Everything went wrong.
Why did I even for a second think that this was a good idea?
At first, I could hear the war-like sounds coming from the center point of the island. Each bang and crash caused me to flinch, but I stayed put, just like I had promised.
Then, the smoke appeared, but not on its own. Black, oozing mist rose with it, sending a chill of terror directly down my spine. It wasn't natural.
What caused me to move, and break my promise, was the explosion. It was colossal, shaking the entire earth and sending a shockwave out in every direction of the ocean. It had blinded me for a few moments, but it was then I knew.
Everything had gone horribly, horribly wrong.
Smoke, dust and debris stung at my eyes as I hid behind the piled rubble of a building. I could hear something, someone, speaking not too far away. Was it Ace?
No.
No, whoever it was wasn't speaking.
They were laughing...and it told me exactly who it was...
When the smog finally began to settle, I saw Blackbeard standing tall, battered and bruised, but alive. A twisted kind of pride oozed from his very pores, and then I looked down, down, down...
...and saw Ace beneath his boot, unconscious and bloody.
No..!
My sharp intake of breath almost caused me to choke, and I slapped my hand over my mouth in a desperate physical plea to keep quiet.
"Zehahahaha! Zehahahaha! You tried your best, Ace, ol' buddy!" Blackbeard cackled, the men around him joining in with his laughter.
They all looked rotten, to the absolute core, but I couldn't place them. Whoever they were, I hated them. I knew that much.
One of them, dressed like a flashy, wannabe wrestler, lifted Ace by the hair on the back of his head, smirking at the sight.
"What now, Boss? Throw him into the sea?"
I won't let that happen! But...
What could I do? If Ace had been so easily beaten, then I stood absolutely zero chance. I knew nothing about any of their abilities, only that they could hold their own, and even win, against a seriously powerful Devil Fruit ability that was leagues above my own.
"What? Of course not! Ace is a dear friend of mine! Basically family!" Hearing Teach - no, Blackbeard - speaking make my skin crawl more now than it ever had before. "We'll be taking him to a nice, comfy cell in Impel Down! It's for the good of the people, after all! Zehahahaha!"
Impel Down?! They'll kill him! I can't let this happen!
But I did.
I was petrified by the endless possibilities of what could happen if I made myself known to the devilish gang of backstabbers. None of the outcomes could go well for me or Ace, that was a given.
Seeing them drag his limp, bleeding body away, across the island to a rickety, barely-functional raft, terrified me. He was so close, just out of reach, and I was utterly helpless.
How had Blackbeard even managed to land a hit on him? I had no doubt in my mind that he had consumed Thatch's Devil Fruit, but what was it capable of? What more could it do to cause damage?
In that moment, I didn't care. There was nothing more to damage in my world. Ace was growing farther and farther away from me, sprawled in a deathly slump upon tethered wood until he was but a speck in the distant sea.
It took me entirely too long to start moving.
Tears began to gush forth from my eyes, and my breath just didn't want to leave the constriction of my throat. A panic attack? I hadn't had one of those since...something happened. Something I couldn't quite recall, many years ago.
No! Snap out of it! You need to go! You need to get the others!
Once my feet started to move, I couldn't stop them. Sprinting, tripping and scrambling through what little was left of the island, rejecting the searing burn of my muscles until I finally reached The Striker.
Wait...I can't use it...Only Ace can...
Crying out in desperation, I snatched my backpack, along with Ace's, and started running back to where I had last seen him, hoping and praying that there was something left. Something I could use.
Whatever ghastly phenomenon had occurred, there was little left. Dust, crumbled stone, and...Ace's hat. I picked it up carefully, scared that it would disintegrate in my hands, but it stayed whole, and I sat it atop my head before continuing my desperate search.
I wasn't sure how long I ran, eyes raking every inch of the island for anything that I could use to get away. Minutes, hours, definitely not days, but it sure felt like it.
Finally, just as I was about to collapse and give up, I found a dilapidated rowboat, on the very cusp of the northern shoreline. It was a huge risk, but one I had to take. I couldn't sit around worrying about drowning now. Not when Ace was at stake.
As I began to push it out towards the water, splinters immediately bit into my skin, but I didn't care. It was only a fraction of the pain my husband must have felt. I could take it.
The second my feet dipped into the ocean, what little strength I had left in my body began to be sapped, but even with buckling legs I pushed, praying that I could get it far out enough to set sail before I fell victim to my curse.
"Fucking GO..!" I screamed frantically as I gave it one final shove, my legs giving way. I managed to throw my upper half over the edge, dragging my exhausted body to safety as the boat began to drift with the outgoing current.
Without giving myself a chance to catch my breath, I grabbed my bag and rummaged through it until I found what I was looking for. Marco's Vivre card. Clamping one end between my teeth, feeling the tug as it pointed out his direction, I grabbed the splintered ends of the oars and began to stroke, following the invisible thread that tied me to our last hope.
Ace, I'm sorry..! I should have tried harder to stop you! But don't worry..! We'll get you back! Pops, Marco, the crew and I...We're gonna bring you home..!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
***Shorter chapter for this one. I'm horrible at writing fights, and I already have to somehow figure out Marineford, so I saved myself the extra struggle.
Christmas in retail is just awful. I've been sniffed twice this week by middle aged men. Sniffed.
Next Time: We've Got You***
YOU ARE READING
PELAGIC - Ace x Reader x Law
Fanfiction"No matter how the sun shone, the sea held forth no more promises" - Albert Camus It all started with a single promise. A promise that would throw an innocent child into the very depths of hell itself. It continued with a second promise. One fi...
