"I can't believe it," I shake my head. "You went through a lot more than me. Not always fun, but that's the way of adventure."
"It doesn't matter if you went through less than me, or if you had a more relaxing time, or if you had a more mentally strained time, because really all I care about is that I get to sit here next to you with your hand in mine. All I care about is that your journey led you right back to me."
"I promised you before Kuma sent me away that I would make my way back to you, and I was not going to break that promise. Your message on the Repeat Dial was just more motivation to keep true to that promise as soon as possible."
"I had kind of forgotten about that message, but I'm glad it could help get you to me. You deserve to be with us to save Ace. He is your brother, you biological brother, after all, and that's the whole reason I've done everything I have to get to him.
"Speaking of him being my biological brother, there's something that I want to tell you, Luffy," I take a deep breath to settle my racing heart, but I know it's either now or never to tell him what I want. "I should have told you a long time ago, but I wanted to keep one thing as all mine for a little while, but now I want to tell you because there's never going to be a perfect time."
"You're talking about who you decided is your father, right?"
I nod, "To the world, I know it doesn't matter who I think is my father, but to me it means a lot. All this time I've thought it was a horrible man that hated my mere existence for half my life, but now I know that isn't true at all. Which left me with a big choice."
"Of if it's the same as Ace or not?"
"Yes, and I'm sure he didn't tell me at Alabasta for a reason, and Garp said he didn't know and gave me his thoughts, which led me to what I finally decided. What I want the world to think."
"No matter what you decided, I want you to know that I won't look at you any differently. I'll still do whatever I can to make sure that you are safe. No matter what you say, you're still just my Akari that I love so much. That I want to be with for the rest of my life."
I quickly press my lips against his as the love swirls through me. "I love you so much, Luffy, and I know that no matter what I say next that will never change. That's what makes you so good for me."
"I think we've stalled enough now," he chuckles. "Now, who have you decided to claim as your father?"
I open my mouth to answer, but someone cries out at the exact same time. "Have we made it already!?"
Luffy and I both turn our heads to see the looming door peaking out behind the fog. The World Government's symbol is slowly coming into view. My chance to tell Luffy that keeping me safe might be a little more difficult with what I finally settled on.
I sigh, "Maybe now isn't the right time."
"Are you sure?" Luffy tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "You can tell me really quick, and then we can really discuss it later."
I shake my head, "No, I want to be able to talk it out with you, but it's fine. We can wait a little longer. There's going to be plenty of time later, I'm sure of it."
"If you say so dumpling," he presses a kiss to my forehead. "I think we should head back to Jinbei as we get ready to charge in there."
"I agree," I softly smile.
Luffy stands up first, holding his hands out for me to grab so he can pull me up to my feet. The peace of the past few hours quickly fades away. There's really no turning back now, but I wouldn't want to even if I could.
"Hey, Jinbei!" Luffy shouts as we make our way back to the fish-man. "It's the Gates of Justice! That was fast!"
"Actually, it took longer than usual," Jinbei replies. "The wind was against us. Now, how do we get through that gate?"
"Alright, men, we're here!" Buggy declares. "And what's beyond that gate!?"
"Fortune and glory!" Buggy's followers scream.
"That's right!"
I roll my eyes, "He's such an idiot."
"As long as he doesn't interfere with our plan, then he can be as big of an idiot as he wants," Luffy shrugs.
"Too bad they know we're coming or else they would have just opened the Gates for us," I sigh. "They're too strong to blast through, I'm assuming."
"Correct," Jinbei says. "Even if we could, it would take too long. We can't go over, as their too tall, and we don't have anything to send us all flying safely over. We can't go under either, as there's to many Devil Fruit users, and I already asked a lot of the whale sharks to help out at Impel Down."
"It's opening!" Luffy blurts out.
"What!?" I shout, looking at the Gates of Justice that are indeed slowly opening up in front of us.
"What's this!?" Jinbei snaps.
"That Gates of Justice are opening on their own!!" some men cry out.
"Didn't they just tell us they wouldn't open it no matter what!?" I exclaim.
"The control room is in Marineford!" someone shouts. "Who could've done it!?"
"What!? C-Cap'n Buggy!?" some man shouts. "Did you!?"
I look over to see Buggy standing on the side of the ship with his arms reaching towards the skies, and in one hand he holds a wooden staff of some kind. "What the hell is he doing now?"
"Did you do it! Are you a messenger of God!?" His followers drop to their needs as they clasp their hands together in some unbelievable prayer.
"Really, Buggy!" Luffy shockingly exclaims as his eyes widen and his mouth hangs open.
"Oh please!" Mr. 3 and I scream. "Give me a break!"
With the Gates now open to us, we aren't taken by the Tub Current to sail around again, and we smoothly sail through the giant gates into the channel that will take us towards Marineford and where Ace's execution is being held. There's a thick blanket of fog surrounding us, so if there's any ships in front of us, like Whitebeard's fleet, we can't see them at the moment. There isn't even really a commotion happening ahead of us that I can hear, but I also can't hear much with Buggy and his follows making a commotion right here on this ship.
"We're through the Gate!" Ivankov grins as he steps up to Luffy and me. "Now the question is whether your and Ace's father is here!"
"What?" Luffy asks, looking up at the tall drag queen.
"Here we go again with this," I mumble.
"Dragon won't sit by and allow them to execute his own son!" Ivankov squats.
"Oh, we have different dads," Luffy smiles.
"And different mothers, if that matters," I add.
"Ace's dad was Gold Roger. I never got to meet him, but I hear he was awesome, but Ace gets mad whenever I say that."
"WHAT!?" the entire ship exclaims.
"Oh, that's supposed to be a secret."
"WHAT!?"
"Since we're giving out secrets like that, I guess I should confirm that I am fully Ace's little sister," I raise a hand for a few seconds. "I mean, what the hell did you people think about Luffy and I if Ace was also my brother? Wait, please don't answer that."
"WHAT!?"
"Wait, Akari, are you saying that-" Luffy starts to ask but I cut him off.
"We do have the same mother," I flash a smile. "Let's focus on what's ahead of us right now, okay? We've got more important things to worry about right now."
Ivankov takes a deep breath, "Okay, well, that means Dragon will not be here."
Luffy chuckles, "Who cares? There will be plenty of other people that will be there to help out."
"I'm guessing that Whitebeard and all his men are already there," I say.
"He wouldn't have been held back by escaping prison, so I would say you're probably right, Akari," Jinbei says.
"I still can't see anything!" Luffy shouts. "The fog's too thick!"
"I wonder how deep the fog is, and if it's intentional," I hum. "I also wonder if that small rumble is fighting ahead of us."
In the next second, the sea changes from its normal choppiness to an intensity I've only seen before a storm. The only reason I don't believe there to be a storm on the horizon is how clear the skies are all around us with the sun shining brilliantly down on us. And then we are lifted high up into the air by the biggest single wave I've seen in such calm waters. The crash back down would have tossed us all around, and Luffy even wraps his arms around me, but the crash never happens because the entire wave is frozen solid in the next second, leaving us stuck up high.
"What happened!?" I exclaim.
"How'd we get up here!?" Buggy shouts.
"I don't know!" Luffy shouts, untangling his arms from me. "That huge wave picked us up, and then it just froze! Now we're stuck in the ice!"
"Look down," Crocodile calmly states. "You'll see what's happening."
We all rush over to where we can look over the side of the warship. Below us is an all-out war happening in Marineford with the constant fire of guns, clashing of swords, and cries of battle that might haunt my dreams for many nights to come. I see one of the biggest ships (correctly designed to look like a whale) in the middle of the Marinford bay with a single man standing at the bow. I know without a doubt that it's Whitebeard watching over his men as they charge forward on their rescue mission towards Ace. And now we're stuck up on a slab of ice that I realize has to be Aokiji's doing.
"Pops!" Jinbei growls.
"The war has already begun!" Ivankov cries out.
"Listen, you guys!" Luffy shouts to grab everyone's attention. "I have an idea how to get down! But we gotta hurry! They're gonna execute Ace in less than three hours!"
"What's the plan, captain?" I barely smile as I wait for him to explain.
"We'll slide down the back of the frozen wave and then continue forward."
"What!?" Buggy snaps. He's now changed into a Navy officer's uniform, looking slightly like himself again instead of an escaped prisoner. His long hair has been pulled up through the hat to fall on either side, which I find to be the strangest thing, but it is Buggy after all. "Slide down the frozen wave!?"
"It's the only way!" Luffy holds his hands out in defense. "But first we gotta break the ship out of the ice!"
"This is a warship!?" Mr. 3 screams. "There's no way we can move it!"
"We can if we work together!"
"Hey, suddenly I feel like I can do it!" Buggy clenches his fists.
"That's right!" His followers shout. "He's Cap'n Buggy, the man who's gonna conquer the world!"
"Okay, back up there a bit guys," I hold up my hand as my eyebrows furrow. "Seriously, he's not a god, just an idiot."
The Transponder Snail from earlier rings once before someone quickly answers it. "Attention fleet! Goal Point Tottz, change formation and proceed to step three of the Standard Maneuvers. Finish the preparations."
"It's a message for the Navy," I shake my head. "They can't control it not coming to us since it's all on the same line, but they are speaking in some kind of code."
"Ace will be executed ahead of schedule as soon as preparations are complete."
"What!?" Luffy blurts out.
"Damn them!" I growl.
"Hurry!" Luffy grabs my hand, pulling us to the other side of the ship before we leap off.
And we aren't the only ones. Jinbei, Crocodile, Buggy, and Ivankov follow our lead in order to try and free the warship. Luffy stretches his leg out to get power for a Gum-Gum Axe, I pull my legs up to prepare for slamming them down, Crocodile has a swarm of sand, Jinbei is readying a Fish-Man Karate kick, Buggy looks to be readying his leg for a simple kick, and Ivankov sends a wink as we all slam down into the ice. At first there are a few cracks around each person. Well, except for Buggy, which is kind of embarrassing for him that even I got the ice to crack. And then it is a cracking cascade before the entire tip breaks away. Which means we are now falling straight down towards the frozen solid bay.
"Oh shit," I mumble.
"The other way!" the people still on the warship scream. "The other way! We're gonna fall!"
It's already way too late for us to change anything, and the screams of everyone fill the air as we start to plumet.
"I'm telling you, you keep going to far!" Buggy screams.
"It's because that guy blinked!" Crocodile states.
"Don't blame this on me, Croc boy!" Ivankov snaps.
"Stop bickering!" I bellow. "That's ice down there! We're all gonna die!"
"Wait, I'll be fine!" Luffy shouts. "I'm made of rubber!"
"Well, the rest of us aren't!" Mr. 3 screams. "Do something!"
"I never should've listened to your stupid ideas, Straw Hat!" Buggy growls.
"I don't want to die like this!" Ivankov cries out. "Somebody save us!"
"Protect me, Luffy!" I scream, reaching out for the boy.
My hand has just grabbed Luffy's when instead of slamming into a thick sheet of ice we crash into the understandably frigid sea. The hold I have on Luffy's hand instantly tightens as he becomes powerless to the ocean's hatred of his Devil Fruit. My entire body is wide awake with only one goal in mind: to swim straight up. Luckily, we have Jinbei on our side, so after a few seconds of trying to get Luffy and myself to the surface, I'm saved by the fish-man who's collecting the other Devil Fruit users that are sinking in the water.
The second my head breaks through the surface of the water I'm gasping for air, looking all around to see that we fell directly in the one spot that no longer is covered in ice. I doubt someone would have had enough time or could have figured out exactly where we'd fall in less than a minute we plummeted through the air, so we really did just get extremely lucky once again.
"Thanks, Jinbei," I look over at the man.
"Devil Fruit users can be such a nuisance at times," Jinbei shakes his head as he tosses those he saved onto the deck of the now split in half warship. "I'm sure you know that seeing as you instantly started to try and get Luffy to the surface."
"This isn't the first time I've had to pull him out of the water," I smile. "For him though, I'd do it a thousand more times. Boyfriend, best friend, and captain, all rolled into one, so he's worth it."
"Then you should get up there with him," Jinbei tosses me onto the deck right where the others are.
I crawl over to Luffy, running my fingers through his wet hair as the straw hat has fallen off his head. "Come on Luff, we've made it."
"Get up!" someone orders. "Compared to the water torture in Impel Down, this is nothing!"
I look around to see everyone that was on the warship with us climbing out of the water or up the deck if they managed to hang on. After everything they've been through in Impel Down, and especially today, they're resilience to keep going is inspiring. Even if half of them are annoying the hell out of me blindly following Buggy.
"Akari," Luffy's coughing turns my attention back to the boy. "What happened? We didn't hit the ice?"
I shake my head as I feel tears burn the corners of my eyes, "No, we didn't hit the ice. We fell into the water. Someone took a section of ice out. We've made it, Luffy." I hear my voice crack. "Ace isn't that far now."
He softly smiles, "Then how about we get to a place where we can see him?" He sits up before maneuvering to his feet. His hand grabs mine before we start making the climb up the slanted deck to a more level area that will give us the vantage point to see Ace at the execution platform.
The sounds of war are much louder now that we are on the outskirts of the battlefield. To think that this is all for one man. For my one and only brother in this world. If there was time, I'm sure I'd let the tears fall, but I can't give into that emotion yet. There's still plenty of obstacles awaiting us.
It doesn't take long to reach the top of what used to be the side of the warship that gives a perfect view of Marineford and all the fighting going on. There's nothing we can do about that now, so my eyes look beyond that to farther into Marineford where a wooden platform rises high in order to show off a horrible event for all to see. And sitting atop that platform smack in the middle is the one we've come all this way for.
"There he is," Luffy breathes out.
"And is that Garp next to him?" I tilt my head to one side.
"LUFFY! AKARI!" Ace's voice pierces through the chaos. The tone isn't the happy surprise I was hoping for.
"ACE!" Luffy and I scream as one as we wave to the boy.
"We finally found you!" Luffy adds.
The air around us shifts as Luffy squats down into his fighting position with one hand on his knee and the other a fist that touches the ground. I'm fully on my feet as I bounce on my toes, ready to charge into battle and take out some bastards on our way to Ace's side. The air shift also has to do with Jinbei, Buggy, Ivankov, and Crocodile stepping right up behind us while all the other escapees are charging forward.
Buggy laughs, "World, here I come!"
"They mean business!" Ivankov declares. "And look at how many there are!"
"I'm here for you!" Luffy bellows.
"And me too!" I wave to Ace.
It's hard to pick out the conversations happening because of the scene now playing out before their eyes. There's clear shock at the group of people Luffy has gathered to storm Marineford with him, that I can clearly catch among the gabber from the Marines. The Whitebeard pirates are excited at the sight of more pirates to help in their fight. There's also clear shock at even seeing Luffy and myself at all. To say we've caused a stir with our presence would be an understatement.
From where we stand, I now notice a giant that is lying across a large section of the first section of Marineford. He doesn't look to be breathing, which means that he gave his life up to save Ace. He's one of many that are going to lose their lives today, and I have to take a deep breath to settle my heart.
There are also some of the remaining Warlords of the Seas standing off from most of the fighting, but I have a feeling that they won't be passive for much longer. This war has only just begun, and now that we've shown up, it's only going to get more intense.
"Is that your answer, Jinbei!" a strong male's voice from the other man up on the execution platform with Ace empties his lungs to be heard.
"Yes!" Jinbei shouts back. I'm resigning my position as one of the Seven Warlords!"
"Huh?" Ivankov speaks up. "Where's Croc Boy?"
"What?" Buggy mumbles.
I quickly look around, noticing a glint in the sunlight that directs me to Crocodile in a flurry of sand heading right for Whitebeard with his hook raised.
"There he is!" Buggy screams as we all look over at the scene before us. "He's trying to get the jump on me!"
"Crocodile's going after Whitebeard!" I scream before I am bursting with speed to get from our destroyed warship over to his impressive whale ship.
"Pops!" Whitebeard's men cry out.
Luffy is a blur as he flies by me with steam billowing off his body as he must have activated Second Gear in order to reach Crocodile before the man can finish his attack against Whitebeard. Luffy's foot slams against Crocodile's hook to knock him off course, and the reason that Luffy can even make contact to a man made of sand is because of the fall we had into the water earlier.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" I snap as I settle next to Luffy the second both him and Crocodile land back on the deck.
"I fulfilled my part of the agreement," Crocodile answers. "Why are either of you protecting Whitebeard?"
"So that's Whitebeard!" Luffy lets out a huff. "Well, don't attack him, Ace really likes that old man!"
A group of men still on the ship with Whitebeard rush forward to block Crocodile from making another move at their captain. Whitebeard, the captain that has created an incredible crew of men that he looks at like his own sons. The man that I just rushed over to save from a former Warlord. And here he commandingly stands at the bow of his impressive ship without a worry in the world.
He is taller than any non-giant I've ever seen, towering over everyone in the vicinity. His face is long and there's plenty of wrinkles around his eyes to remind us all of the old age of this man. The black bandana on his head covers his hair, but I'm assuming it matches his white mustache that turns up at both ends. The white with red lining and gold trim captain's coat that hands loosely on his shoulders has his Jolly Roger printed on the back, and the lack of a shirt underneath shows off his muscular chest with multiple scars littered over him. His tan pants are loose with the ends tucked into black boots and a black sash tied around his waist. In one hand he holds a gigantic spear-like sword known as a naginata that is utterly beautiful and no doubt expertly crafted for a man like him to wield.
"Boy, that straw hat looks a lot like the one Red Hair used to wear," Whitebeard speaks up, sounding exactly like the strong older man that I expect him to be after all I've heard of him recently.
"You know Shanks?" Luffy turns to look at the man. "I'm holding it for him."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," I turn around as well to face the man.
"So, you've come to save your brother, eh?" Whitebeard asks.
"Yeah!" Luffy exclaims.
"That's the plan," I grin.
Whitebeard glares down at us, "Do you know who you're up against? You'll be killed for sure!"
"Shut up!" Luffy snaps. "That's not for you to say! I know you're trying to become the Pirate King! But I'm going to be the Pirate King, not you! You don't even have a to-be queen like I do!"
"Um, this really isn't the time to debate that, Luffy," I grimace.
"Cheeky devil," Whitebeard grins. "You better stay out of the way, you little snot! Same goes for you, little missy!"
"I'll do whatever I want!" Luffy places his hands as he squats down. "We're the ones who're gonna save Ace!"
"There is something you might want to know," I bounce on my toes to keep the blood flowing. "Ace's execution has been moved up. We were on the warship that fell from the sky, and there was a Transponder Snail onboard that was connected to the transmission that must have went out to all the Marines here."
"They're going to execute Ace early?" Whitebeard confirms. "Are you sure they said that?"
"They said they needed to make some preparations and some other stuff that was in code," Luffy replies. "Akari wouldn't lie about that."
"The only reason I'm telling you is because we have the same goal here," I say. "We want to save Ace as much as you do! Maybe even more!"
"Alright, this is useful," Whitebeard looks away from us. "Thank you!"
"No problem!" Luffy stands up straight.
"I swear that he has some manners," I shake my head. "I just want to say thank you for taking in my brother and giving him a place to finally feel like he belongs. Us Portgas's didn't have that for a long time, but I'm glad both of us could find such amazing groups of people to go on adventures with."
Whitebeard barely chuckles, "Maybe Ace was right. You would have been a fine daughter of mine if the cards fell that way."
I smile, looking back at the battlefield. "Maybe so, but I like the way the cards fell."
"Enough talking," Luffy scoops me up in his arms before leaping off the front of Whitebeard's ship to get us right into the fighting action below on our journey towards Ace. "Here we come, Ace!" He lets out a battle cry as I let out a scream of absolute shock.
I never imagined that I would be standing right next to Whitebeard ever in my life, let alone have a small conversation with the man. Whenever I get back to Schied, Felix and Lilith will go nuts when they hear that. To think he's the one that has his flag all over the world in order to protect whole islands from other pirates and criminals. A man who has worked hard to get to where he is now. He's standing back and waiting for the perfect time to strike because he can see the bigger picture. He knows what this day means in the grander scale of the world. A single boy's life in order for the future.
Luffy's feet land on the ground, and he quickly places me feet down before grabbing my hand. In the next second, we are sprinting forward into the heat of battle. The gunshots, clashing of swords, screams of pain and anticipation tenfold now that we are in the thick of things. It's all made bearable with Luffy's hand in mind that I can give a squeeze to in order to ground myself. My focus directed at every footstep I take to get us a step closer to Ace. The blood splattering all around us barely even pierces my mind with all the other thoughts swirling around my head.
It's amazing to think that the girl Ace left behind on Foosha when he set sail is now running through a battlefield in order to save his life. He's always been the one to come to my rescue. To stand up to others when they are dragging my name through the mud. To teach me the basics of fighting after I begged him enough. He's always been my brother even though I didn't know it for most of my life. I couldn't have survived the later part of my childhood without him at my side, just like I can't survive in this world without Luffy. I'm proud to call Ace my brother, and no one will ever be able to take that away from me.
"I can't believe you talked to Whitebeard like that Luffy!" I can't help the laugh that bubbles out of me as I swipe the legs out from under a Marine and Luffy knocks the man out with a punch. "Just because he's chasing the same dream as you doesn't mean you had to be rude like that!"
"I was just being direct with him so there's no confusion!" Luffy gives my hand a squeeze. "The next King of the Pirates is going to be me! Not him!"
"I know that! The old era is ending and all us rookies are going to have a shot at the treasure that is at the end of all this! But you, I know that you're going to reach that goal! I know you are going to fulfill your dream of becoming Pirate King! There's no one else in the world that will do anything and everything in order to ensure that! And I'll be with you ever step of the way!"
"Because all great kings have an even more wonderful queen!"
"Damn right they do!"
"And if anyone is going to save Ace, then it's going to be us after everything we've been through to get here!"
"Through hell and high water that's for sure! Now come on, we've still got a long way to go to reach Ace!"
The two of us jump over some fallen men and land right as the brightest light bursts into view in front of us. There's only one person that can create such a powerful beam of light as that, and we last saw him fighting against Rayleigh in Sabaody. Kizaru has caught sight of us among all the chaos. I'm sure the Celestial Dragons are still bitching at him for not taking us out for the well-deserved beatings we dished out to them for being absolutely horrible people. Now he's aimed a beam of light right at us with nowhere to go to avoid it, and everyone around us seems to be thinking the exact same thing.
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Hope you enjoyed reading! I know that I'm teasing with Akari's big decision, but I promise it will be worth it later! Anyways, I would love to know what you thought! :D