[Grand Line — Paradise: Yu Island: 129 years ago].
The narrow streets of the city were filled with people trying to get home for Christmas Eve. Few had the time to notice the little six-year-old girl singing in the cold winter.
"Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh. Somewhere over the rainbow," the girl sang, missing a shoe. Her shoe was being used to collect tips from passersby.
A few meters away, an old man was playing the guitar, his case open to receive money.
"Any luck, girl?" the old man asked her.
"My shoe only has four berries..." she replied, somewhat disappointed.
The man nodded and added forty berries from his guitar case to the girl's shoe.
"I don't even sing that well," the girl said, surprised.
"You'd better put your shoe on, or your foot will freeze," the old man warned her.
"I can't accept your money. It's all your earnings," the girl said, refusing to take the money.
"You know well that it's enough for you to leave. Or do you plan to stay longer? You could die out here," the man said with a disapproving look.
"But what about you?" the girl asked.
"I'm old already, what does it matter if I die?" he said with a bitter smile.
"It matters to me. I need my accompaniment," the girl said, returning the money.
"And the dreams that you dreamed of, once in a lullaby." The girl took a deep breath and started singing again. "Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly."
As minutes passed, more people started paying attention.
"You're going to need something more to hold all that," the old man said, offering his guitar case as he saw the shoe filling up with berries. The girl looked up, surprised, and then smiled gratefully.
"Do you mind if I join in?" asked the old man with a warm smile as he played a few chords.
"No," replied the girl gratefully.
With the guitar accompaniment, people became even more interested, forming a circle around them and clapping to the rhythm of the music. When it was time to leave, the old man helped the girl carry her earnings, now filling the guitar case, to the shelter where she lived.
"I'm back!" the girl exclaimed as she entered the Sunny shelter.
"Oh, Aika!" A woman with her hands full and a big smile came to greet her, dropping what she was doing to give her a hug.
"Let me help you," the woman said, carefully taking the case full of berries and helping Aika count the money.
Once Aika had stored the money among her belongings, she went to the main area to find her brother. The place was decorated with warm lights and drawings made by the children of the shelter.
"Oi! Marco!" called the girl, her voice full of joy.
"Yoi?" responded the little baby, crawling eagerly into his sister's arms. She welcomed him happily, lifting and spinning him in her arms.
"Have you been a good little brother for me? Of course, you have!" Aika said with a smile, kissing Marco's forehead, who let out a contagious laugh.
"You want to play with my rose?" Aika asked, noticing Marco trying to grab the blue rose from her hair.
"Of course, you do, spoiled brat! Just because it's you, I'll let you..." Aika said, removing the rose and giving it to Marco, who looked at it with fascination.
While Marco played with his sister's rose, they headed to the dining area with the other refugees.
"Thanks for looking after him while I was gone, Miss Yoko," Aika thanked Yoko, a young volunteer always willing to help.
"For you, anything. You're an incredible sister to Marco," Miss Yoko said, smiling warmly.
Everyone took their seats to start eating. While everyone enjoyed their meal, they began to chat among themselves.
"So, have you reconsidered the orphanage?" one of the shelter members asked Aika while picking up some rice with his fork.
"I'm not going back on my word, Marco and I are not going to any orphanage," Aika said decisively, looking at her brother with determination.
Aika had arrived at the Sunny shelter to spend the winter. She had been very open about her plans to leave for another island after some people recommended she stay or go to an orphanage to be adopted by a good family.
"Well, we tried, but you know we worry about you," Yoko said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I understand," Aika said with gratitude.
Dinner continued until everyone finished and went to sleep. The children said goodnight with yawns and hugs, and the shelter's lights gradually went out, leaving only the soft whisper of the night wind.
The next day, Aika woke up early.
"Wake up, little bug!" Aika said to Marco, placing him on the table where all the diaper-changing supplies were.
"Poor little bug on the wall, with no one to love him," Aika hummed while changing Marco's diaper.
"No one to wash his clothes, no one to tickle his feet," Aika finished changing the diaper and gave Marco a few tickles on his feet.
Once they were ready, Aika prepared to go to work.
"I'm sorry, little bug, but you can't come. It's too cold outside," she told Marco as she hugged him.
However, Marco wouldn't stop crying, his face filled with tears, and eventually, Aika gave in and decided to take him with her. She bundled him up as best she could, wrapping him in several layers of clothing before strapping him to her back with a blanket she had found at the shelter.
"First, we need to buy some supplies for our journey" Aika told Marco, trying to maintain an optimistic tone to calm him.
They walked together to the local market, where Aika bought everything they needed. The merchants, seeing her with her brother on her back, offered her some things at a reduced price, sympathetic to her situation. Aika thanked them with a sincere smile, and once she had the supplies in hand, she left them at the shelter.
After making sure everything was in order, Aika headed to the city center to sing. She stood in her usual corner, where the acoustics of the nearby buildings made her voice sound better.
"And the dreams that you dreamed really do come true, ooh," she sang, her clear and melodious voice attracting passersby. Marco, tied to her back, swayed to the rhythm of the music, calmed by his sister's voice.
Aika sang for hours, her shoe slowly filling up with coins and some bills. People stopped to listen, some clapped, others left a coin before continuing on their way. As night began to fall, Aika felt the fatigue taking over, but she kept singing.
Finally, when the moon was high in the sky, Aika decided it was time to return to the shelter. Her voice was hoarse and her legs trembled from the effort, but her heart was satisfied. Marco, asleep on her back, was warm and safe.
"Someday I'll wish upon a star."
As she walked back, Aika couldn't help but gaze through the window at a family gathered for the festivities. The children were running around the Christmas tree, lit with bright lights and colorful ornaments. The parents laughed and shared stories while a plentiful dinner was served on the table.
"Wake up where the clouds are far behind me,"
She couldn't look away as she watched them spend time together, doing everything in safety and prosperity. The children exchanged gifts, the parents embraced, and the warmth of the home was reflected in every corner of the house.
She bit her lip to snap out of it and continue on her way, shaking her head to clear the thoughts of what could have been. She couldn't afford to dream of a life she didn't have.
At the end of winter, they prepared to leave the island. Unfortunately, most merchant ships refused to take two children on board. Only a few agreed, but in exchange for something that Aika couldn't always offer. The captains demanded hard work, valuable goods, or even favors that Aika found difficult to accept.
The hard nights she always faced were worth it in her eyes; they were her only way to keep moving. Many would call her an idiot, but it was a matter of life and death not to stay in one place, with that company expanding across the Grand Line at alarming speeds.
The famous Sams, known for their phoenix-made products, was a constant threat.
"Where troubles melt like lemon drops," Aika whispered, trying to keep hope alive in her heart as she continued on her way.
At least she always had Marco by her side. For him, she could endure the pain. Every night, as she cuddled him by her side, she promised that someday they would find a safe place. Fire endures and changes, always stronger with each gust of wind, she thought, clinging to hope.
Years passed, and Marco soon turned six years old. His sister, Aika, was now about ten.
"Ready, little brother?!" Aika asked Marco, who was accompanying her more and more often.
"Always," Marco responded.
"Oi, Marco! I need help here!" That was the signal for Marco.
"Coming!" Marco exclaimed.
Marco held his sister's things while she finally kicked the butts of the group bothering them.
"Bastards! Can you believe it, Marco?! They say they own these streets and that I should pay them to use them!" Aika said, her fist still red from the beating she had given those guys.
Marco stepped back a little his sister was scary when she was angry.
"Sorry, little bug! I didn't mean to scare you..." Aika said, worried.
"I'm not scared!" Marco denied, his face red with embarrassment.
That same day, his sister took him to the library. People always admired him for his interest in cartography or general world knowledge.
Meanwhile, those same people looked disapprovingly at his sister for her taste in fantasy stories, saying she should grow up and stop believing.
Marco really didn't see the problem. When life is cruel, sometimes stories are all we have to hold on to hope.
"So, little bug, what did you read today?" Aika asked Marco.
"I found this book about the New World, it's pretty good," Marco replied, showing the book he had taken from the library.
Aika smiled.
"You know, I have a very interesting story about the New World," Aika said.
"It's a story of the fenghuang that's usually told through songs. But I won't sing it, I want to tell it this time," Aika said, sitting on the bed and inviting her brother to do the same.
"Evolution comes from ambition, ambition comes from dreams, and dreams are a goal. If one strives to make something real, they do it with ambition in their heart. If they manage to make it a reality, they will never be the same because they have to evolve into the best version of themselves," Aika explained, creating a flame in her hand.
"Deep in the New World, there is an island born of a promise. The promise to protect the stones of the promise." The flame took the shape of two brightly glowing stones.
"These stones are the promise of evolution. One can make your greatest dreams come true, and the other offers eternity," Aika declared. "They coexist together; one cannot give the eternal dream without the other. The dream stone must have the eternity stone so that the dream does not die with time, and the eternity stone needs the dream stone to make dreams come true."
"Have you ever wondered why Devil Fruits always return after the user dies?" Aika asked, making Marco nod.
"Devil Fruits are dreams that took the form of a fruit. And dreams are evolution. Devil Fruit users are the next step in evolution. They cannot cease to exist if people keep dreaming of them: I dream of a warrior to free us, I dream of shaking the world, I dream of being as strong as a cheetah, the list goes on and on." Aika turned the flame into figures representing all kinds of users; Zoan, Paramecia, Logia.
"Are you saying that Devil Fruits come from some magical stones that gave them the ability to keep existing as long as people keep dreaming?" Marco asked.
Aika nodded.
"But that's not all. The stones are being protected on an island called the Island of Promise. It's said that the people who protect the stones have been doing so since the Void Century," Aika said.
"That long?! How?!" Marco asked.
"The eternity stone prevents everyone on that island from aging. And the dream stone makes the island a place straight out of one of my stories," Aika said, turning the flame into an island. "A place where dreams come true if you dream them with enough passion."
"Maybe one day we can see it together! Doesn't that sound great?" Marco exclaimed with enthusiasm, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Us on a great adventure? Marco, weren't you the one who wasn't a dreamer? Are you trying to steal my job?" Aika said, capturing Marco and tickling him.
"Stop! I'm going to throw up!" Marco said between laughs, trying to free himself from his sister's hands.
From that day on, Marco made it his dream to have a great adventure with his sister, one worthy of the stories she often told him. Perhaps they would even travel to the Island of Promise, a mythical place where Aika could have fun like never before. Fun was a luxury they only allowed themselves in the small apartment they shared, the rest of the time, life was a constant struggle for survival. But in those moments of shared dreams, Marco allowed himself to act like the child he was.
At school, Marco did as well as always. His teachers admired him for his intelligence and dedication, though his mind sometimes wandered to his fantasies.
One day, Ms. Pattinson caught him drawing the Island of Promise in his textbooks.
"Marco, you are one of my best students. You're better than this..." Ms. Pattinson said, handing him extra homework as punishment. Marco nodded, but inside, his dreams remained alive.
On his way home, Marco came across people handing out flyers for a fair. When he got home, he showed the flyer to his sister and asked her to take him.
"I'm sorry, little bug, but I have to sing at the restaurant until late today. It's important I keep this job for at least a few more months before we move, again..." Aika explained.
"Besides, you have the extra homework Ms. Pattinson gave you," Aika reminded him, to which Marco nodded resignedly, putting the flyer in his backpack.
Marco spent the rest of his day doing homework at his small desk until night fell. From his window, he could see the bright lights and hear the music of the fair.
"I'll just go for a moment..." Marco thought, leaving a note on the table before sneaking out to the fair. When he arrived at the fair, the colors and sounds enveloped him, filling him with excitement and wonder.
His excitement turned to disappointment when he realized he had no money. The game booths required money, and without it, he was left standing in a corner, watching others have fun.
Just as he was about to resign himself, a group of teenagers approached him.
"No money? We have a solution," said the tallest boy in the group, showing some bills.
"Want some? I'm afraid we can't just give it to you for free," another teenager said with a malicious smile, revealing a row of perfect teeth.
Marco should have declined the offer. He should have gone back home. He should never have sneaked out to the fair.
But he didn't.
"What do you want?" Marco asked, trying to sound confident, though his voice trembled slightly.
Marco accompanied the group of teenagers to all the games, enjoying the fun he had so desired. They won stuffed animals, ate cotton candy, and laughed on the rides.
When it came time to pay the debt, Marco found himself in front of a haunted house.
"This is the deal, no backing out now, kid," said one of the teenagers, his tone menacing, indicating Marco had to enter to settle the debt.
"I'm not scared..." Marco said, swallowing hard and stepping forward.
Once inside, he realized the haunted house wasn't as scary as he had expected. The first corridors were filled with obviously fake props and poorly executed special effects. Even the famous ambush he had heard so much about hadn't happened yet.
"This has to be a joke," he thought to himself as he saw a plastic spider hanging from a transparent thread.
Suddenly, the dim lights went out, plunging everything into complete darkness. Marco stumbled into a metal wall and fell to the floor. He got up, his heart pounding. He tried to go back but before he could find the exit, he felt a strong blow to his head.
The world went black, and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
At the island's port.
"Thirty kids? You really are good at this," Benoit, a robust man with a tall top hat, said to the group of teenagers who had been with Marco.
"It wasn't that hard; they were all a bunch of idiots," replied the leader of the teenagers, a young man with a cold gaze and an arrogant smile. His companions nodded, still euphoric from their success.
"This should be enough, right?" Benoit said as he handed them a sack full of gold. The metallic jingling made the teenagers' eyes sparkle with greed.
"Sounds good to us," said the group leader, signaling the other teenagers to quickly retreat into the darkness of the night.
Satisfied, Benoit headed towards his ship, an imposing galleon gently swaying at the port. The moon cast its pale light on the calm waters as he climbed the gangplank. Before setting sail, he decided to check his cargo.
"Any anomalies with the merchandise?" Benoit asked his subordinates, a group of rough-looking men with scarred faces.
"Yes, sir. One of the kids is trying to escape," Lulumin, one of the subordinates, replied nervously.
"And you still haven't controlled it?" Benoit asked, frowning.
"No, you see, it's just that..." Lulumin began to say, but Benoit interrupted him sharply.
"What do you mean, Lulumin! It's just a kid!" Benoit replied furiously, his eyes sparking with anger.
At that moment, Marco emerged from the cabins, his arms transformed into fiery wings, ready to take off and flee.
Benoit looked at him in surprise for a moment before reacting. He pulled out one of his pistols and shot Marco with precision, causing him to fall to the ground.
Marco tried to transform again, but each attempt caused intense pain, as if his insides were burning.
"Do you like them, kid? These are very special darts, made for kids like you," Benoit said with a sadistic smile, lifting Marco by the neck and throwing him forcefully to the ground, leaving him unconscious.
"Lulumin, fetch our seastone chains. We just hit the jackpot, thanks to me buying this beauty in case luck came knocking," Benoit ordered, looking proudly at the darts in his pistol. Cruel satisfaction was reflected on his face as he contemplated his new acquisition. A blue phoenix would sell well.
When Marco woke up, the first thing he saw was another boy's face watching him intently.
"Finally, you're awake! You sure are a sleepyhead! You were out for days," said the other boy, moving a bit further away, revealing to Marco that they were in a cell.
"By the way, what's your name? Are you mute?" the other boy started asking non-stop.
"Where are we?" asked Marco, still a bit confused.
The boy blinked and quickly nodded, as if remembering something important.
"Of course!... Wait. What's the last thing you remember?" the boy asked.
"I was shot with a dart..." Marco replied, struggling to remember what had happened. Blurry images of his escape attempt and the feeling of falling to the ground crossed his mind.
"You tried to escape by flying, but you couldn't transform, right?" said the boy, nodding his head in affirmation.
Marco nodded slowly.
"No doubt about it, that dart had a small dose of pure darkness," the boy stated without hesitation, as if he had experienced it firsthand.
"To answer your question, we're in a slave shop in the Sabaody Archipelago. This shop is part of Sams company, and if you're not ignorant, I think you already know how bad our situation is," the boy explained, pulling Marco to get him as close to the bars as possible.
From there, Marco saw cages full of blue phoenixes.
"Our chains and cages are made of darkness. That's why those who were caught in their phoenix form can't take human form. In our case, those of us who weren't fully transformed or weren't transforming stayed in this human form. The darkness weakens us and neutralizes our abilities," the boy said, showing his collar like chains, with a resigned look.
Marco finally realized that he was also wearing the same.
"By the way, my name is Lin, and you?" said the boy, introducing himself with a smile.
"Marco," Marco replied, still stunned by what he saw.
"So, we're going to be together for a while. Don't you have something to talk about? I'm getting bored!" exclaimed Lin, making the strangest face Marco had ever seen.
Marco laughed.
"Hey! Why are you laughing?" asked Lin, frowning.
"You look like an idiot!" Marco said, laughing.
Lin got angry and jumped next to Marco.
"I'm not an idiot!" Lin shouted, though a mischievous smile began to form on his lips.
As time passed, world nobles as well as royalty would come to buy as if they were shopping for clothes.
Marco had never felt a fear like the one he felt when the nobles examined them one by one, with cheerful and contented smiles, as if what they were doing wasn't wrong.
Marco hugged himself at night, trying to find comfort. He deeply regretted being the worst younger brother ever.
"And then Liling said, 'You can't eat a banana without peeling it,'" Lin recounted, mimicking his sister's voice with a comical expression.
"And I replied, 'Why not? It's part of the banana!'" Lin continued, mimicking his own voice with a defiant tone.
"You really are a complete idiot," said Marco with a slight smile.
That's how most of their days went, with Lin telling stories from his life, trying to keep their spirits up in that gloomy place.
"Hey Marco, do you happen to have any sisters?" Lin asked one day, curiosity in his eyes.
"I have one," Marco replied. "My older sister, Aika. She's probably worried about me."
At least that's what Marco told himself. Why would she care, after he disobeyed her and got into so much trouble?
"Mine too," Lin said, now with tears in his eyes. "I want my sisters back."
Lin was always smiling and acting like a fool, so it surprised Marco to see his smile tainted with tears. "But it's okay! At least I'm not alone, because I have a friend by my side," Lin said, smiling again.
A friend.
Marco realized that despite everything, Lin was his friend.
"Same here," Marco said, returning the smile.
And Lin was Marco's friend.
So there's still some questions this chapter and last left, but rest assured that next chapters are going to be revealing more.
And yes this Lin is the same of the present time. Why didn't he present himself then? Well that's for next chapter...
Aika is Palila, so technically Marco is Ace's uncle.
This chapter used the next two songs: Somewhere over the rainbow and Poor little bug on the wall.