I'll Bring You Home Myself!
A parallel piece to Sun Sailors story-- a different timeline, a different outcome.
Or, I just wanted to self-indulge with my own OC and fix the mess that happened at Marineford.
Word count: 1429
Content: General Audience
Pearl's tie with Whitebeard was set into the cosmos, nothing could break it. Yet, as she stood by his side her tears welled in her auburn and red flecked eyes. It was mere minutes to the time Ace was set to be executed– no murdered. He was going to die, all because he was a remnant of a man the Marines didn’t know. She scowled and her fists balled themselves so tightly that blood ran from her palms. Her God, Fenghuang, was silent. The tie between Whitebeard and Pearl is holding strong.
Pearl gazed up at Whitebeard and pleaded, “Let me fight! You know I have the power, I can change the tide of this war and end it for good!” she yelped. She looked away from her stalwart captain and back at the chaos unfolding in front of her. Why the hell had she made that damn tie with him in the first place? She could have said no and that would have been the end of it. Now she was bound by his word and his word alone. She couldn’t break that unless she wanted a shard of her soul to drift off into the nothingness that surrounded the great cosmos. Lost forever. She had already done it once and it was an agonizing experience to live through, but if it meant that she would be able to save Ace’s life and save the souls of those on the field then she would gladly give up a part of her soul to achieve her goal.
“Have faith in the fight, Luffy must be the one to get Ace.” He replied. Whitebeard’s eyes never left the fight in front of him, in fact, he was solely looking at Ace. His son, his second in command. The snot-nosed brat was a spitfire and deep down Whitebeard wished that things never turned out as they did.
Pearl clenched her hands tighter. She was digging into muscles now. Though it didn’t matter, Fenghuang was feeding her enough power to regenerate those wounds. It didn’t even hurt.
In the back of her mind she could feel Fenghuang ache, she felt her worry and wondered if she too had fallen for the freckled second commander as she had. They were inseparable. Platonic twin flames meant to conquer the seas together.
“What if he fails, tell me you’ll give me your word and set me free. I can’t stay here and just watch!” Pearl grated.
Whitebeard hesitated, this was the fissure that ensured her win.
“If he loses, you will have full reign to leave and do what you want.” There was a grimace plastered on his face but Pearl didn't care, those words sealed themselves into the tie and allowed her to break it without fear of losing her own soul. If luffy fails in his duty to set his brother free then she would step in and achieve his goal for him.
Pearl slammed her fist in her palm and smirked deviously, “So then it is sealed, I’ll rip apart this dusty old fortress and save Ace!”
Fenghuang stirred within her as she too felt the shifting of the tie that bound them to Whitebeard.
A tie was a singular thread that wound itself through the souls of the party that agreed to the verbal terms and drew and shared blood– the needle was the one who called the shots while the thread followed along, willingly or not. It was pure and stronger than any other force within the universe. Only the void that surrounded the outerbanks of the universe could break it, or when the users agree to un-sow the vow to one another. It was a binding spell only used to reign in Gods.
As the battle raged on Luffy ever so slowly closed in on the podium that held Ace. Her gaze never drifted far from his figure as he raced to save his brother. It wasn’t long until he reached the podium and unlocked Ace from his shackles, however, in an equal turn of events Akainu rippled and stormed after the duo. For a short time the two brothers danced in fire and stretchy limbs. Pearl hoped beyond the Gods themselves that they would come out of this alive, but when Akainu shoved his grisly fist through the throng of marines Fenghuang instantly knew that Ace’s death was imminent and that Luffy had failed to save his older brother.
Whitebeard's eyes widened in horror– everyone's eyes widened in horror as the burning hot fist barreled through the pool of marines and towards its target. The tie snapped into its new order and without another word Pearl blasted from her spot beside her captain and flew with great strength to Luffy's side. Shoving both him and Ace out of the way. Luffy was awestruck at the force and speed of her movements. She was above them all, Fenghuang made sure of this.
Just in time to the fierce attack of the Admiral she captured his fist in one fell swoop and laughed maniacally. “You’re getting nowhere near these boys.” She said cruelly as she threw Akainu’s fist right back at him. The surprised and growing rage on his face was immaculate to witness first hand.
“Pirate scum!” he yelled as his attention was focused on Pearl now.
“5th Gate– Solaris’ Rage!” She bellowed as she charged the admiral. “I’ll fucking kill you, shitty fist!” Fenghuangs rage was so close to her soul that it singed and burned and shackled her own rage as the Gods' own, billowing it ten times its original force. She had no devil fruit to call upon the strong wings of Fenghuang, her rage and burning fire was her only ally.
“I’d like to see a bitch like you try.” Akainu growled.
Pearl's power here was reminiscent of a life she had lived before. Her fight with Akainu was hot, fierce, and filled with molten lava that spilled from both sides. In the heat of battle she couldn’t place the memory, but the strength and moves she had used in her previous life were burned into her soul that she just knew it wasn’t from this lifetime. Flashes of green and blood orange filled her vision for an instant before leaving her breathless.
In the raging heat of her own skin and blood red vision the fight had come to a close. Ace was saved and had assisted Luffy in warding off any other attacks the marines may have hidden up their sleeve. Death was equal amongst both sides. After Koby’s fiery speech the war of the best had come to a close. Akainu himself was buried deep into the dusty old fortress– hopefully dead. Remnants of their fight were burned and melted into the very ground where pearl stood. Turning from the fortress her eyes fell upon her friend, her twin flame and his baby brother. A warm smile wrapped itself onto her face as her blood boiled below her skin.
Get to the water to cool off. The velvety voice of her God called to her in her mind. She all but nodded and wandered to the water that was slowly melting from Aokiji’s attack. As she jumped into the water it bubbled and sizzled immediately. She had grown accustomed to the heat she radiated but sometimes it was always a surprise.
“Pearl!” Ace’s voice called from behind her as she floated in the cold water. He knelt beside her and smiled widely, his baby brother standing behind him with an equally large and goofy smile. “I want to say thank you for coming in there like that. I wasn’t sure I would have made it out alive if it wasn’t for you.”
“I was just doing my job protecting my favorite brother!” Pearl responded as she folded her arms on the rapidly melting ice floor.
“I coulda had him!” Luffy rebutted half-heartedly. Pearl just laughed and got out of the water. She walked up to him and just patted his head. “I’m sure you would have, but I wanted to ensure your brother's safety first hand, I know you mean a lot to him and I’m sure the feelings are reciprocated in equal measure!”
Luffy laughed heartily.
Turning to Ace, Pearl held her hands out in an opening gesture for a hug, Ace immediately complied and pulled his friend into a strong and warm embrace. He was safe, everyone was safe.
“It’s time to go home.” Pearl muttered into his neck. Her worry slowly slipped into the oblivion of the outer banks.
