sabo blames himself for not being in his brothers' lives for the past decade and thusly also blames himself for Portgas' supposed death. If I were to simply tell him, and he believed me, he would be happy but he would more than likely be too afraid of the recrimination and rejection to even think about seeking Firefist out. He already refuses to seek out Luffy for the same reasons and he would no doubt feel the same—if not more so—when it comes to Portgas."
"So you're not giving him a choice." The golden blond reasoned.
He tipped his head in acknowledgment. "Precisely. He's going to go on a mission to retrieve White Egret and Black Heron from Amazon Lily, and you will make sure he gets there. What he finds when he gets there, will be out of my hands."
The Binary Stars looked at each other, communicating silently. Eventually, the redheaded one nodded to his friend who in turn nodded to their commander. "We'll make sure he gets there, sir."
"How long are we to stay, sir?" Kircheis asked.
"I'll give further orders if necessary when you get there. If not, you can return to HQ once you drop Sabo off, if Lily and Schaden are no longer needed, they can accompany you. If there's trouble, make that judgment call. Sabo himself will be on leave the moment he reaches the island."
The wind died down and he walked over to unlock the door letting them know the meeting was over. "Report to the Windstar by 0900. I will have Sabo meet you there. If he doesn't show up in 10 minutes post that time, you have my permission to hunt him down."
The two saluted before exiting the room. They had half an hour to pack before boarding the RA's fastest ship. They always handled a mission with efficiency and alacrity. This one would be no different.
However, if there was just a little bit more pep in their step this time around, no one was going to bring it up.
Koala was trying to think about another way to approach Sabo's attitude and convince him to at least talk to his youngest brother, when that youngest brother's father, stalked into the medical bay, his usual brooding footsteps marching with a purpose.
He stopped in front of the bed and looked over Sabo for a moment, before walking over to the medical attendant and taking up a medical chart. Sabo sat up while Koala prepared herself to listen in on the conversation. Though it looks like she didn't need to. Dragon didn't bother to lower his voice.
"How is he?"
The man went through stating Sabo's current status and treatments, basically outlining that he would be weak and aching for a while, but as long as he got rest, food, and liquids, he would be fine.
It was basically what she had expected, however, Dragon's next words shocked her.
"Is he fit to go out into the field?"
Both her and Sabo's heads snapped up at that. The doctor frowned concernedly but answered truthfully. "It's doable, but I would highly counsel against it."
Dragon nodded briskly, "Noted. Place a memo on his chart and then discharge him."
The man sighed, but nodded at the man's orders, taking the chart back.
Koala watched their boss approach the bed with foreboding. He couldn't be thinking of sending Sabo back into the field again. Not in his condition! He was all kinds of wrong right now, and his mental and emotional states were a rocky mess! He was trying to deal with the return of his memory and go through the grieving process all at the same time. He would be a detriment to any mission he was on. Dragon had to know this!
The man looked no more taciturn than usual, though his dark eyes took on a stormy hue. He glanced at her briefly before facing his second-in-command, who was looking back at him with suspicion.
"What's going on, Dragon?" he asked warily.
With a single motion from his fingers, the cuff that was around the blond's arm was released. "I'm sending you on a mission to the Grand Line in Paradise, specifically the island of Amazon Lily. Two of your agents are in need of retrieval after having been compromised, Operatives Lily and Schaden."
Koala gasped, her hand coming to her mouth, "Oh no, I totally forgot! Schaden called saying that they had some complications and he wanted to talk to one of the two of you. It was before you fell out the first time and with everything that happened, it slipped my mind!"
"I know, I've been in contact with them," Dragon commented.
Sabo's countenance had become stormy, but he did have a bit of concern return to his eyes at the names of the two. "Are they okay?"
The commander looked back at him brusquely, "By the last report. Nonetheless, get up and get dressed. You leave at 0900. Your partners have already been briefed and will meet you at the pier."
Koala stood up in alarm, "Sir! I don't think Sabo's in any condition to do this! Let me go. I can go and get them back."
The man shook his head, "They are his agents, his responsibility. And before you ask, no you can't go with him. You will have your own mission elsewhere."
"There isn't anyone else you can send on this?" Sabo spoke up quietly, his mismatched blue eyes shining with anger and cynicism.
And while those eyes might have sent most to cower, Dragon's gaze met them head-on. "That's an order, Chief of Staff."
The finality in his voice marked the conversation as over. He turned to walk away, but he was stopped by the blond calling out with barely hidden rage.
"And if I refuse?"
Sabo ground his teeth, his countenance flashing dangerously. Koala could only look distraught betwixt the two.
Dragon didn't bother to turn around but he responded calmly, "We can talk about your insubordination after you return from your mission. I suggest you hurry. Your fellow agents are under orders to hunt you down if you're late."
With that, he continued on his way, without even a glance back.
Post Author's Note:
And there you have it! It took us a bit, but now all 3 brothers are on a collision course to collide at Amazon Lily. Not to mention a pair of sibling doctors.😁
It won't be long now!
Questions and comments are all appreciated! Luv you guys!😘