The Elementalist Lucia [One Piece x OC fanfiction]

XXIII - Gray Terminal's fire

In the midst of the flames, Ace had managed to retrieve a small blade which he wielded in order to saw through the ropes that held them captive. The heat was stifling. Lucia was still lying face down in a pool of blood that was gradually drying. He finally managed to free himself with Luffy. Without missing a beat, they fled the burning ship, Ace carrying Lucia's body on his back.

"We'll get out of this," Ace said. "Don't worry, Luffy, I'll protect you both."

They resumed their frantic race to escape the fire but there was no way for them to go away. Luffy was already out of breath and Ace was struggling to carry the body of his sister, still unconscious. Eventually they were literally surrounded by flames, blocked on all sides. Ace turned his head to Lucia and shook her gently:

"Please wake up, we need your help right now."

No matter how hard he tried, the girl's eyelids remained closed.

"Shit, I have no idea where we are," he grumbled.

"Who told you you could escape, you brats?" a deep voice thundered that they recognised all too easily.

Bluejam strode through the flames towards them, the pirate was beside himself. In arranging with royalty to set fire to the Terminal, he had been promised that he would be elevated to noble status. Yet the gates had refused to open for him when he had tried to enter the city protected by the wall, safe from the fire. He was furious at being tricked and manipulated, stuck here, destined to die with all the others in the Terminal.

"Bluejam," Luffy growled.

"Shouldn't you be long gone?" Ace asked.

"The game is over for me and my men," Bluejam replied. "It's funny, we're in a desperate situation but it makes us laugh."

The two boys scrambled to get away from the pirates but were surrounded by the menacing-looking adults who glared at them, armed to the teeth. One of them grabbed Lucia by the arm and shook her before showing her to the pirate captain:

"Hey boss, she's still alive, what do we do with her?"

"LET HER GO!" shouted Ace, out of his mind, jumping up to try and get his sister back.

The pirate holding Lucia laughed out loud before waving the child's body around like a piece of cloth, amused by the boy's determination to try and get her back. Bluejam interrupted his little game:

"Come on, don't play with trash like that. We don't need her anymore, throw her into the flames, she'll stay there anyway."

Ignoring the protests and cries of the other two children, the pirate gained some momentum and forcefully threw Lucia, who disappeared, engulfed by the burning flames.

"Now tell me where your famous treasure is hidden..." said Bluejam.

"You are interested in a treasure when your life is at stake?" cried Ace, his eyes burning with anger.

"Well yeah," the pirate captain replied simply, "now tell me where it is."

Ace tensed, the image of Lucia's body fading into the fire haunting his mind. They'd just thrown a child into a fire and all they could think about was getting treasure?

"You're a bunch of nuts!" he spat with all the contempt he could muster.

"You're completely crazy, this treasure is not-" began Luffy.

"It's okay," Ace finally relented. "I'll tell you."

"Ace! What the hell!" yelled Luffy. "You and Sabo have spent so much time collecting all this treasure-"