[voice]

[firefreckles]

[His body feels cold when he wakes. Cold and sluggish but warming, and breaths are easier than they were the last time he was conscious. Layers of filth coats his skin and clothes, thick, dried blood flaking off as he moves. He can feel it crusted at the corners of his mouth and taste it on his tongue, a strong copper flavor along with ash and

Comments

[voice]

[firefreckles]

[Here is one of the voices that Ace was hoping to hear but hadn't wanted to directly ask about. He thought it might be better to find out who was on the island more indirectly than to let himself hope someone important to him was still there and be disappointed. Hearing Marco's voice puts a complete halt to his mind to the point that his feet no longer receive signals to move and he ends up standing still. Marco is most likely right about it being longer for him, he agrees internally. Even though the years had felt like nothing, a lot had happened after he left this island. His quest for vengeance had ended worse than he could have ever imagined possible, a terrible nightmare he had gotten sucked into and was unable to pull himself out of. The Whitebeard pirates, his brother, they had all tried to help when he hadn't deserved it. Ace is unsure, his memories from Siren's Port still fuzzy, but he thinks Marco may have tried to warn him things would end in a bloodbath and yet it still happened out of his control.

When Ace replies, his voice is unnaturally tight as he fights to keep a whole slew of emotions out of it and not reveal exactly how caught up he is by the war he had caused.]

I just follow the orange glow... right?

[Marco is still here. Marco is still here. Ace doesn't care how long it's been, only that Marco hadn't gone away. Even as he tells himself this, an ache builds inside his chest, between the thick, ugly scars that now span his front and back, and he wonders how much has changed since he left.]

[voice]

[burningfowl]

[It's hard to get a sense for exactly what Ace's emotions are, given that he's using that tight voice and that Marco can't see the boy's face. He can't blame him, of course, given what the D had been going through. Hell, Marco isn't even using the video function yet either.]

Aa. It's still blindingly bright. Takes more than a week or so for paint to fade. [Or ten days, not that Marco'd been counting.] Though it might be hard to spot since the sun's going down, yoi. Need me to find you?

[voice]

[firefreckles]

[He hadn't been gone much over a week and yet his eyes haven't seen anything of this island in years. It makes returning even stranger, though nothing quite tops the fact that Ace woke up in the first place.]

Man, a lot can happen in a week. [His heart's not fully in the tease and then there is silence. No, he doesn't need Marco to find him, but he wants to see him all the same.]

Going home... isn't something I've forgotten. [But he won't say no to meeting him halfway.]

[voice]

[burningfowl]

You sure? Best tell me where you're heading from anyways. Wouldn't want to chance you losing your way.

[No point in denying that he wants to see his nakama. At the same time, Marco is trying to prepare himself for what seeing Ace might mean. From the first two words out of the kid's lips and the dreadful seriousness that's been in his voice, the phoenix knows that Ace has at least experienced the war at Marineford. There's no way to gauge exactly when without seeing the boy, thanks to the Marines' numerous execution attempts, but the older pirate has a very good idea of what has gotten Ace so emotionally worked up.]

[voice]

[firefreckles]

[Ace's feet are leading him by subconscious memory alone. He's not sure which sector of the island he's in but he knows where he is, more or less.]

You don't have to worry about me.. It doesn't look that different; it's only been a long time since I saw everything. [Since I saw you. This you.]

I left the diamond not too long ago, [he adds hintingly. Marco saw the war for himself, so Ace figures he would know what to expect when he sees him.]

[voice]

[burningfowl]

[A short, mono-syllabic chuckle. Right.] A bit late to tell me not to worry, yoi. [He knows that isn't exactly what Ace had meant, but he can't help but respond that way nonetheless. As soon as the teenager had gone missing, Marco had set to worrying, gone to reliving the war in his mind and hoping, god how he'd hoped, that what he'd told Ace last spring in the city would have prevented such a disaster.

Some good that did.]

You want to keep talking or for me to show up faster? [Using his NV while flying isn't really possible, after all.]

[voice]

[firefreckles]

... Yeah. You were already worried the last time I was here. [He can remember that, and he can remember being warned, being told exactly what leaving Siren's Port had in store, and yet...]

I didn't remember anything you told me, [he says with a new edge to his voice, almost a numbness as his thoughts leave this world and he tries thinking hard about what it was like when the island sent him away. He remembers how he arrived that first time, angry and crewless, and it seems so long ago now, but once he was in his world, back on the ship, it was like Siren's Port was wiped away entirely. For all that had happened to him during the year he was on the island, not a single thing had come to mind when he was home. He's not sure if he should be frustrated by this or laugh, but he laughs, quiet and slightly unsound.

Whether or not he means for it to be that way, there's his answer. He wants to talk.]

I remember it now, most of it. It's still coming back. You told me everything but the island kept that part of me here.

[voice]

[burningfowl]

[In that case, the older pirate is content to keep his NV held up to the side of his head as he sets out to meet up with Ace. He might be walking, but his pace is still quite brisk.]

Arriving when I did, it would have been difficult to not be worried, yoi. [But that next bit of information.. It sets him on edge. Had his attempt to prepare Ace, to warn him about the future, really had no effect at all? ...No, not no effect. It'd certainly been enough to distress the teenager when Marco had spoken with him on the subject.] It's not your fault. The island does things its own way. [He'd caused Whitebeard to worry when his father had been on the island, too; had that also been for nothing? His tone is a bit more somber when he speaks next, his thoughts having taken a different turn.]

If this place sends me back.. I won't remember any of this. ["This" being the year he's spent in the city, the year with Ace. Marco hadn't meant to speak his mind aloud like that, but realizing that he'd simply forget someone he'd become so attached to is painful enough for the phoenix to slip up.]

[voice]

[firefreckles]

[Crap. He spoke without thinking just then.. There is too much on his mind.]

Hey--[He prompts, only to fall silent as the same realization hits him with Marco's words. Not only had he forgotten what Marco told him would happen, that he would die, but he also hadn't thought once about what he had left behind in Siren's Port. Despite spending so long by Marco's side in their world, he hadn't missed what they had here. This leaves him quiet a while. He continues to walk forward.]

We better make the most of it then, huh? [They could lose this so easily and never have it again. This is Ace's only second chance. The next time the younger pirate leaves Siren's Port, he will be dead forever.] It'll be easier on you if you can't remember, when you return.

[voice]

[burningfowl]

There wouldn't be a point in doing otherwise, yoi, even if there wasn't a risk involved. [Marco has also realized that, if Ace has been pulled from the time that the phoenix is suspecting, there won't be any further chances. It's possible that the city would bring him in from a different point in time, yes, but that wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't be this Ace that he's become so fond of.

That next comment has Marco frowning, though. Ace might not be able to see his expression, but the disapproval in his voice should be noticeable enough.] Memories, painful or not, are something I'd like to keep.

[voice]

[firefreckles]

A risk.... You mean like starting a war? [His tone lands on a rather flat note. Everyone risking their lives for his is still very fresh in Ace's mind. What they did for him had made him so happy that it sparked a physical ache and opened his eyes to everything, both in- and outside of his head. For the first time, he had been able to view life differently, had felt like it had all been worthwhile. And then he had died.

Despite the abrupt snuffing out of his newfound desire to live, the young pirate doesn't feel regret.

Neither does Ace answer right away. That Marco would want to remember him--what they had formed in Siren's Port--brings another painfully happy feeling which leaves him wearing a weak smile to counter Marco's disapproval.]

Surely you don't want to pine over a dead guy whenever you get sent back there.. What kind of reunion would that leave you with?

[voice]

[burningfowl]

A risk like one of us disappearing. [He knows you know what he meant, Ace, and he'd likely be chiding the younger pirate for deliberately switching the topic if he weren't so aware of how heavily the war is weighing on Ace's mind right now.] It wasn't your fault, you know. Hot-headed kids like you.. Rash decisions are to be expected, yoi. Nobody blamed you for anything.

[That next comment takes care of Marco's disapproval, however. It even manages to make the man chuckle a bit, though the laughter is quiet and short-lived.] You think that's the only thing that matters, yoi? There's more to it than mourning losses. There are plenty of things I'd like to look back fondly on if I end up back in our world.

[voice/action]

[firefreckles]

[Ace understood that disappearing was what Marco probably meant as well, but the other words still fell from his lips.] Don't say that. I knew what I was doing and that I made a mess of things but you--[His voice tightens.]--you all were too stubborn to listen to me. You came anyway..

[As he says this, the younger pirate stops walking, bowing his head as he takes in the meaning in Marco's words. It didn't sound like the phoenix would be doing an extra amount of moping if he was sent back with his memories, which was a relief. What they had here might even lend the older man a helping hand in the healing process, give him even more good memories to turn to as he was met with the aftermath of the war. Lifting his tired gaze, Ace spots a figure heading his way from the distance, a splash of orange at the dark-skinned man's back.]

Marco... [He mutters the name aloud, barely above a whisper. A worry crease forms between dark eyebrows as they draw together and he thinks of seeing the phoenix and speaking with him face-to-face for the first time in such a very long time. Memories in Siren's Port clash with the fresh memories from the war and the two create a mix, storming in his mind. He's not sure if he wants to scold the other pirate some more or run to him. Ace stays standing stiffly where he stopped, his eyes glued to the approaching man. The jagged scar reaching across his front may not stand out too terribly with all of the filth and blood stuck to his skin, but he's sure Marco will still see it. The fire-user, though bearing more muscle than the last time he was on this island, is pale and plenty haggard from his time in prison. Even his hair looks tired as the breeze brushes it over his dirty, freckled cheek. Ace's features are trimmer, a little more mature with the addition of two years to them. He stays, and he waits, bearing the scars of the war that put meaning into his life.]

[action]

[burningfowl]

[The division commander spies someone coming towards him as Ace scolds him, scolds the entire crew, for showing up to rescue him. Shirtless, wearing only black shorts and shoes, and covered in bruises and dried blood, there's only one person it could be. Marco opens his mouth to reply, but the words become frozen in his mouth.

There it is. Stamped across the D's chest is a bold scar, an irremovable reminder of what had come to pass in their world. Marco grits his teeth at the painful twinge in his chest but keeps walking, though he does turn off his NV. It gets tucked away in his pocket as he draws closer, eyes never once leaving his nakama. Wordlessly, the phoenix reaches out as soon as Ace is close enough and pulls the boy tightly to himself, heedless of the grime covering Ace's body. Arms around Ace's shoulders, Marco leans the side of his head against the younger pirate's, willing himself to speak.]

It doesn't matter. You're family. Family will always be there for each other, yoi.

[action] 1/2

[firefreckles]

[For another brief moment, Ace wants to try to tell Marco how he was wrong--Marco, the Whitebeard pirates, even Luffy, they were all wrong--for going to Marineford, but he is unable to form any words with his tongue, knowing the time for that has already passed by. He had accepted their sacrifice during the rush of his freedom, was even disturbingly grateful for it, and he could accept it again.]

[action] 2/2

[firefreckles]

[The younger man doesn't resist, allowing himself to be pressed against Marco's front where he drapes himself over the other's warmth. He slowly wraps his arms around Marco's torso as a memory flashes in his mind's eye; it's only a split-second, him leaning into a much smaller frame, one owned by a boy with black hair and a protesting torrent of denial, and then it's gone and he's still here, greedily soaking up Marco's body heat and paying it back with his own. This is something the island would never make him forget again. Ace's lips turn upwards in a smile at the cheesy line he hears. Rather than throw out a tease about sleeping with family members, the D is surprised to find his voice choked, throat tight. Wet tears trickle shining trails down freckled cheeks with this rare expression of unfiltered emotion which Ace is unable--or unwilling--to keep in check.]

Lousy old bird.. [he manages. Barely. The words are quiet, mumbled into the other commander's dark skin as Ace clings onto him and buries his face in the crook of Marco's neck. He'll stay here a while.]