A/N: My cousin couldn't stop throwing goldfish at me today. She got so smug when she got a damn headshot with that little fish. I will get her back I swear my life on it.
~~~
ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-
Everyone all grouped together on the ship, looking right at the stand where Ace sat. "Ace, we're coming to rescue you! We're here for you!" Luffy yelled.
Sengoku looked right at the Warlord who was with us. "Of all things, you're working alongside Straw Hat Luffy and 'Skull-Crusher' [Name].. so that's your response, Jimbei?!"
"Yes, it is! I resign from The Seven Warlords!" Jimbei shouted back.
Ivan looked around for Crocodile, only seeing that he wasn't here. "Where's Croco boy?"
"Oh? I think he chickened out and.. there he is!" Buggy turned towards the former Warlord who was charging right for Whitebeard. "He went ahead of me!"
"Oh! There he is!" Roger flew over to the ship Whitebeard was on, examining his old friend and rival. Oden sighed and followed him.
Well.. Luffy will take care of Crocodile, if I remember correctly. Right now.. I need to focus on getting to Ace. This is the only chance I'll have.
I quickly jumped off the board of the ship, surprising Ivan and Buggy. "[Name]?! What are you doing?!" Buggy screamed at me.
"They're going for Ace boy!" Ivan watched as I ran towards the stand, with hopes of freeing him.
A whole bunch of marines tried getting in my way, but it was no use. I was able to kick and punch through all of them with ease, only inching closer to Ace's holding point.
Luffy eventually caught up after he was finished talking to Whitebeard, our determination encouraging everyone around to charge into battle.
Kizaru landed right in front of me with a smile. "The government wanted you alive at first, but now that you're causing so much damage.. they don't care if you're dead."
He began charging up a beam in his leg, aiming it right for me and also Luffy since he was behind me in the distance, but still in the range of the blast.
I quickly gathered up all my strength in my legs, and used them as a booster to jump through the air and tumble into Luffy, saving the both of us while a large explosion occurred right after.
"Thanks, [Nickname]!" He smiled at me while I nodded, the two of us quickly getting up to continue progressing.
The two of us branched off into different directions, getting different enemies spout at us one after another.
Two vice-admirals ran up to me with swords, making me pause. "Oh my god what is that?!" I pointed to sky, making both of them look up, giving me the opportunity to knock both of them down while they were distracted.
Ace watched as Luffy fought off all the marines, getting cuts and losing energy in the process. "STAY AWAY, LUFFY! I know that you know it! We're both pirates! We both sailed on the sea as we liked! I have my own adventures! I have my own friends! I want you to.. keep your hands off of them! A wimp like you wants to save me?! You think that I'll allow you to do that?! It's so humiliating! Go back, Luffy! Why did you come here?!"
"It's the dust! I lied, It's not the dust!" I tried wiping away my waterfall of tears, bottom lip trembling.
"I'm.. YOUR BROTHER! I don't give a damn about the rules of pirates!" Luffy yelled.
"You hardhead!"
One of the marines I beat up was kicked all the way onto the stand Ace was on, surprising him plus Garp and Sengoku who were right next to him. "What the--" Sengoku sweat-dropped.
Ace looked down at me, seeing me wave at him. "You can't just promise me you'll see me again and then get captured, Ace! I had to bring your own promise to you instead!" I told him from below as I stood on top of a pile of marines, disrespectfully.
"[Name].." His eyes shook.
A light beam suddenly came at me, and I knew immediately who it was.
"You're as stubborn as Straw Hat Luffy, aren't you?" He smiled down at me, making me grit my teeth.
He sent another beam, forcing me to move back further to where Luffy was currently fighting off a giant marine. I clenched my fists, knowing that if I tried saving Ace by myself, the chance of me getting killed is nearly a hundred. I'm not strong enough for that yet.
"Ace!" Luffy knocked back the giant with third-gear. "You can say whatever you want! I'm gonna save you even if it means death!"
A long time passed, and I was getting a little tired due to how many marines I fought off at this point, but that wasn't the worst of it. Luffy was currently fighting Smoker, even though he had no chance against him yet.
Luffy got pinned down in the neck with the Sea Prism Stone Jutte, having no chance of escape.
I ran over and quickly kicked the Jutte away since Smoker was distracted, allowing Luffy to breath. I helped him stand up properly, still coughing to get his oxygen back.
Smoker tried charging at us until Hancock blocked the way, not allowing him to get any closer. "You! Leave them alone!" She shouted at him, surprising all the marines nearby.
She looked back at Smoker, putting back on her serious expression. He looked at her confused. "Hancock! What are you doing?! Are you gonna resign from The Warlords, too?!"
"Shut up! I'm deafened by my own anger! How could you attack both of my beloveds? I won't let you survive! I have never felt this much anger before! I'm gonna cut you up and feed you to beasts!"
"Hancock!" Luffy and I said at the same time by accident.
She turned to us with the most love-struck face. "Yes!" She pretended to use her power on us to fool the marines. She reached inside her shirt and grabbed a key, handing it to us. "I always believed that you two would make it here alive. Take this. It's Ace's handcuff key."
Luffy quickly jumped onto her, literally hugging her like no tomorrow after taking the key, "You're so..! You're so..! Thank you! I mean it!"
Hancock was literally panicking. "N--No.. no problem! Never mind me, you two got to.. you two have got to keep going!"
"You're right!" Luffy jumped down and picked me up out of nowhere, making me yelp. "Thanks!" He said before running off with me. "This is great. She helped us out again. Wait for us, Ace!"
"Ahaha.. Lu, do you wanna.. put me down yet?" I asked, and he looked back to me with a smile, which I assumed was a 'no'.
We eventually came up to Ivan who was with Kuma and Doflamingo. Doffy told Ivan that the Kuma here with us, wasn't the same Kuma he once knew. Kuma sent a beam right for us, Luffy and I jumping away along with Ivankov to avoid the attack. Ivan sent an attack called Galaxy Wink right to Kuma after seemingly multiplying himself, sending him flying backwards. He also sent a kick right to him as soon as he got up, knocking him back yet again.
A crowd of people came running up to us, encouraging us to get to the scaffold.
~~~
So, there was a small, itty bitty problem.
"That's.. 'Hawk-Eye'!" Luffy recognized him, as we both stared at the world's strongest swordsman. "We don't have time to face such a strong guy! We're here to save Ace! " Luffy told me, as he went into second-gear.
He ran up to Mihawk, still holding me, and when he got close enough Luffy suddenly disappeared, only focusing on advancing to Ace.
All of a sudden I saw the green cut coming towards us, causing me to squirm and pull Luffy away from the range so he wouldn't get hurt. "[Nickname], what--?!"
"I don't think he'd let us get away that easily, Lu." I pointed to Mihawk from across the battlefield, making Luffy narrow his eyes.
Luffy accidentally slipped on Ice, making the both of us crash into a stone wall.
Jimbei approached the two of us, then looked back at Mihawk. "'First Son of the Sea' Jimbei!" Mihawk recognized him.
The two started fighting as Luffy and I tried getting out of the rock. I managed to break it pretty quickly, sighing in relief. I helped Luffy up, making him smile at me.
Mihawk knocked Jimbei into the water, bringing his giant sword down at us. Luffy and I dodged before he could land the hit.
We stood on the opposing side of Mihawk, which made me gulp nervously.
~~~
We managed to avoid multiple of his hits, but it still had some pretty rough impact. Mihawk prepared another attack, ready to cut us up until..
"Don't mind me! Just breezing through!" Buggy screamed from inside the sand cyclone Crocodile created, accidentally getting caught up inside of it. Luffy grabbed Buggy and brought him down. Buggy thought he had saved him at first, until his body was cut in two by Mihawk's sword.
"..Jet human shield!" Luffy exclaimed.
"HAH!" I cackled as Buggy just grabbed Luffy by the hem of his shirt.
"Shut up, [Name]! And you! What're you doing?! Straw Hat!" Buggy screamed at him.
"What?! I'm not the one who cut you! Plus you just said 'don't mind me, I'm here to save you'!"
"How deluded is your hearing?"
"Gum-Gum Human shield!" Luffy shouted again, using the poor clown as a shield once again. Buggy got cut up into dozens of little pieces, making me laugh.
"I can't take it! You must be 'Hawk-Eye'! The Special Muggy Ball! Blow away!" Buggy sent the itty ball through his foot towards Mihawk, only for the swordsman to hit it back to Buggy as if it was nothing.
All of Buggy's minions surrounded the area, watching it go down.
The Muggy Ball bounced back at Buggy in slow motion. "Here's a joke! How is the Muggy Ball useful for tunnel construction?"
"And the answer is?" Mr. 3 asked.
"Say it together, everyone! Because it goes.. BOOM!" Buggy exclaimed before the ball literally exploded in front of him on cue.
"Great, Buggy!" Mr. 3 applauded along with the rest of his minions.
Luffy quickly grabbed my wrist and started running away. "Thank you, Buggy! I'll never forget about you!"
"AAA! WATCH--" I screamed, before the slash Mihawk sent at us started making fly around in the air like ragdolls.
The two of us face-planted onto the ground, making me dramatically cry. "I'm living a nightmare!"
"That was close! Who is that old guy?" Luffy turned back to Vista, who protected us from Mihawk.
"No time to ask that question! Let's go!" I helped Luffy up, the two of us starting to run away.
"You're right! Whatever, thank you!" Luffy shouted to Vista in the distance.
We kept on running towards Ace, knocking out any marines that would try to harm us in any way.
Kizaru came out of who knows where, stopping us in our tracks. "Go back to the beginning!" He exclaimed before trying to kick the two of us. I dodged, but Luffy got knocked back having to get helped by Jimbei.
"You are so annoying!" I clenched my fist, only getting a common smile from the Admiral.
"Hm.. 'Skull-Crusher' [Name], quite a close friend of Straw Hat Luffy aren't you?"
"So is my title 'Angel' or 'Skull-Crusher'? I'm confused." I crossed my arms.
"Well, it was a little difficult choosing a title for you specifically.. I preferred 'Bone-Crusher' instead of 'Skull-Crusher', but that wasn't a common opinion." Kizaru told me.
"Wait so how many titles did you guys even think of for me?" I sweat-dropped.
"I think it was.. 36?" Kizaru tried recollecting his memories.
WHAT?
"Wow, it's really that hard, huh?"
Luffy stretched out and grabbed my arm, pulling me back next to him and Jimbei, away from my conversation with Kizaru.
A marine tried shooting at Luffy, but the guy was shot at by.. Izou.
"Ace's brother and friend, are you out of energy already?" Izou looked back at us.
"The commanders are here! What a tremendous help!"
The temptation to tell Izou that Kozuki Oden is following me around everyday.. is insane.
"You can't get blocked by just one guy! Come with us!" Izou shouted, the two of us following the commanders along with Jimbei. "The Navy is backing down so now is our chance! Let's break through at once!"
It felt like almost everyone looked back to Whitebeard all at the same time as he got stabbed by his own comrade.. which surprised the whole of Marineford.
Squard explained that Whitebeard made a deal with The Navy, to sell out all of his allies in the bay so that the Whitebeards and Ace could live and remain untouched. It was their strategy to trick all of the allies, and they executed this lie well. They even made it to where they only attacked the ally ships and completely avoided the Whitebeards. He also said that Whitebeard didn't even tell him that Ace was Roger's son, the man Squard hated so much.
I spotted Roger and Oden next to Whitebeard on his ship, completely frozen.
"Shame on you, Whitebeard! I've no recollection of being beaten by such a weakling!" Crocodile yelled out to the Emperor because he let himself get stabbed so easily. The former Warlord didn't like that he's not what he used to be.
"You know what you've done, right, Squard? You thrust a sword into your father's body. You're such a stupid son!" Whitebeard was about to slam his hand down, or at least that's what it looked like, until he wrapped it around Squard instead. "But I love you, son, even if you are a fool."
"Cut the crap.. you sold our lives to--"
"Who pulled your upright and loyal heart into the darkness? Tell me." Whitebeard cut off Squard with a demand.
"He's an insurgent in the Navy. He said he would save us allied pirates if I slew you."
"So that's what Akainu told you. I know how much you hate Roger.. so much that I can feel your pain. But, Squard, it's ridiculous to lay the blame on a child for the sins of his father. Did Ace do something to you? You and Ace have weathered agony, joy and pain together.. so many times along with the others, isn't that right? I don't give a damn who Ace's father is. We all met each other on this wide sea by chance! Not only the two of you but all of you, I take as my sons! So, Squard, treat him kindly. I don't love him any more than any other. You are all family to me!"
Squard dropped his sword, tears falling from his eyes. Whitebeard stood up and walked over to the edge of his ship. "Anyway.. he has never.. changed at all, Sengoku. He shook us up very well. How ridiculous to say that I sold my sons!" Whitebeard punched the air, cracking appearing before his fists. The ice wall completely broke, allowing the allied pirates an exit.
"YEAHH!" I cheered, pumping my fist into the air while my eyes sparkled. "He's so cool!" I shook Luffy by the shoulders, letting him go when I let a certain amount of excitement out.
"If you are a pirate, you pick what you want to believe on your own!" Whitebeard stood back up, relieving everyone of the lie Sengoku planned. All of Whitebeard's allies cheered for him, saying they would never abandon their trust in him. "Did you call me a weakling? Please, Croco brat. I'm just a human with one heart. People would call me a devil or a monster but I can't continue to be the strongest forever. If I can save this one young man's life, I will earn my right to retire from the world. Those of you who'll follow me, lay down your life for it!"
Everyone lifted their weapons up into the air, showing their undying support for Whitebeard. The Emperor jumped off of his ship and landed onto the ground, ready to fight himself now. "Let's go!!"
Luffy and I continued our sprint towards Ace, not giving out due to exhaustion, but instead adrenaline kept us going. "That old man is amazing! He can fight even after being stabbed!" Luffy looked back at him.
After a while of running, the island began tilting sideways, making me yelp as I used my strength to stop myself from falling by digging my hands into the ground made of ice. Luffy began tumbling down because of it but I caught his hand, keeping him stable. "Thanks, [Nickname]!"
The two of us tried balancing ourselves as we stood up, getting a good look at the cause of the unbalanced island. The ocean was completely tilting along with the island, making my jaw-drop since the sight was even more intimidating in person.
The ice began cracking. There was a large crack right through the middle of the ice, and the two of us began falling through it. Luffy almost fell in until I grabbed his hand luckily, since I managed to hang on to the edge of the ice. I threw the both of us back up, panting from energy loss now.
"Holy shit! I never want to go through that again!" I stood back up, walking up to Luffy and resting my head on him for a minute. "I'm going to sleep for more than 24 hours when I get the chance, I swear.."
Luffy picked me up and carried me under his arm yet again. "I've been saved by you so many times, I appreciate it!" He smiled down at me, making me smile back.
"Oh, don't mention it.. it's like instinct at this point when it comes to you." I laughed, the island and ocean eventually ceasing all of it's breaking and tilting.
Well, at least that's what I remembered. Turns out I forgot there was still more.
The island began shaking again, a giant shockwave of pressure running through the Navy Headquarters, completely destroying nearly everything in its path. However, it managed to destroy everything except the scaffold. The reason for the is because all 3 admirals veered it off pretty easily.
"Let's go!" Luffy ran towards the scaffold, finally putting me down so I could run alongside him. "Ace!" He outstretched his arms towards the scaffold, almost reaching him until a mechanical wall rose from below, cutting off Luffy's reach as he fell back down. A bunch of walls surrounded the Navy Headquarters, making it nearly impossible to leave. They were completely indestructible, too..
A bunch of cannons the wall was armed with began aiming at everyone on land, making everyone think there was no escape until the body of the giant Oars that came to rescue Ace before we arrived was spotted blocking the way. The blood from Oars was making the system to release the wall less powerful, and the weight of his body was too much.
Akainu stepped forward as both of his arms turned to magma, meaning.. oh no. "Meteor Volcano!" He exclaimed before shooting a bunch of magma fists into the sky, sounding much like fireworks. He suddenly stopped, allowing the sky to go dark until all the magma shot up came falling down as if they really were meteors, making me scream.
"There's so many, oh my god!" I sobbed, hiding behind Luffy. The two of us watched in shock as the magma fists landed onto all the ice, injuring so many people while melting it and making it boil due to the head, making it hard to even swim in it. "Lu, watch out!" I threw the two of us away from the impact of one of the magma fists that got extremely close.
Whitebeard tried breaking the surrounding wall with his devil fruit power, but it was no use. The wall didn't break at all, it only carried a circular mark from the aftermath. Akainu sent even more of his magma fists into the air, continuing the meteor shower. One of the meteors hit Whitebeards ship.. and after a lot of struggling from all of the crewmembers to put it out, the ship exploded.
This reminds me of the time when the Straw Hats had to abandon the Going Merry.. that made me cry ugh.
"The plan is going well! Now let's move on to.. the execution of Portgas D. Ace.. immediately!" Sengoku spoke through the speaker, everyone hearing it.
Luffy got up, the sky being completely red and orange, the wind made up of ash particles. He clenched his fist with a darkened facial expression. He began running extremely fast, surprising me. I quickly followed after him, having to use my strength to gain speed in order to just catch up. We didn't hesitate to run right to where Oars was in order to pass through the walls and get to Ace. This determination is what motivated everyone else to follow after us, preparing for battle.
They fired their cannons at us, not hitting us yet even though they were specifically aiming for Luffy and I. All of the cannonballs hit the followers behind us, making them yell out. A cannonball came right at Luffy and I which I knocked away, not allowing it to stop our pursuit. I noticed how Luffy became increasingly tired though, barely able to run now. He was struggling just to speed-walk. I can't say I didn't feel the same. No matter how much strength I had at the moment, the oxygen due to all the flames and ash was stripped away, making it hard to just breath.
I kept on walking forward, but Luffy got hit with a cannonball, being knocked back into the water. I quickly ran over and jumped in, swimming down to Luffy as fast as I could. It was hard, though.. but I made it anyways, since I had enough strength left. I brought up on top of the ice, letting him catch his breath as I did myself, falling right onto the ground.
Ivan and Jimbei ran over to the two of us with worry. "We gotta do something! We gotta hurry! They'll execute Ace!" Luffy looked up at them.
"Yes, we have to stop them!"
Luffy crawled over to the fish-man. "Jimbei! I need you to do me a favor!"
~~~~
And.. that's how we both ended up in front of three admirals. That's also how Luffy threw lots of little pieces of ice at them, only using it as a distraction to make a smoke cover. Luffy used this as his chance to get into second gear and go right past the admirals to make it to Ace, just for Kizaru to send him flying back and get stuck in the ground.
They got ready to execute Ace, their blades about to strike his neck until Crocodile stopped them with his devil fruit, appearing to finally take our side. All of the marines aimed their guns at Croco, ready to fire at him.
"I thought it was to our advantage to have you since you hold a grudge against Whitebeard. Crocodile!" Sengoku yelled.
"I can kill that old, dying buzzard later. But before that, I don't want to let you taste victory!" Crocodile spoke up in his usual deep voice.
His head was suddenly cut off, even though it was replaced by sand pretty quickly. Doflamingo walked up to the scene with his weird walking stance. "Hey, you, gator guy! You turned me down and now, you wanna team up with Whitebeard? It makes me jealous."
"I'm not gonna team up with anybody."
"So that means you are still giving me the cold shoulder."
"Looks like it."
The two clashed after moments of just staring, knocking all the marines back due to how strong the force was.
Alright, then. Here we go I guess.. the final phase.