Tears From The Fire

Summary: Ace's death was something that would haunt Marco forever. Losing his best friend was almost harder than loosing Oyaji. But what if he didn't lose Ace? What if he unknowingly saved him?
Warning: ooc, bit of swearing.
Disclaimer: If I owned One Piece, it would have worked out like this! Or something along the lines thereof.

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All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.
-J.R.R. Tolkien
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He couldn't believe his eyes when it happened, when those words escaped his brother's lips. When he fell from Strawhat's shoulder, when he hit the ground with damn smile on his face, when his father died with his back unscathed standing tall and proud… Even after the war was ended and tears rolled down his cheeks at his loss, he couldn't believe it. Which was why he currently stood before the two, staring at their unmoving and lifeless bodies. Seeing Ace so still and quiet, it didn't seem natural. The kid was always moving around and causing trouble, even in his sleep sometimes. He felt himself tremble lightly and he turned into his phoenix form as he made his over to his best friend's side. Ace had loved Marco's phoenix form and often rode the mythical creature whenever Marco was in the mood to have a passenger.

A small, weak chuckle escaped the bird's beak as he silently remembered the first time the fire user had seen his zoan form. Ace's mouth had hit the ground and his eyes bulged in awe at the sight before he ran up and tackled the fire bird to the ground, nuzzling against the blue-flamed feathers that flickered and flared in the wind. He would often pet the phoenix too when given the chance, but not to tease Marco, but to simply have the privilege of feeling those warm, soft feathers under his hands.

The phoenix found himself hugging the body of his best friend, blue-fire wings surrounding the dead male. He bent his head low, allowing a single tear to fall onto the gaping hole on the male's chest. Both of his best friends were gone now. First it had been Thatch, and now Ace. He turned to his father and also hugged him, letting more tears fall from his eyes. He knew Oyaji wouldn't have been alive much longer, but he never expected him to die in Marine Ford. He liked to believe that the man was immortal and would live forever, as childish as it sounded. But then again, he was a child. A child in Whitebeard's eyes.

Releasing a shuddering breath as he turned back to human, he nodded to the red-haired male to continue on with the burial. It had been a touching funeral and he couldn't have thanked Shanks enough for that. He stayed staring at the headstones of his family members before turning towards the remaining crew, giving a nod that indicated it was time to go. Time to set sail once again to the open ocean. The crew headed onto their new ship and Marco gave one last look at the two graves, feeling apart of him breaking into pieces. This was it, he was leaving his best friend and his father behind. Part of him screamed to stay, to not leave their sides for even a second, and keep them company. But he knew he couldn't. Since Oyaji was no longer around, they needed a captain-like figure on the ship. And sadly, they all saw Marco as that figure. Though they all agreed that he wouldn't be replacing Oyaji, he'd simply just stepping in as a substitute. Because none of them wanted to believe Oyaji was gone. They simply decided that Marco would take the spot temporarily until Oyaji returned. The phoenix gave another shaky breath before stepping onto the ship, leaving behind two of the most important people in his life.

Little did he know that when he was in phoenix form, the tear that fell onto Ace's wound had become a small, blue flame that slowly went to work.

Work that wouldn't be completed for two and a half years.

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Okay, I know that was short. I was thinking of leaving this as a One-Shot, but if you guys want me to continue, I will. So yeah, the rest of the chapters- if you guys want there to be one- will be about the same length, if not a little longer. This time, it'll be a short-chaptered plot instead of my usual 3000 word ones. Hope that's okay? If not, let me know and I'll make them longer. Hope you guys take the time to review! :D

Ice is the heart's last beat, water is the mind's defeat
~roo the psycho