OH MY GOD I WILL DEFINITELY GIVE YOU THAT HAPPY ENDING, I SWEAR BY IT. ENJOY!! (In the end I broke it up to 4 parts because they each got too long!!!)
PART ONE: Ace (warning: lots of abuse/violence/cursing)
“Ace, I’m telling you this so that you don’t do anything stupid-yoi,” the baby den-den mushi in Ace’s hands sighed. “Though I’m pretty sure you’re not gonna listen.”
“Damn straight,” the black-haired man shifted his feet. “I already have intel on where that bastard is currently. So if you see Pops, tell him to prepare a funeral for that goddamned Teach. I’ll talk to you later.” Gacha.
Placing the baby den-den mushi carefully into his pocket, he got into the Striker and sailed off in the southwest direction. The smell of the sea tickled his nose a bit, and he gave a loud sneeze. After wiping the snot off his pants, he tipped his hat and looked into the distance. Not long after, his destination was right in front of his eyes.
Banaro Island, the man thought to himself. _____, I’m coming!
Suddenly, his den-den mushi rang. He took it out and answered it. “Hello?”
“Zehahahaha! Now, _____, how long do you think it’ll take for lover boy to get here?” Blackbeard said to Ace’s girlfriend as he removed the gag in her mouth.
“Probably less than half an hour,” Augur replied. He stood beside his captain. “I heard he was nearby in the seas looking for us. If I’m right, he should be coming along-“
“Shut up, I wasn’t asking you!” Blackbeard held up a hand to silence his underling. Bringing up his other hand, he tickled the lady’s chin. “So? What do you think?”
More tears sprung out of her eyes. The lady was afraid of course, but she had full faith in Ace that he would definitely come and rescue her. But she wasn’t going to reply to the dirty bastard who kidnapped her. In defiance, she spat right smack in Blackbeard’s eye, causing him to fall back and cry out in pain. Her little act caused her to get slapped by Burgess. “You bitch!” he cursed at her.
How did the unlucky lady get involved in this mess, anyway? She was sent by Izo to get some supplies at an island a bit further down from Banaro, nearer towards Sabaody, where her commander and a few others were waiting for her. She managed to purchase what she needed, but was ambushed by the traitor, Teach. Guessing what he was after, she decided to give herself up in order to save Izo and the rest. Not that she lacked faith in their abilities, of course, but she knew that Ace was already after the bastard, and that hunk alone was enough to bring down Blackbeard and his crew of misfits.
They tied up her wrists and ankles, and ended up gagging her when she got too noisy. She took a few hits to the face on their way to Banaro Island. When they arrived, they destroyed the peaceful town that resided on the near the coast and threw _____’s body in middle of the town plaza. And now, in the present, the traitor removed the mouth gag to taunt the poor lady. The rest of the crew had her surrounded as they watched her, laughing.
“I’ll tell you why I killed your good friend Thatch,” Blackbeard said after he composed himself. “He took the one thing that stood in my way of becoming the pirate king, the yami yami no mi!” At this, ______’s head snapped up. “You’re not going to become the pirate k-king, Teach. You know damn well that P-Pops is gonna be the-“
Smack! She took another hit on the face, this time the captain was the one dealing the pain. “Shut the fuck up,” his voice dripping with venom. He pulled at the collar of her shirt to bring her face closer to his. “You don’t get to decide what fate has in store for me. I have my own dreams, and you don’t get to tell me how to live it! I’m going to become the pirate king and take over the world! Zehahaha!”
“Captain, I can see Ace on that sail boat of his, they’re closing in on the island,” Augur announced, causing Blackbeard to laugh even harder.
“Funny,” he said after he calmed himself, “None of this would have to happen to you if only you have chosen me over that idiot kid. You would be standing beside me and I could promise you the world.” He dragged a dirty finger across _____’s jawline, making her shudder. “But you still don’t feel the same way, I can see.” Blackbeard took a step back and gave her a dirty look. “Once I’m done with Ace, you can come into my arms and cry. And then Pops will come and I’ll have his head. It’s a triple win for me!” He raised his hands in the air and laughed. The rest of his crew either smirked or laughed along.
Suddenly, Blackbeard stopped laughing. His expression turned into a serious one and he opened his mouth to speak. “Oi, _____. Say something. Praise me for my greatness! Just give up and acknowledge me!”
“N-no, I w-won’t,” the lady was struggling to speak, since her jaw was nearly destroyed by the bastards standing around her. “A-A-Ace. He will come. And fucking d-destroy you and send y-you all to your deaths.”
“The poor baby is trying to speak, let’s listen again,” Laffitte walked towards her and held her fragile jaw with his right hand. “What was that you said?”
“I think you heard her loud and clear,” a voice from above them said. The Blackbeard pirates looked at each other, and then at Augur, who stared back at them with wide eyes. Shit, I took my eyes off the man for a while and didn’t notice his presence! But when they all looked up, there was no one there.
“Also, I’d appreciate it if you laid your hands off my girl.” The voice was now coming from beside Laffitte, who looked with wide eyes at the flaming hand that held his wrist. But it was too late for him to draw back his hand from _____, and he screamed as he felt the burn on his wrist. He fell to ground and blew on his injury. “You!”
Blackbeard tried to remain unsurprised by the arrival of Ace. Putting on a cheerful face, he walked towards him. “Oh, it’s you, Commander! We were just talking about you. What’s good?”
“What’s good?” Ace laughed. “I’ll tell you what’s good.” He pointed a finger at _____. “What’s good is whatever part of her body you have not yet destroyed. What’s good is how Marco informed me of her kidnapping.” He took a step closer towards Blackbeard, who took a step back, his smile faltering.
“You wanna know what’s good, Teach?” Ace’s hands were balled in fists now as he lit them up with his powers. “What’s good is how I’m gonna kick your sorry ass and send you and your sorry group of friends straight to hell for using her to hurt me and Pops!” Closing the distance between him and Blackbeard, Ace jumped in the air and drew back one of his fists. “Hiken!”
The plaza was engulfed in red hot flames, and the only area that was safe was the little sphere that surrounded _____ where she laid on the ground, still bounded in rope. Ace ran towards her immediately amidst the chaos. Using his abilities, he burned off the rope. “This should buy us some time for a while,” he said. The lady only looked at Ace as tears started rolling down her cheeks. He’s here, he’s finally here.
Meanwhile, the Blackbeard pirates were too busy dealing with the fire to notice other people arriving to the scene. Ace sensed their presence and immediately opened up a pathway for them to get to the couple. “Izo!” he yelled. “Over here!”
The commander of the 16th division and some other Whitebeard pirates made their way towards them. “_____! Ace!” he called out. As the reinforcements approached the couple, _____ used her remaining strength to raise her head to see who was coming. Commander Izo? What’s he doing here?
“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” said Ace. “Can you get her out of here? Be careful though, she’s suffered quite a lot of injuries. Also watch out for her jaw, that one’s in pretty bad shape.”
“Of course I will,” Izo replied. “I’m in charge of her, after all.” He then ordered the pirates who came with him to carry her safely back to their ship. Fully realizing the situation, Izo grabbed Ace’s arm. “Wait, you’re not gonna fight them on your own, are you?”
“Izo, I was already after Teach before this happened. He’s always been my responsibility.” Ace walked towards _____ who was surrounded by the Whitebeard pirates who were trying to load her unto a stretcher they brought along. “Wait for me, okay?” He bent down and gently cradled her face in his hands. “I’ll make them pay.”
The girl tried to speak, but no sound came out. Be careful, Ace.
Izo sighed. “I would tell you to call for help if you need it, but you’re never gonna do that.” He placed a hand on Ace’s shoulder. “We’ll get her back straight away. Go and give them hell.” Ace placed his hand on top Izo’s and smiled. “Thanks.” Ace walked off, his body turning to flames.
After she was placed onto the stretcher, they quickly left the scene in order to avoid being caught by Blackbeard and his crew. The last thing _____ saw before she lost consciousness was Teach using his powers to absorb Ace’s flames, and the Blackbeard pirates standing by the sidelines, ready to attack. She willed herself to raise her hand to reach out to Ace, but she was too numb from the pain to know whether she succeeded in doing so.
“Shh! Let her rest in peace, all of you.”
“But she’s been like that for five days, doc. When will she wake up?”
“Oi, Haruta, that’s rich coming from you. Remember last time? You were out for almost two weeks-yoi.”
_____ recognized the voices around her as she started to wake. Her eyes fluttered opened to reveal the resident doctor and nurses on the Moby Dick, and several of the Whitebeard pirates watching her closely. Seeing their concerned faces made her smile, but when she tried to open her mouth to speak, she found herself to be in pain.
“Ah, don’t try to talk!” The doctor rushed towards her side. “You were in pretty bad shape when they brought you here. If you got in any later, I would’ve been unable to save you!”
“Say something more encouraging, will you,” Marco muttered.
_____ couldn’t handle it any longer. She parted her lips and tried to speak. “A-A-Ace,” her voiced croak.
One of the nurses rushed forward to calm down the patient. The doctor and the pirates shuffled their feet and looked sideways. Something’s wrong, _____ thought to herself.
“Well,” the doctor started. “He only returned yesterday in the morning. We had to operate on him immediately.” Ace’s girlfriend felt her stomach drop as she stared at the doctor with wide eyes. No…
The doctor noticed her expression and became flustered. “Oh, don’t worry! He’s alright now. He’s right here actually.” The doctor pointed at the bed to _____’s right.
With the assistance of a nurse, she turned her head to look at her beloved. He was covered in bandages and several bruises. Ace lay under the blanket, asleep. Immediately, _____ felt a rush of relief. Thank God, he’s fine. She sighed out loud.
After the doctor told her about what medications she would be taking from then on, everyone left the room, leaving _____ and Ace to rest in peace in the unlit infirmary. She had asked to let her head stay facing Ace, even if it meant she would suffer cramps. She watched him lie peacefully. Even though there was a distance between them, she could count the number of freckles on his cheeks. She laughed softly.
Completely disobeying the doctor’s orders to rest, she used all her strength to push herself to get up. It took her a while, but she succeeded. Walking over to Ace, she used her IV drip to help her to walk. Carefully, in order to not strain her body too much, she leaned over and softly kissed his lips. She pulled back and smiled.