Dash for a Miracle
-x-
The three Whitebeard Pirates were heading south along the coast of the Sandora River towards their ships when Ace suddenly stopped in his tracks prompting Han and Ollie to stop too.
Ace removed his orange hat and stared down at the two pieces of paper that had been sewn into the underside of the brim. The rectangular shaped Vivre Card was burning up. Ace knew that Vivre Cards were resistant to fire, the only time they burned was if the person who the card was made from was injured or dying. Ace frowned as he watched Luffy's card burn.
"What's the matter?" Han asked him.
"Luffy's in trouble," Ace stated.
"He's not... dead... is he?" Ollie questioned uncertainly.
"No, he's still alive," Ace reassured them as he stared at the small sliver that remained of Luffy's Vivre Card. "But I think he's really hurt."
"Do you wanna go back and help him?" Han inquired.
Ace was silent for a moment as he continued staring at the sliver of paper. "No," he eventually answered. "Crocodile is Luffy's fight. It's not my place to fight Luffy's battles for him. Luffy's always had an incredibly strong will. As long as he's not dead he can come back from anything."
"Seems like something he shares with you," Ollie commented.
"Y/N used to joke that the 'D.' in our names stood for Determination," Ace informed them with a small smile. "Luffy's outright determined to beat Crocodile. So whatever the injuries were inflicted on him... he's gonna rise up and fight back."
"Portgaz D. Ace... Monkey D. Luffy..." Ollie listed, "What does the D. stand for?"
"No idea," Ace admitted.
"You mean you don't know your own name?" Ollie asked.
"Guess not," Ace replied. "I didn't exactly name myself. And my parents weren't really around to ask, were they?" Ollie quickly quieted knowing full well that Ace's parents were a sore subject. "Maybe we'll just stick with Determination."
-x-
The abandoned oasis of Yuba was still and quiet. The only living occupant of the city was currently standing at the bottom of the incredibly deep pit he'd spent that last two days digging.
"WATER!" Toto exclaimed. The old man's persistence had paid off, all around him was a layer of water that he'd finally managed to reach. "I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE MY EYES!" Tears welled up in Toto's eyes as he stood in the water, it came up to his shins and was the most he'd seen in the last three years. "There's so much of it! Precious water! The water is coming forth!"
Toto cupped his hands together and scooped some water out of the pool around him.
"Didn't I tell you Luffy?" Toto exclaimed. "This land is strong! Through it all Yuba lives on!"
-x-
Crocodile stood in the desert on the outskirts of Rain Base with his golden hook still going through Luffy's stomach and coming out his back. The rubber man's blood dripped down into the sand as Crocodile held him up in front of him.
"You may have stopped the sandstorm but the destruction of Nanohana has already fanned the flaming tempers within the Rebel Army causing an inferno to ignite," the Warlord stated. "In the end... the bleeding hearts which infest this land are what's killing it. And you 'Straw Hat' Luffy are the worst of them all. If only you had purged yourself of such weakness, you may have lived a little longer."
