Wow, I was really quite surprised by the reviews in the last update. 8'D Thanks a lot, you guys! It really made my day!

I recently posted a new story, 'Beyond Brotherhood Collections' which is more like where I would post my AcexLuffy oneshots in rather than one with a solid plot. :3 Check it out if you have time since I may update that on random whims. On the other hand, Back to the Start is back in progress!

twilightserius: It wouldn't be possible since Marco's flames on heal rather than harm someone. 8'D

Wolfy Valkyrie Cain Grimm: Thanks a lot! 8'D Sorry, I tend to overreact a lot. I'm quite the dramatic person xDD

Yana5: Me too! :DD

anonymous: I'm glad that you enjoyed this chapter too! I always found it adorable whenever I imagined Ace wanting to carry Luffy's miniature state! And chibi sized Luffy is just too adorable for me to pass up on! I'm starting to get a little high on MarcoxSanji now. XD And no problem! When people call a character a mary-sue, it's most likely that they are insulting them, I guess?

: Thanks! I really tend to overreact like how Ace does when it concerned Luffy but I guess I should've tried to calm myself down. And the snake gets to live since it was part of the sad story of this island. Dx I pretty much liked it but I couldn't resist having it swallowing Luffy again. :X

Chibi'prince-sama: It's alright xD I written quite a number of AcexLuffy fics now if you're interested. :P

Last we left our heroes-No, who are we kidding- young lads, Ace was trying to rescue Luffy from the snake while Sabo was desperately stopping him from carrying out the possibility of burning their little brother at the same time. However, Ace was already winning and as time went by, each portion of the snake's body was starting to turn into a charcoal.

Meanwhile, the three eaten ones were diligently looking for a way out.

"It's starting to get warmer," Sanji complained.

"Hey, you're right!" Luffy piped in, only realizing the change in temperature when the cook mentioned it. "I wonder what is Ace doing outside. They seemed to be having lots of fun."

"LUUUUUUFFFFFYYYYYYY!"

Pretending not to hear Ace's war cry, Marco continued to investigate the area. The flesh of the snake was starting to turn a little too red for comfort. If they stayed here any longer, Ace might eventually burn a whole through for them to escape. However, Marco was smartly not convinced that any one of Ace's rescue missions would turn out well so he preferred to take a safer alternative whereby none of them would be risked getting burnt. That settled it. I would be a huge pain but Marco would have to carry both Sanji and Luffy upwards so that they could get out through the mouth.

He was strong, that was for sure but there was a risk with how the insides of the snake was trembling viciously.

Damn Ace. He just have to make things difficult for him even when he wasn't physically near. Marco frowned when he realized that they were almost out of time. The flesh was starting to get redder at an accelerated speed. Trust Ace to get unneeded things done. They would have to move now before-

"Wah! My butt feels hot!" Luffy exclaimed, turning his head back to look at his exposed buttocks.

-any one gets hurt.

"There is a hole," Sanji observed.

"We have to get out of here. The both of you have to hold on to me tight," Marco instructed.

He transformed into his phoenix form afterwards and allowed the both of them to ride on his back. He didn't like having just anyone riding on his back but at least he would be able to recover every time if he gets burnt and prevent himself from staggering at the same time. Luckily both Sanji and Luffy are haki users so grabbing onto him should be no problem, unlike normal people who would just fall through if they were to try.

When everything was ready, Marco immediately took off and flew after the direction they had fallen from. It was pretty easy for him to dodge the falling rumbles and pillars to prevent the two from getting hit. His sight and hearing tend to sharpen whenever he transformed fully. But despite that, he can't predict when that idiot would strike the snake from outside. Luffy's big brother was really going wild this time, Marco thought while resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

As he was doing all of that, he also had to try not to wince at Luffy shouting full blast near his sensitive ears.

"This is so cool! Pineapple head becomes a huge blue bird again and I'm finally riding on him! Woohoo! Dodge that one! And that one! This is coming in our way. This is so much fun!" Luffy screamed.

"We're almost there," Sanji pointed out.

When they finally cleared its throat, the snake suddenly gave a loud burp, causing the three of them to be roughly pushed out of the snake's mouth. And of course, the landing wasn't very well executed.

By the time Ace realized that Luffy was outside, the snake had already been toasted but surprisingly, not dead yet. Sabo let out a sigh of relief that he didn't have to go through the comical drama of Ace complaining over how he accidentally burnt Luffy to charcoal when he was trying to save him. At least now, Ace's mood was improved once again when he saw Luffy safe and sound, although also a bit peeved because he couldn't get to hold Luffy in his miniature size.

But what was really shocking was the hole at the back of Luffy's pants. Sabo did have an idea on what exactly happened to it. Ace, on the other hand, wasn't the wiser.

"Luffy! Why is there a hole there?" Ace asked frantically while trying to hide his blush.

"Here? It got kind of hot there when I was in the snake then this happened."

It wasn't exactly a horrid sight to see. Ace had to admit that Luffy has the cutest pair of buttocks. At least, he would prefer to catch a glimpse of his rather than his crewmates whom he had to shower with. That hole in his pants wasn't helping that blush of this die out either. It looked as though it was easy access although Ace would never dream about trying to force himself on Luffy. But damn, it's difficult not to just stare and Luffy didn't plan on making it easier for him.

Sabo just thought Ace an idiot – nothing out of the ordinary.

Meanwhile Marco and Sanji both got onto their feet after Luffy did. They mostly didn't bother about Ace being fixated on Luffy's butt and instead, chose to affirm each other's wellbeing instead. If that landing didn't break some bones, some miracle butt-naked angels must be looking down at them, which is kind of impossible since Sky Island was still in its shitty state.

The both of them still hadn't separated from their position of Marco holding Sanji when he helped the blonde cook up.

"Are you alright?" Marco asked for the second time of that day. After all, Sanji's backbone must be in quite a bad shape from the pillar hit just now. Even though Sanji's body was stronger than an average person's, he still wasn't a devil fruit ability user.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Been through worse," Sanji grunted.

Sensing Sanji's lack of mood, Marco decided not to push it and decided to continue to hold him in case he couldn't walk by himself. However, he tried to make his help more discreet since he knew that all of them had their pride. Sadly, Ace didn't have that kind of tact and tends to simply run his mouth like a ship motor in the worst situation.

"Y-You two," Ace stammered as he pointed at Marco and Sanji. "The both of you are together? Why didn't I hear any of this? When? How? What the hell?"

"This isn't the time, yoi," Marco said.

"No wait, seriously! Since when?" Ace asked again as he rushed towards Marco. After that, he started to grab his shoulders and screamed in his face. "Why the hell are you faster than me?"

Annoyed, Marco had to push him away and try to fend off the saliva that was flying towards him. Why was he always so full of energy? It wouldn't do good for their later battles if Ace were to continue spazzing out and screeching like a headless chicken. Was it that difficult to believe that Marco and Sanji were together? Actually, yes. Even Marco had no idea how the both of them could get together. However, he wasn't going to complain.

"Get yourself together. We can talk about this later," Marco said firmly.

"No way! We have plenty of time now. And it's not like our enemy is going to show up soon," Ace retorted and gestured to the peaceful atmosphere around them.

On the sidelines, Luffy was digging his nose uncaringly while Sabo was investigating the ruins.

"Geez, you're really noisy," Sanji complained and rolled his eyes. "We became lovers before we got eaten up by that shitty snake."

Marco was quite surprised at Sanji's bluntness but still couldn't get the strange yet pleasing feeling of being called his lover off his chest. It was really a dream come true. The blonde commander chuckled softly and ruffles Sanji's hair.

At the scene, Ace couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. He wished that Luffy would stop being so goddamn dense and oblivious. Although Ace's advances had been more than just obvious, the strawhat little brother of his just wouldn't get it. And if his actions weren't subtle enough, he didn't what to imagine what Luffy would say if Ace were to come out direct. He'd probably think the wrong way and he was sure that the answer wouldn't be favorable. Still, he couldn't help but feel happy that his best friend was having a life of his own.

And that he didn't have to do chores for three fucking months.

In the midst of the conversation, Luffy's stomach growled.

"You again," Sanji mumbled and shook his head in amusement. "How about lunch? You guys didn't get to eat, right? I think I can make something if we can find a river nearby."

Except, they would have to walk quite a long way to find one.

"I'll just go and catch something, yoi," Marco said.

"You did quite a lot of flying today. Aren't you tired?" Sanji asked.

"I'm fine. You should rest since you took quite a huge blow just now," he reassured and kissed Sanji on the top of the forehead, causing Ace's jaws to drop at the scene. "I'll be back soon."

When Marco transformed his arms into wings and flew off, Sanji turned around to find Ace looking at him like a gaping fish. After he regained his composure, Ace took on a serious stance and placed his hands on Sanji's shoulders as the blonde cook looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"What?"

While Marco was off gathering food, Ace had been bombarding Sanji with questions until the cook couldn't take it anymore and shoved Luffy into Ace's arms. The effect wasn't surprising since Ace immediately lost his attention on him and diverted it to Luffy instead by holding his little brother close affectionately. As for Sabo, he returned from browsing through the ruins and shook his head at the sight of Ace holding Luffy protectively. Everytime Luffy made Ace worried sick, Ace would suddenly develop an over protectiveness over him and wouldn't let Luffy out of sight.

Luffy didn't mind the attention either since it was Ace and he was used to being showered with it for years now. Instead, he would always snicker pleasingly and returned it with a hug of his own. He really loved Ace a lot.

Suddenly, the sky began to grow darker and soft rumblings could be heard. When a lightning struck on the ground before them, they had to shield their eyes from the intense brightness before it faded away to reveal the self-proclaimed god of this island.

Enel.

"My name is Enel and I'm the god of this place," he introduced as he sat on his cloud seat. "And everyone of you are involved in my very own survival game. Right now, they are five of us present."

"Five? There are still everyone else, including Marco," Sabo pointed out.

"Oh, don't worry. I shot them down one by one and the birdie was no exception. As rare as a human transforming into an animal may be, they are still no match for me," Enel said proudly. "Now, will all of you follow me to a new era?"

"A new era?" Although Ace sounded interested, he was looking as though this guy had a lower IQ than Luffy. He knew that Marco couldn't be taken down so easily.

"I seek to return to a place where I should be. On the sky island where I was born and where people says god lives. People call it the Fairy Vearth and there is a limitless amount of land. That is the world I seek, that is what I deserve to have! This god's island. This puny piece of land is nothing and yet there are people who fought for centuries to control it!"

Sabo folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at this madman.

"This country in the sky defies all laws of nature! Earth, men and god all have a place where they belong. And I'm sending this place to where it belong, below the sky."

"That would kill many people," Sabo pointed out. "And what do you mean by us following you?"

"All of you shall follow me to the Fairy Vearth as my followers. Once we're there, I'll create a new god's land. And only those who are chosen by me may live there. And since my previous followers couldn't survive the survival game, they are unfit to follow me," Enel declared.

"I refuse," Sanji said and lit up his cigarette.

"What?" Enel paused and looked down at him, narrowing his eyes. "Why would you refuse? You are one of the chosen ones. If you refuse, you will have to fall with this country."

"Yeah but I'm not going to follow your shitty ass." Sanji smirked. "Even if I don't believe in god, the world would cry itself to a shitty death if it has to stare up your shitface everyday."

Enel looked down at him condescendingly before cackling. "You're a brave one! Very well! To honor your wish, I shall send you off first before I'm done with this world. I never liked a shallow follower," Enel said and before anyone could think, Sanji was struck with lightning for the third time of his time in Sky Island.

"Sanji!" Luffy exclaimed and glared at Enel. "No one hurts my friends and gets away with it!"

"Hmph. You too? Then I guess I have no need for you as well."

"Sorry but I was sleeping through your story," Ace said and turned his hand into flames. "You hurt one of my friends and upset Luffy. The man who possess a Logia type devil fruit ability. You better be ready."

"You..." Enel muttered and for a moment there, a hint of fear shone in his eyes before they disappeared.

Knowing some medical treatment, Sabo tended to Sanji instead while Ace and Luffy got ready to fight Enel. Everyone knew that Sanji would come out alive, since he survived the two hits from before and he was glad that they were right when he checked Sanji's pulse. The man is still alive and well, alright. But Luffy still didn't take it well when someone tried to hurt his friends.

Above his head, he caught a flaming blue bird flying towards them before it landed on the ground.

When the flames disperse and Marco's human form came forward, the look on his face wasn't the most pleasant. In fact, Ace could have sworn that it was the most terrifying look Marco had on his face.

Some god is screwed.

One Piece SPECIAL

"Ace really spoils Luffy a lot, doesn't he?" Nami asked.

"Yeah. I was quite surprised when I first found out about it. Before I left, Ace was quite violent with Luffy and often hit him out of small reasons. But despite that, Luffy still liked him a lot so I wasn't too shocked to hear that Ace warmed up to him till this much eventually," Sabo explained.

"Wasn't Ace like this the whole time?"

Sabo shook his head and laughed. "No way! Ace was really a difficult person to make friends with and the only reason why we were close was because we understood each other. But for Luffy... he was different from us but was kind of lonely. Although Ace scolded him a lot, I could tell that Ace liked him a lot or else he wouldn't even care."

"But no matter how you look at it, it's quite surprising to hear that Ace didn't dote on Luffy before," Nami pointed out as he observed the scene before them.

"Ace, I wanna playyy!" Luffy whined.

Ace laughed and carried Luffy in his arms. "But I have work to do. I guess I can spare a few minutes for you," he said and nuzzled his nose against Luffy's, earning a small pleased giggle from the younger teen.

"Ace is the best!" Luffy cheered before pressing and rubbing his cheek against Ace's freckled one, which the affection was returned by the older teen.

Sabo knew that the both of them could have something so much more and he knew it because he understood how much Luffy loved Ace. To other people, they may act brotherly towards each other but the intense feelings they had for each other was way beyond that. As their true brother, he preferred to watch over them as they got close to each other and made sure that no one tried to mess with them.

Being a big brother really had a lot of work cut out for him.

And here it is! Sorry to say that there won't be any battle scenes but I would most likely described what happened during it in the next chapter. Unless someone is willing to write the battle scene for me? 8'D I highly doubt so though...

Anyway, this is just a heads up. If anyone of you noticed, the way I wrote Ace is somewhat different in each of my AceLu stories. xD

Back to Start - Ace is more matured and arguably, more fatherly like towards Little-Ace and Little-Luffy. And isn't that obsessive towards Luffy.

It's Time For A Change - Dramatic and overreacts easily when it comes to Luffy. xP Quite obsessive.

Problematic Kids - Overreacts somewhat but acts more brotherly towards him. Also, gets jealous pretty easily but mostly humor content that is set to torture him.

Shin Sekai! Number Ten! - I would say that this version is the closest to canon that I've written. Calm-collected, still worries over his brother in the canon-like way, isn't too fixated on Luffy as 'It's Time for a Change' and 'Problematic Kids', very mature and more romantic.

So yeah.

Review, please? :D