Chapter Text
“Luffy!!” Ace screamed as he got up on his feet and rushed toward Akainu as the Admiral lunged toward his little brother, who was on his knees, staring down at the ground and seemingly oblivious to the impending threat that was coming his way. He had to protect Luffy. He would be damned if he let anything happen to his little brother because of his recklessness.
With one last burst of strength, he jumped in between Akainu and Luffy, using himself as a shield at the last second. He kept himself solid, allowing Akainu’s magma fist to impale him from behind. He knew if he turned intangible, the magma would pass him, but it would hit Luffy and potentially kill him.
It burns, Ace thinks to himself as he feels Akainu’s fist bury itself through his spine and into his chest. The pain throughout his body, as the magma begins to spread to his organs, is unimaginable.
He cannot even scream as the magma and volcanic smoke char his lungs. He knows that Akainu is purposely leaving his fist embedded into his chest; he wants to make sure that Ace dies a slow, agonizing death. Why? Because of the bad blood running through his veins. To punish him for the sins of his wretched father, even though he never asked to be born.
Ace sees the look of disbelief on Luffy’s face as he watches the brutal sight of Ace’s injury. He desperately wanted to comfort Luffy, to tell him that everything was OK, that he was here to protect him. But he couldn’t; the pain was clouding his mind, leaving him speechless and dumbfounded.
“ACE! NO!!!” Ace could hear Marco’s anguished scream as the phoenix watched in horror at the sight of Akainu punching a hole through his baby brother’s chest. The other Whitebeard Pirates were all equally horrified at the gruesome scene before them. Whitebeard was facing Kizaru in battle, when he heard Marco scream Ace’s name. He turned around to see what the source of Marco’s distress was.
His heart nearly stopped at what he saw; Ace was standing in between Akainu and Straw Hat, and Whitebeard saw that Akainu’s punch had perforated Ace’s chest from behind. “Ace!!!” he cried out as he attempted to run to his youngest son’s aid. As Whitebeard started to run, however, he felt something pierce his forearm. He turned around to glare at Kizaru, who had shot a light beam him to get his attention. “Going somewhere, grandpa?” he inquired in his usual apathetic drawl.
Ace’s pain didn’t lessen as Akainu slowly pulled his fist out of his chest from behind. Ace immediately coughed up blood expelled from his charred lungs and other mangled organs. Despite losing all feeling below his waist, he still found himself standing. He didn’t know if it was due to adrenaline or sheer willpower. He heard the yelling and explosions in the background, as the Whitebeard Pirates launched an assault on Akainu in retaliation for his brutal attack on their little brother.
Much to their shock, however, their bullets and bazookas flew harmlessly through him. Half of his body was missing, and yet he was still walking. His body quickly regenerated, and he countered with a blast of magma that sent the pirates flying with burns.
Luffy was sure that this was some horrible nightmare; Ace, his big brother, his role model, his cheerleader, had a huge hole gaping in his chest, just below his heart. Blood streaming out of his mouth and nose, his breathing coming in wheezing gasps for air, and the life in his eyes was rapidly dimming. From behind, Luffy saw Akainu walk towards him and Ace and look over them, easily towering over both boys.
Glaring down at Ace with a contemptuous scowl, he said, “It seems that you have some life left in you, Fire Fist Ace.” Ace was seemingly oblivious to Akainu’s presence, but even over his wheezing rasps, he could hear what the Admiral was saying, and a sense of terror washed over him. He saw Luffy standing in front of him, frozen in fear and shock.
Luffy, Ace spoke in his mind, unable to vocalize his thoughts to his brother. Get away from here. You have to run and save yourself. I’m dying, leave me behind if you have to. Akainu suddenly raised his fist at Ace’s head, coating it with magma, fully intent on finishing what he started. “Don’t….” Luffy whispered, only to shout, “DON’T DO IT!!”
But before Akainu’s fist could hit its target, he found himself intercepted by none other than Jinbe, who had rushed over and placed himself between Akainu and the boys. He had hardened his arms with Haki, protecting himself and the boys from the onslaught of magma, refusing to give ground.
“I will not let you hurt him anymore!” declared Jinbe, his expression strained as he could feel the boiling magma attempting to burn away his arms. “Quit the pointless stalling, Jinbe!” Akainu yelled. “As a former Warlord, you should know how strong I am!” But Jinbe was undeterred. “If letting my body burn will buy us some time, then I don’t mind! I was prepared to die from the start!”
As Ace heard Jinbe speak, he felt tears fall down his cheeks; why was Jinbe putting his life on the line to protect him? He wasn’t worth it; while it made sense to protect Luffy, Ace knew he was a goner. Jinbe, he tried to speak, but nothing came out except another rattling wheeze. Take Luffy and run. Don’t put yourself in danger for me. I’m not worth it. I was never worth it. All of this, the deaths, the carnage, his little brother being dragged into this dangerous war, was all his fault. He hated himself more than he ever thought possible.
Suddenly, a flash of turquoise flames emerged from behind Jinbe. It was Marco and Vista, charging at Akainu to protect Jinbe, Ace, and Luffy. As Marco hardened his legs with Haki, Vista hardened his sword; together, they slashed at Akainu’s body, hoping they could do some damage.
“Damn it, we were so close!” Marco cursed in frustration, watching as Ace finally collapsed and Luffy caught him in his arms. “I will never forgive myself for letting this happen!” added Vista, his voice laced with anger and regret. Much to their shock, however, the slashes on Akainu’s shoulder and chest quickly healed.
“Haki, huh? Don’t waste your efforts. Fire Fist Ace is as good as dead.” Marco and Vista glared at him, gritting out, “You bastard.” Marco flew past Akainu, straight where Ace was lying in Luffy’s arms. Vista charged at Akainu again, hoping to buy enough time for Marco to take the boys to safety.
Elsewhere, Monkey D. Garp slowly walked toward the battlefield, his face contorted with rage; he was filled with an urge to beat Akainu to a pulp for impaling his oldest grandson and trying to harm his youngest. Sengoku noticed this and ran towards Garp, tackling him from behind and preventing him from getting back up. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Keep out of this, you old fool!” he warned his old friend.
Garp struggled to get back on his feet, his body shaking with anger as he hissed through clenched teeth, “You’d better keep holding me down, Sengoku. Because if you don’t, I’m going to kill Sakazuki with my bare hands!” Sengoku watched the chaos unfold before him. “Damn it all!” he swore under his breath.
As Marco reached Ace and Luffy, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the sight of Ace’s back; the damage was much worse than he had feared. Akainu’s fist had pierced his back, penetrated his spine, and buried itself in his chest.
His Whitebeard tattoo, his pride and joy that he showed off to everyone, was completely destroyed. There was blood staining his body, dripping onto the ground. He didn’t want to even imagine the damage his internal organs had suffered from the magma. He could hear the wheezing, gurgled breaths from Ace’s scorched lungs over the cacophony of the battlefield.
“Ace? You OK? Say something.” Luffy asked, his eyes were wide and unfocused, as though he were still trapped in a nightmare. He held up the hand that was holding Ace’s back. It was covered in blood; Ace’s blood. Ace had shielded Luffy with his own body, gave his own life, to protect him. Because he was too weak.
After all those years of Ace protecting him, comforting him, and saving him, Luffy wanted to be the one to protect Ace this time. But he had failed. Because he wasn’t strong enough to fight the whole Navy by himself, he wasn’t even strong enough to defeat Magellan in Impel Down. And now his weakness had cost Ace his life.
Shockingly, as though hearing Luffy’s voice had jolted him back to life, Ace took a rattling gasp before he spoke, “Luffy…I’m sorry…it looks like…this is it…for me…” wheezing as he finished his sentence. His entire body shook from effort it took to speak, to make his voice audible for Luffy to hear, but he continued. “Thank you… for everything you’ve done…to save me…for being…such a wonderful brother.”
He meant every word he said; he was so lucky to have a brother, a family, who loved him so much, to risk their lives to save him, even though he didn’t deserve it. He stopped as he coughed up more blood, some of it spilling onto Luffy’s shoulder.
Luffy shook his head in denial, his voice rising as he called for a doctor to examine Ace. Deuce, Ace’s former first mate and doctor of the Spade Pirates, broke past the crowd and rushed over to the pair to assess the damage.
As he saw the gaping hole in Ace’s chest, he felt as though he had been stabbed in the heart. This kind of injury wasn’t something that could be treated. The fact that Ace was still clinging to life right now was nothing short of a miracle. He glanced at Luffy, tears welling in his eyes as he silently shook his head; as if to say there was nothing he could do.
“What?! You’re not even going to try????” Luffy asked incredulously. “We came this far, we have to try something!!!” he demanded, his voice trembling in desperation. “It’s no…use…my organs have been…fried…” Ace managed to utter these last few words barely above a whisper, each breath a desperate attempt to stay alive. “I can feel it…I can feel my life is ending…” he ended his sentence with a pitiful wheeze.
Tears welled in Luffy’s eyes as he pleaded, “Ace. Please…YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN’T DIE!!!!!!!” Luffy’s scream echoed across Marineford, over the sound of pirates and Marines continuing to fight and kill each other.