***(Y/N) POV***

"I'M HERE ACE!"

What the fuck?!

There was no possible way I was seeing this, right? Luffy wasn't falling out of the sky with a bunch of pirates? He couldn't be. No way.

Oh, but he was.

The battlefield was silenced once more as the huge naval ship smashed through the ice field, shards and water splashing high into the air. I was torn. Go to Luffy, or use this distraction as an advantage to get closer to Ace?

No, Luffy was strong. He could handle his own. I couldn't waste this brief opportunity, so I turned around and continued to run, one hand tight around the hilt of my sheathed sword, in case I needed to use it.

Activating my devil fruit, I called upon several fallen gladiators of a lower rank. I had no idea what was ahead of me, so I wanted to save my strongest fighters just in case. From experience, I knew that most average Marines were pretty weak, so the guys I had at my disposal were doing the trick as I rushed onwards.

The sight of Little Oars' body, collapsed and unmoving upon the wall of Marineford, made me feel sick to my stomach, but I knew that using him to reach my goal was going to be the easiest way. I couldn't imagine what was currently going through Ace's mind right now after witnessing his friend be slaughtered like that. He already harboured such dark thoughts about himself, and I knew he'd blame himself for it.

No, it's the Government's fault...They're murderers...

"AAAAAAAAAAACE! I'M HEEEEEEEEERE!"

Luffy's cry rang through my ears as I ran, dodging greenhorned marine cadets left and right, unsheathing my sword to combat their messy slashes and shots. I was glad he was here, as dangerous as it was. We could use all the help we could get.

"LUFFY! NO!" Hearing Ace's voice, so pained and desperate, hurt me more than the slight stings that littered my body as my spectres took hits on my behalf. He didn't think himself worthy of such a show of love and devotion, but he was so very wrong.

Trying to listen in on the jumbled chatter around me, it seemed as though Luffy had brought a shocking lineup of reinforcements along with him. Familiar names such as Crocodile, Jinbe, Ivankov, and even Buggy The Clown were thrown about, but I didn't dare look back. I had one goal, and that was to reach my husband.

"Not so fast, kid!" I yelped as a man stepped out in front of me, and I dropped to the ground, using the ice to my advantage and sliding through his legs. I didn't pay much mind to the pained grunt he released when one of my gladiator spectres cut him down. I just kept on running. So close, yet so far, I was starting to have to crane my neck to see Ace. That was good.

Yet again, there was some kind of grand commotion going on behind me, but I refused to look back. I had complete faith in my crew, my family, so there was no point in getting distracted. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do once I reached the execution podium, but I'd figure it out when I got there.

Sengoku is up there, and Garp...and those stupid Admirals are around too...Not to mention Doffy...I'm no match for any of them, but I can try..! I have to..!

"You are one crazy lady, you know that, right?!" I flinched when I heard a familiar voice to my right, glancing over to find Deuce sprinting alongside me, already a little scuffed up.
"Part of my charm!" I responded, grunting as I used the hilt of my sword to smack a Marine in the side of the head.

"Listen, and don't go freaking out, but word is that they're expediting Ace's execution. Marco said Pops thinks-"
"They're what?!" A somehow more intense panic washed over me upon hearing his words, and I was about to kick off into a faster sprint when Deuce seized me by the scruff, halting me in place.

"(Y/N), listen to me! Pops said they're up to something! They seem to want us to advance! We need to be careful, and that means you need to calm down and focus!" I hated that he was right, and my eyes flickered between him and my husband, shackled to the podium.
"H..He's right there..." I murmured, wincing as I received another indirect hit courtesy of one of my spectres.

Deuce's gaze softened behind his mask, and he gave my shoulder a squeeze.
"I know. We just need to keep a level head." He was always the voice of reason, and as much as I wanted to fight him on it, I couldn't. If Pops had reason to believe the Navy had some dirty trick up their sleeves, then I had no reason to doubt him.

I was about to respond to ask him what he thought our next plan of action should be, when a blinding light tore the world apart, and a searing pain coarsed through my body. Deuce caught me before I could hit the ground, and I gasped out strained breaths, skin almost burning as I took the partial damage of my now decimated gladiators.

What the hell..?!

Admiral Kizaru. That flashy son of a bitch had launched an attack, to stop anyone from scaling the walls.
"You okay?" My companion helped me to straighten up and I forced a nod.
"Yeah, just stings like hell..." I responded through clenched teeth, narrowing my eyes towards the Admiral.

This was a huge problem already. Deuce and I were pretty good fighters, but we weren't even close to the best, even when taking the overpowered Devil Fruit users out of the equation. Neither of us had any means of beating someone like Kizaru.

"We should back off," Deuce started, hurrying to complete his sentence before I cut him off. "just for a bit, and let somebody else take care of him. He won't let us sneak past, (Y/N), and we'd be as good as dead if we faced him head on." Yet again, he was right, and yet again I hated it, but just because he made sense didn't mean I was going to accept it.

"You go ahead and do that...I'm gonna find a way..." I waved him off, choosing not to look at him as I did so to avoid the guilt. All I had to do was wait until Kizaru was distracted and climb over, then I'd be closer. It didn't feel great, having to rely on the distractions of a thousand men, but I knew when to lay low.

"God dammit...You two really are soulmates..." Deuce muttered, mostly to himself, raking a hand down his sweaty face but making no move to part ways with me. Despite being much more level headed, he wanted to save Ace just as badly as I did. Of course he wouldn't turn back.

"If you say so!" Hearing that familiar voice, I turned and spotted Luffy, rather roughed up, sprinting ahead, straight towards a cluster of Marines.

There's our way...

Before I even realised it, I was rushing in his direction. It was probably a stupid move, joining up with the one person who would no doubt gain the most unwanted attention, but I was also certain he'd be able to pave the way to the executioner's stand. To Ace.

Just as I was about to reach him, something deep in my bones told me to stop, and I skidded to a halt, Deuce very nearly crashing into me from behind and sending us both sprawling to the icy ground.
"Give the Marines a wide birth, and go around." I directed firmly, kicking off again.

My intuition seemed to have been spot on as black bars shot out, caging Luffy and several other Marines inside. A booby trap? No, as we rounded the group, I could see they were connected to the arms of one of the captains. A devil fruit.

No worries. It's Luffy.

As expected, he leapt out before any harm could come to him, and he landed just ahead of us, powering on.
"Luffy! Need some backup?!" I called out, relieved when he looked over his shoulder, eyes widening at the realisation.
"(Y/N)?! You're here too?!"

Luffy slowed, just a little, to allow us to catch up, but not once did we stop our advance.
"Of course I am! I made a vow to Ace, in sickness, in health, and in getting caught by the fucking government!" I made a dry half joke, suddenly much more confident now that my little brother was by my side. "Luffy, this is Masked Deuce. He was Ace's first mate when he ran the Spade Pirates."

Deuce gave him a slight nod, more focused on keeping an eye out for any impending attacks than greetings, which I appreciated.
"Good, the more people here to help save Ace the better!" Luffy was determined, I could see it in his eyes, and a determined Luffy was basically unstoppable.

As we raced onward, I took another look up at the execution platform, and there was Ace, staring down at me with a painfully distraught expression, and I was sure mine matched. He hated this, people risking their lives for his sake, but there was no stopping it.

Hang tight, Ace...We can reach you! Just hang on for a little bit longer..!

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***I hate writing this arc because I despise writing fights, and I don't know what to keep in or leave out hhhhhhhelp.

Next Time: Idk more fuckin fights ig***