Alive (MarAce)

Alive

"Luffy!"

Ace cried out upon seeing his little brother falling to his knees out of exhaustion. The battle at Marineford...the fight to save his life, had been a long and hard one. Luffy had fought hard...busted his ass to make it to where Ace was being held for execution, and to everyone's surprise, the boy had made it and managed to set Ace free, causing panic to spread throughout the Marines. Everything seemed to be going well...a little too well. Just as they were making their escape, Akainu had opened his mouth and managed to get under Ace's skin. The freckled raven had stopped running instantly, turned to defend the man he called his father, but Akainu continued to press the other and had looked past Ace to where Luffy was. The younger boy was exhausted. His body was failing him and he couldn't even find the strength to move.

"Luffy! Watch out!" Ace had suddenly cried out when the Admiral suddenly flew past him, heading straight for his exhausted little brother. Without hesitation, or thinking twice, the raven moved and put himself directly between Akainu's attack and his little brother. Within seconds, Akainu's magma-covered fist had shot straight through Ace's torso, leaving Luffy kneeling there with a look of horror on his face. Gritting his teeth harshly, Ace stood there with both hands clenched in fists. He couldn't even feel the pain, not even when Akainu's fist was removed from his body, causing him to fall to his knees. Coughing up blood, Ace slowly brought one of his trembling arms around his terrified little brother and pulled him into a weak hug.

"I'm sorry...Luffy... You went through so much trouble...and I screwed it up..." Ace coughed out, his eyes barely remaining open. So many people had put their lives on the line for him...and he went and did something completely stupid. He stopped running...let Akainu get under his skin and the results left him severely wounded and barely alive. "Y-you fought so well...and I...went and pulled something like this..."

As he spoke in a low tone Luffy remained frozen in place. His body was shaking from both fear and exhaustion. There was no way this had actually happened...right...? "H-hey...Ace it's going to be alright... We'll get you some help...and you'll be okay..." The Straw Hat captain spoke out with a tremble in his voice. "We...we can still save you...so just hang on..."

"Luffy...he burned my organs...punched me straight through...there's no way I'm going to survive so just listen..." Ace coughed out while tightening his grip on his younger brother. He could always feel himself fading so he needed to speak as quickly as possible. "You...are one stubborn pain in the ass...never listening to a damn thing I tell you... I swear, you would do it just to drive me up a wall but... in the end, I was really glad to call you and Sabo my brothers... The three of us...we really were a bunch of trouble makers... We drove Dadan insane...yet she still took care of us... If you ever see her..." Ace had to pause his words for a moment as a cough escaped from him. Time was running out but he wasn't done yet. "...Tell her I'm sorry for being such a brat...and also tell her thank you..." The raven went quiet again as tears started to spill down his freckled cheeks. He didn't want to die here...not anymore. He wanted to live, wanted to see Luffy achieve his dreams but he was certain he would be gone soon. There was no escaping this fate.

"Luffy...if I have any regrets, it's that I won't be able to see you fulfill your dream... I won't get to see you...become King of the Pirates..." Sniffling softly, Ace's vision started to blur, whatever life was left in him was fading fast. "Thank you...for being the best little brother I could ever ask for...thank you for loving me... a-and one more thing..." He paused once again to cough up more blood. Over Luffy's shoulder, he caught a blurry glimpse of blond hair and a purple shirt. Marco... "T-tell Marco...I'm sorry..."

"A-Ace...! H-hey...! Dammit hang in there! You can tell him yourself that you're sorry! You have to survive! You can't just die like this!" Luffy shouted out while clinging to his brother's battered body. In his hold, Ace's breathing was slowing down drastically. The younger raven couldn't stop shaking while continuing to beg his older brother to hold on just a little longer. "W-We're going to get out of here...! You have to see me become the King of the Pirates! Ace...! ACE!!"