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His surroundings felt hot; he felt his skin melting and burning.
The sea stone prevents him from lashing out, giving his family his efforts before leaving.
They should have left
They shouldn't have come.
He was worthless and weak.
He's a coward and a liar beneath everything.
Charming? Handsome? Polite? He was none of those things if it weren't for Sabo's death.
He would never be that Ace if it weren't for Luffy almost dying because of him.
He remembers the time when he had anger issues and used to try to kill himself every day. And. Night, he tried to stop but couldn't, and it escalated when Sabo died.
It was bad that everyone called Roger a monster, but it got worse when Bluejam of all people found out.
He and his crew took him when he was just seven had stripped him of everything.
His dignity
His innocence
His worth
They stole it and spat on him. Ace was too weak and a coward to do anything, but when he did, he went all out.
As a kid, Ace liked the idea of arson and fire, so he decided to take revenge and warn them that he, Ace, was not Portgas but Gol D. Ace shall step forward and lay wrath on you like his father before him.
Splashing gasoline that he found in the junk, all of his crew, including Bluejam, stared at him in horror.
He had a blank expression and dead eyes that were hardened, protected, and thick.
Ace built a wall around his heart and mind because he was smart; people would solve him, and Ace liked his privacy and trauma and kept to himself.
If you smash him too hard, you damage him so much that you just have to give up on saving him.
Sabo tried, Luffy tried, Makino tried. Heck, even Dadam tried, but they don't want him to hurt.
What Ace wasn't expecting was the fact that Pops was confident about it, and Ace was stupid. They could break it, and they would save him by building and fixing him.
And Ace was not good with feelings despite the armor he clothed himself with; confusion leaves him agitated; if he's agitated then he'll be angry; if he'll be angry then he'll turn to fear and hate.
not to Roger or anyone else, but to himself
So now he was hating himself and was afraid of the conflicts around the battlefield.
Pops was bleeding, losing too much blood, and still fighting; Marco and Thatch, who were somehow alive, fought for his freedom; his crew did; Deuce, his loyal best friend, did; Luffy crashed into Impel and crashed into Marinefore for him; Oars lay dead on the ground, and giving the pirates leverage in the fight.
Then it went wrong again. Luffy was fighting and losing. The Admirals were going to kill him, and one marine almost nicked Luffy's heart. Ace was shaking in anger, not a rare emotion, but it felt new, like a powerful fire burning and begging to be unleashed, but since the seastone cuffs are around his wrist, he lost hope as fast as he got it.
Then the traitor appeared, threatening to kill Thatch, and Marco was not holding back anymore. Pops was now mad and protective because who would be stupid enough to poke a father who would wage war for a son like him?
Unfortunately (fortunately), Teach was stupid.
He boasted about his devil fruit, showed everyone his plans, and what he saw
Everyone, including Ace, was shocked, but he couldn't breathe. Ace was shaking in hatred and fear; he was enraged and terrified.
He never felt like this ever since he burned Bluejam and his crew to death when he was seven.
It felt too powerful for him to contain. His devil fruit was burning him because he was wearing seastone, and it was suffocating.
Ace, however, was done playing, done being the helpless victim, done acting like the damsel in distress.
Oh, he is distressed, and this damsel will release him himself.
Everyone watched with widened eyes and mouths open; it felt hot, too hot for them. For the Whitebeard, however, they felt safe, and it was weird because they currently are in a war, a war that could tip the scales that balance the world, and it was one of them that would tip and fall to their doom.
Marco took the advantage and used his phoenix claws to grab Ace, his seastone chains still intact, but he took notice of Ace shaking, and for once Marco couldn't read it nor reach the emotions he was feeling.
Then he got hotter and Marco took a few steps back. Everyone watched Ace, now visibly shaking; Marco couldn't tell because there was something stuck like it was clogged and pumping got them out, and whatever Ace has to release cannot be good because now he's burning and about to blow.
"Everyone take cover," yelled Marco. The fire then came out of nowhere, and Ace was glowing with an orange and yellow hue. He was shaking with anger, and Marco felt himself shudder.
Ace was never angry unless he was annoyed; usually, they know how to extinguish the annoyance, the grief, and the burden he carried with small gestures, but this one was different; no small gestures can save him.
Marco listened to Teach this time when he spoke with lust towards Ace, about how Ace had awoken his devil fruit potentials and that it was too dangerous and worthy to be his first mate, as if Ace would agree to join.
It was however not impossible; Ace broke the seastone, no. He still had it on, uncomfortably intact on his wrists.
Sengoku became nervous; Garp didn't look surprised, like he was waiting for this to happen. The admirals watched in tension as the air got hotter for them.
"I knew it. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, after all, he's a filthy monster just like his father," Admiral Akainu said and launched at his grandson, Luffy. Garp went to stop it, but Sengoku was faster and held him down, saying, "a dead man is the least of our concerns. I will execute Dragon's son first before taking yours."
The wrong move, Ace screamed, and the magna exploded and moved through Ace's command, burning and killing the Admiral in seconds. The Mera Mera No Mi was ten times stronger than before.
While still in seastone, Ace's eyes glowed with a red hue, and the fire that was orange and yellow had gotten darker and darker till it was dark red, almost blood red.
Ace's head snapped up at the sky, and by command, the sky turned red. The Marines had shit on themselves when they stared at Ace, who was pissed and raging; the sun setting behind him made the picture of him as a devil.
Everyone ran away, away from the monster. Marco, by order, took an unconscious Luffy near the Whitebeards. The war still went on even when most of them ran
Aokiji and Kuzan tried to stop Ace to no avail, being pushed back as another firewall slammed them back.
The Whitebeards and their allies were smug and proud of their baby brother, watching with astonishment. The fire never harmed them; it instead replenished them, like being reincarnated. The fire was light and warm and cozy while the dark red burned everyone else to crisp or ashes like Akainu.
It had revived Oars and healed everyone in just seconds, even Whitebeard's wounds. Holes that were bleeding healed into scars, and he moved freely, as if he never got sick.
Everyone dead from their side was revived and moving; that alone sent chills up to Sengoku, but Garp couldn't be more proud and is ecstatic. Ace gave him the same fire as the pirates, healing him and replenishing his soul; he felt revived. But every action has consequences.
Teach and his crew gave Ace one last chance to stand down and surrender. The second commander then pulled all the fire back inside of him, extinguishing all the fire except the glowing yellow on his eyes.
and plenty of flickers here and there.
Blackbeard laughed, and simultaneously, his crew pulled weapons and shot Ace repeatedly.
"ACE" screamed Thatch, but he was held back by his wounds, Marco was unable to save him as the stones were cuffed and all he could do was watch as blood poured and splashed everywhere, and Ace kneeled and lay there, not moving.
Ace was dead.
Ace is dead, and they could do nothing but watch.
They did nothing at all to save their lovable dork.
Waging war and losing lives, then gaining it back with Ace, they had him already, but Ace made a choice, and all of them watched, including Luffy, who was held back by Deuce.
Teach was so busy with his speech and showing off his devil fruit that he didn't notice Ace moving. They all clung to the fact that Ace was stubborn enough to survive, and then he stood up, still shackled, getting the attention of everyone.
"Zehahaha, Commander Ace, your really admirable. I can still save you if you join me and become my first mate!" bragged Teach with that annoying laugh of his as he continued, "I'll even let your brother live if you just betray that old fool!"
"You have no right to call my father a fool," muttered Ace, blood spilling from his mouth with multiple gun wounds.
Fire fist stood up with his head high.
Like Dadan and Gramps taught him
Gol D. Ace, or Portgas, held on to the last moment, being a stubborn idiot,
Like the genes of both his parents that flowed through his veins, and the parents who raised him
Ace stood, and with life clinging on the edge of the cliff,
Teach scoffed and laughed along with the rest of his crew. He said, "Commander Ace, I feel like you are the fool now!" He yelled, and the red sky and the fire gone made it seem like it was his victory, but Ace was not that one to give up.
"You're dying; maybe you're already dead; your body just hasn't realized it yet, but it won't be long before you drop." He stopped his sentence as Ace made it seem like he threw his dagger at Teach when he thrown it to Garp, who stared with teary eyes, reluctantly accepted it, and bowed his head in grief. The dagger was a gift from Makino who gave it to him; it was a heirloom from her late mother, who was a voyager.
Teach was right—Ace couldn't survive those wounds he took; he'd dropped dead the moment he let go. "I always wondered when I met you: Which will get you killed faster, your loyalty or your stubbornness?"
Ace wasn't listening; it was how it goes for him anyway—die in glory, either by stubborness or dying for their loved ones. He took a last look at everyone.
He stared at Deuce helping Luffy up, getting him cared for but also glancing at him, until Trafalgar came and took Luffy on his sub; at least Ace knows he's in good hands. He had met Law, a good guy with a nice hand in games.
Deuce stared back at him; he was the first to know about his existence. He was crying, and Ace found himself tearing up. He couldn't come home with his best friend; he would never get to have late-night chats and spend the time on the porch with Kotatsu laying on their lap; he would miss their mutual impatience on wanting to reunite with Yamato and O-tama.
He looked to Izou, a man with honor and a home to get to; he could count on him to save Wano from Kaido. Haruta, Vista, and Whitey all came and saved him, and now it's his turn to save them.
Their yelling was now muffled and the ringing covered his hearing. He locked eyes with Thatch; he didn't know till now that it was Ace who had saved him, who reincarnated his soul and body. Ace wouldn't stop death, yet here he is. Thatch would blame himself, would think it was his fault Ace went to kill Teach, but Ace knew he would move one; they always do.
Marco, who shared fire with him, saw the difference in their colors that mashed together into a beautiful color. Ace loved Marco and always saw him from a certain angle that was different from everyone else's. He was close with him; they shared their dark humor, and Marco tolerated his pettiness and sass, sometimes just ignoring them if he were being petty too. Ace now was crying, as Marco did too—a silent goodbye and a slight regret for not confessing. I love you...
Pops, his father, whom Ace wished he could meet when he was a kid, might change and actually love himself. They sent each other a teary farewell before Pops ordered everyone to fall back. Pops...Thank you for being a good father to me
The ringing didn't stop, and Ace knew what to do—he wanted to die in glory to protect his family, like Roger did to protect his mother and him.
"The One Piece..." Ace coughed up more blood, his eyes still fierce, and he was not even slightly done with fighting, letting the heat overwhelm him along with sending a Conquerors haki. "The one piece does exist!"
He glared at Teach and all the Marines, who flinched back at the glint of the dead man. "And you traitor, you wouldn't be alive to witness its treasure; you best hope you survive this, because I don't."
With his last breath, he extracted fire from volcanoes. The ground shook as fire erupted and burned everyone to the ground, except for the pirates who were in their boats; some were begging to go back, others cried in acceptance.
But some were safe, like Gramps and Sengoku, because the fire had a yellow hue instead of the heavily red fire that ruined the entire battlefield.
Ace felt life slip, fade, and he was now at peace for the first time in his life. The screams of the traitor were never heard, nor were the cries and wails of his family. He didn't hear the begging of his brother and his family at dawn island; he didn't hear the soft, proud, and wet voice of his Gramps lulling him to sleep.
His eyes were blurry, and the pain was slowly going away. All he felt was a big hand caressing his hair before a soft and delicate one replaced it, and a husky and deep voice spoke to him about how proud he was.
All he felt was peace, and that he was free.
Thank you...everyone