Chapter 63
Two days later the news arrived to Tomoshibi Island.
Mariejois had been lit on fire and hundreds of slaves had been set free and escaped. The Gods Knights has been deployed to fight off the lone invader. Five Celestial Dragons had died in the crossfire, along with one of the God Knights.
The culprit had been named as Hibiscus Rouge.
The last time anyone had seen her she had been impaled on Figarland Garling's sword.
There was no information on what happened to her after that.
.:.
Rosinante checked Law's forehead again and sighed in relief. It had taken three weeks, but his fever was finally gone. They had imprisoned Law underground in Marineford as the builders worked to repair it. When Kuzan had unfrozen Law, Law had collapsed into Rosinante's arms, gasping breathlessly, face flushed and shaking hard. He had been burning with a raging fever and completely drained of all his magic and energy. Law remained unconscious, even after Monkey D. Luffy, Silvers Rayleigh and Jinbei had returned to Marineford to ring the Ox Bell sixteen times. Law still showed no sign of awakening yet.
Kuzan and Sengoku were trying to deal with the entire shit show that was Mariejois now. After Hibiscus Rouge had literally set in on fire with a firestorm (yes, an actual storm that had rained down fire) and had allowed several hundreds of slaves to be freed.
Rosinante couldn't help but silently cheer that last part.
The doctors had said now that the fever was gone, Law should begin to come around again. They had said if he had gotten the fever since he had left Sabaody, then fought in Impel Down and Marineford, then his body must have been completely overwhelmed with exhaustion and forced him to finally collapse after Kuzan froze him. It made the most sense, and it hurt Rosinante so much to think about it.
Law could have gotten himself killed.
.:.
Ace tilted his head. "He rang the bell sixteen times?"
"Honestly! How controversial he is," Saturn grumbled. "But it isn't so surprising since he is Garp's grandson."
"Ace, do you know how he knows Rayleigh?" Mars asked.
"No, I'm surprised they ever met," Ace admitted.
"A shame Jinbei turned against us," Warcury sighed. "He being a warlord was a sign of intertribal peace."
"The Great Three Powers are at an imbalance now," Nusjuro complained. "How are we to fill three vacancies in the warlords now?"
Ace fought off the urge to snort. That was kind of their own fault, but he remained silent nevertheless and laid back on the couch, stretching his arms. Ace had wandered into their meeting because he had wanted to steal some of their food, but he had stayed after hearing about Luffy. It was such a relief to know he was alive, even if Imu wanted his head because he was a D. Hopefully they would never run into each other, otherwise Imu would slaughter Luffy.
That would suck.
"We will also need to see what happens in the New World," Ju Peter said. "After the war things will have changed, especially in the relationships of pirates. Some will see Whitebeard as weak, having needed the help of Red Hair to end the war, while others will have seen him saving Commander Twin Blade Thatch as a victory."
"Then there is the matter of Blackbeard, who started all this," Warcury complained. "He captured Ace, one of our own clan witches, and then later on proceeded to capture Commander Thatch to use to get into Impel Down. He knows all of Whitebeards' territories as well. This could be a bad omen for Whitebeard in the end."
"The people who might be able to stop him are the four Yonko," Ju Peter said. "But Whitebeard is now at a disadvantage. He might be at risk of losing his position."
Ace grimaced at the thought.
"Those 'D's are always making trouble," Nusjuro complained. "Including you, Portgas D. Ace. Your names are becoming too well known these days."
"I don't suppose you could pull another 'Gold Roger'?" Ace offered. "Though I get Monkeyd sounds a bit weird. Sounds like somebody got assaulted by an actual monkey and wanted to put a label on it that wasn't just 'assault'."
"That is not how it works," Ju Peter scolded.
"Would be kinda funny though." Ace grinned.
"You would think you would take things more seriously after your mother just tried to burn down Mariejois," Saturn sighed.
"It wasn't like I had anything to do with it," Ace protested. "I even told her to stop, then Imu had to banish her to the afterlife because she refused."
"And who knows where that stubborn woman will appear next." Nusjuro scowled. "She's a ghost of the Portgas Clan, bound to this earth to protect her heir until he becomes of age. It was always a rare thing to do, the person had to be overwhelmingly strong in the first place, along with their child. She will remain in this world until Ace becomes a head witch in his thirties!"
"Which means she can come back one day. It will take her time to recover from Imu-sama's banishment, but she was once Hibiscus Rouge," Ju Peter said. "She will come back."
"Maybe she'll be in a better mood then?" Ace offered cheerfully.
The Elders all glowered at him.
Ace sheepishly raised his hands. "Maybe not?"
.:.
Law blinked drowsily, his thoughts foggy. He had awoken in a dark room, or well, a prison cell, chained with seastone shackles to a bed. He could see Rosinante sitting by a desk, reading some kind of report, by the candlelight. Law shifted on the bed, trying to coax his muscles to move slowly. He must have been out for a long time, because they felt stiff and tender.
"Law!" Rosinante gasped. "You're awake?"
"Yeah..." Law cleared his throat roughly as he sat up slowly, taking his time. "What happened? The last thing I remember is Ice-ya freezing me."
"You were reckless, Law, you completely and utterly overdid it," Rosinante lectured, handing him a glass of water which Law sipped at slowly. "Kuzan unfroze you after the battle was over and you remained unconscious with a raging fever for three weeks."
Law stiffened. "Three weeks? Wait, and after the war? What happened to my crew and Luffy-ya?"
Rosinante told him about how Shanks came and ended the war. The lives Rouge massacred without mercy until Shanks arrival, the Whitebeard's escape with their allies (thankfully including Marco with Luffy, Sabo and the Heart Pirates) then Rouge's attack on Mariejois. How nobody knew what had happened to her after that. That she hadn't managed to free Ace from Mariejois either.
Law had finished his water by the time Rosinante finished telling him everything.
"That's a lot to take in," Law admitted, frowning at his wrists as he raised his hands, the chains clattering. "So can we take these off?"
"Nope," Rosinante sighed. "Not when you'll try to escape."
"I assume I'm in a marine base surrounded by hundreds of capable marines," Law scoffed. "Not sure I'll get very far."
"Tough, they're staying on for now until we've had a proper talk with Sengoku," Rosinante said.
"Oh joy," Law drawled.
"You sound like a sullen teenager, Law," Kuzan said from the cell door, peering through the bars. "Yo, Law, how you feeling?"
"Tired with these on." Law gestured to the shackles, but paused when Kuzan came into the cell and handed him a tray of food, filled with a cup of tea and a bowl of soup.
"You'll feel better after eating something," Kuzan said, sitting down at the bottom end of his bed.
"Thanks."
Law ate in silence. Kuzan dozed at the end of his bed, while Rosinante continued through his paperwork. By the time Law finished his food, Sengoku arrived and pulled in a chair to sit beside Rosinante.
The cell was beginning to become crowded.
"It's good that you've finally recovered from your fever," Sengoku said. "I don't even know where to begin with the list of reckless events you wandered into this year alone-"
"If it's any consolation, all those events were usually Straw Hat-ya's fault," Law said.
Kuzan nodded. "He's kinda got a point there."
"Nevertheless, we should hand you straight over to Mariejois, but I've managed to give you one more option, Law," Sengoku said firmly. "Either you can join Portgas D. Ace in Mariejois and never leave again, or you can become a Warlord. That means you will still be able to see your crew, Kuzan, myself, and Rosinante." Sengoku sat back heavily in his seat, staring him down. "I think you know which option is your best."
Law sighed heavily. "I think you know which option I'll be going for, Sengoku. I don't like the idea of going to whatever is calling me up there so insistently all the time, but I am also worried that Ace-ya is facing whatever that thing calling us is alone."
"He's perfectly fine," Sengoku reassured. "I know my word might not be enough, so I took a quick photo." He reached into his pocket, and much to Law's surprise, he actually had taken out a photograph of Ace.
Ace was reading a book by what looked like a lake with a plate of food next to him.
It looked like he was on holiday.
"So if you do decide to follow him up there, you should know you won't be harmed," Sengoku reassured. "The only reason I am offering this is for Rosinante's sake, and your crew's. Rosinante will rarely get to see you, and your crew would never see you again if you go to Mariejois."
Law stared at the photograph for a long time, confused, worried, but most of all relieved. Ace was safe, in this photograph at least. He didn't know if that would change for Ace at all, depending on if something happened up in Mariejois, but at least for now it looked like he was safe and sound.
"As nice as it would be to see Ace again, I won't abandon my crew for him, or you, Cora-san," Law said softly. "I'd rather stay here as a Warlord."
Rosinante yanked him into an embrace and Law couldn't help but relax instantly against him. Rosinante held him tight, and Law felt tears slip down his neck.
"Rosinante, you don't need to cry," Sengoku huffed.
"Thank you, Law," Rosinante choked out. "Thank you. I love you so much, I was scared I was about to lose you!"
Law couldn't help but smile and return the embrace.
"I love you too, Cora-san."
.:.
Rouge walked up the sandy beach towards the familiar tall figure standing at the edge of it, his boots brushing against the tide as the water slipped on and off the land. She bit her lip at the sight of him and sighed.
"Well, everything kind of got a bit fucked up," she offered lightly.
Roger smiled softly at her and opened up his arms. "Come here, love."
She snorted, but it was weak and wet. Rouge quickly tucked herself into his arms and melted into his embrace.
"You've caused me so much trouble, Roger," Rouge said miserably, pulling back from the embrace to give herself enough room to pinch his ear, earning a wince as she tugged at it.
"Ow! Rouge-" Roger whined.
"Don't whine, you jerk. I know you've been watching," Rouge huffed. "You just had to die with a crowd, huh? I should kill you for that."
"I'm already dead!" Roger pouted. "You can't kill me again."
"Wanna bet?" Rouge raised a brow. "And how does a grown man get away with pouting at me? Seriously?"
Roger pressed a kiss to her brow. "I'm sorry. For all the trouble."
"You should be," Rouge scoffed, then sighed. "I couldn't free Ace..."
Roger softened. "You did your best."
"Sure, as a dead woman, but if I had actually been alive and myself again, I could have saved him. I know I could have."
"You would have been older too. Maybe even grey-"
Roger winced when she booted his leg. "What is that supposed to mean?!" she hissed.
"NOTHING!" Roger cried, clutching his leg.
"Are you saying I would have turned into Gloriosia?" Rouge scowled.
"No! Never in a million years!" Roger protested. "And even if you did, I'd still love you-"
"Not exactly a good compliment, Roger," Rouge scolded. "You would think after being dead all these years you would have learned better by now." Rouge shook her head. "Why did I think otherwise?"
Roger grinned.
Rouge rolled her eyes, then paused, and frowned.
"Rouge?" Roger tilted his head.
"Why is Monkey D. Luffy surrounded by so many witches?" Rouge asked. "What did you find in Raftel?"
Roger grimaced and looked away from her, back out towards the sea. Rouge's frown deepened, and she sighed.
"Don't try to protect me from this, Roger. It never worked before. Baterilla happened after all."
"I'm so sorry about that, Rouge. If I could change that..."
"But we can't," Rouge said softly. "Please, Roger, I love you and I trust you, but I need to know. What is going on? Who are the head witches? And what calls to us?"
Roger remained silent for a long time, then held out his hand. She took it and squeezed it gently, and he pulled her down to sit with him on the beach.
It took her a while to realise the beach was the same one that had laid below her house back in Baterilla. She couldn't help but smile fondly at the sight. Of course he'd come here, even after his death.
A ghost would go to the most important place to them, and Rouge had to admit, she was surprised it had been her home that had been the most important place to Roger. She would have thought it had been Oro Jackson.
"I don't know how much I should tell you, but I guess you and Newgate aren't ever planning to go to Raftel, nor is Ace," Roger said, still staring out into the sea. He closed his eyes and breathed in deep, then smiled. "Our story begins with The Void Century..."
It felt like days had past by the time he had finished, and Rouge threw her head back and laughed.
"I love you, Gol D. Roger." Rouge grinned. "Jeez, it's always you who goes on the most ridiculous adventures and finds the most craziest things."
"And then you steal them off of me," Roger teased, pressing a kiss to her lips. "I love you too, Portgas D. Rouge. Forever and always."
"Forever and always."
She laid her head against his chest and rested her eyes. Rouge would return to the world of the living one day soon enough to bring Ace back to his home, but for now she could enjoy her rest. It would take time for her soul to rest and recover, but when it did, Rouge would storm into the world again.
She grinned at the thought. Ds truly were crazy.
Finished. We're actually finished!
I published this back on June 5th 2021, that is insane. I know I went on break from the storyline for a while, but that was still such a long time ago, and now we're finally done! Thank you to all of you who stayed since the beginning, and to all of you who joined throughout the storyline and watched the chaos unfold. It has been such a fun journey, and it's not the end of it either. We're copying One Piece and heading for our time skip. Again, thank you all for being here to read this storyline. I hope you all enjoy the last chapter of The Portgas Clan, and join me in the sequel, The Trafalgar Clan.
The only difference is that I'm no longer planning to post on fanfiction. I keep getting constant alerts from fanfic that I need to enable my email, which I do, but it's not working and I'm worried that I might somehow lose access to my account one day. I don't want to leave unfinished work here if I can help it, so I'm sticking to Archive of our Own now. I know some of you won't like that, but it's for my own personal preference. My username is HeroesLegacy, so I hope it's easy enough to track me down there.
I hope to see you all for The Trafalgar Clan next week (unless I get too excited and publish earlier xD)
Thank you all again for all your comments. It's been amazing to see you all enjoying the chaos of Rouge's and Ace's adventures, and Law's desperate need for a holiday xD
Love you all,
Legacy xxx