【Ma Ai】Island of Illusion

"What's your name?"

"Marco."

"full name?"

"I forgot."

"Can I call you Mark?"

"it's up to you."

Miss Frostfa Fitters always wore a mocking smile on her heavily made-up face.A hand with pink nail polish slanted a pipe.She has a wild beauty, not in her deep-lined features, but in her wavy red hair and swaying figure.The way she walked reminded Marco of brightly colored piebald snakes.That kind of snake is small, but full of venom.

"I do like mavericks, but not pirates." Her voice is so thin that if she raises it, it feels like she's being strangled.Marco frowned, and he spread his hands: "But there are also differences between pirates."

"You seem to be very confident about your identity, but in my opinion, no matter if it is a white beard or a red beard, as long as it is a pirate, it is inseparable from crime." She wiggled her buttocks on the chair with thin legs in front of him sit down.The light green high heels paired with her dark honey-colored skin brought a strong visual impact. "I thought we were here to talk about love." Marko stared at her and said, "If you just want to find someone to listen to your criminal history of pirates, I can find a marine, and I guarantee he will be on the sidelines." I agree with you while crying."

Miss Fitters' laughter was like the screech of wire scraping against glass.She laughed and shivered, falling cigarette ash onto her dress.

"Mark, stop joking, talking about love? You can't even do the most basic things, how can you come out and talk to me about this kind of thing." She said coldly, "Go back now and talk to the guy who introduced you here Said, don't treat me as a casual woman, be careful that I crush his head."

"Oh, you misunderstood, no one introduced me, I just happened to meet you." Marko said, his interest shifted, "So, can you tell me what is the basic thing? Say Maybe I'll fix it soon."

"no, you can not."

"Why not try it?"

The first captain said with a gentle smile he was used to.Miss Fetters was staring at him with bright pink eyeshadow eyes.Finally, she relaxed herself and put the tobacco rod in her hand aside.

"While I'm sure you're only here for fun, I wouldn't mind taking a lesson with you," she said, resting her chin in her hands.She is not suitable for pretending to be cute, and Marco always thinks her charm is the sexy and terrifying momentum unique to mature women.But now she behaves like a girl with a spring in her arms.Miss Fetters gave him a sweet smile.

"So, Mark, I'll give you two choices now, one is to get out of this town immediately, and the other is to say you love me." She lowered her voice, her voice was so sweet that honey could be squeezed out, "It's not just perfunctory The so-called love is to be able to look into the other person's eyes and say "I love you". It's better to add a kiss, anywhere."

That's what love is all about.

Miss Fetters's smile had reached the point of blatant sarcasm by the end.She knew the other party couldn't do it.Marco's smile didn't fade from his face, but he knew the game was over, and he kissed Miss Fetters on the forehead.It was a polite kiss, grateful and puzzled.

How long has this happened?Marco couldn't say it himself, and even the appearance of Miss Fetters was fabricated from his memory. He picked his favorite from the images of women he remembered, and then put them together.But her words struck him, and it was like a spell.

Now the spell works.

Ace's lips were not warm, but his hand on his chest was warm, like a dancing flame.His hair fell on his own cheek, making the skin tenderly itch.He ran his hands through Ace's hair, rubbing the roots of his hair slowly with his fingertips.But no one deliberately deepened the kiss, it stayed on the tender skin layer between the lips, just rolling each other exploratoryly.

Finally Ace raised his head and touched the bridge of Marco's nose with the tip of his nose.Marko grabbed his shoulder and said, "You love me? You're crazy, Ace."

He didn't really want to say that.But human beings sometimes run counter to their hearts when organizing language, especially before emergencies, reason often takes the first step.So instead of asking what's going on or what we should do next, instead of asking what's going on, he's defining the worst part of it, thinking Ace is crazy.

Ace's body stiffened visibly.He sat up, muttering in his mouth: "Am I crazy?"

Marco took his hand, but nothing came out.

"Maybe I'm really crazy, is it just my illusion? I always thought it might be true." Ace said, "You know I don't understand your so-called survival rules, I will only follow what I think is right But your actions have misunderstood me, Marco. I don't know which of these things are right and which are wrong. I have been exploring and will not make it public until the answer is known. But last night you hugged me."

His mind was no longer in a mess.The darkness gave him the strength to be honest.This space is his, and his body and mind have melted into it, and there is nothing to hide anymore.

"I've always been very clear that although drinking has paralyzed my hands and feet, it doesn't mean that I have become a fool - at least I was sober before you dragged me back to the room. And at noon you said to lend me strength Your hugs always confuse me once, and I wouldn't see anything wrong with that if you were always doing ambiguous behavior like Sage. But you're not, what kind of person are you You know better yourself. I thought you were like me—but apparently I misunderstood."

Ace was calm, which wasn't something embarrassing in the first place.He has always been simple and direct, and he feels that if he makes a mistake, he can understand and define again.This is completely independent of his past memories and experiences. He is still confused about the former, but the latter is just a simple operation where action equals reaction.He found out that he liked someone, and he confessed his love.It's that simple.

"Because you said I was crazy."

Now things seem to be coming to an end.He would apologize to Marco for what had just happened, and then everything would go back to how it was.

He took his hand away from Marco's and stood up.Marco began to hate this kind of darkness, which made him unable to see anything. Once Ace didn't speak, he couldn't feel his presence.He tried to keep his body in a standing position and stretched out his hand, but luckily Ace was still there.He held Ace's face in both hands, and lowered his head to his cold forehead.

"Ace, I'm sorry..."

"Why are you sorry? We are all right. Don't try to comfort me, I'll beat you up."

"No, you don't understand."

Their breaths intertwine with each other.Ace whispered, "You're here again, what are you thinking? I said you don't need to comfort me... and you've been here for too long, it's time to go back."

"how about you?"

"This is my original world, why should I go out."

Marco was taken aback, this shouldn't be what Ace said.His voice has an obvious mechanical taste, as well as a sense of emptiness that matches this space.Never focus on the place of fear - Dad's words echoed in his ears.He instantly understood what Ace was thinking. It wasn't the darkness that defeated him, but the compromise caused by fear made him choose to return to the so-called dark world.

His sense of incongruity when getting along with himself during the day comes from his lack of confidence in his sense of self-identity.Ace can gain the approval of others through continuous fighting to improve his strength, but he cannot gain his own.He hated himself deeply.I am full of doubts about why I still exist in this world.

This dark space was the best place he could imagine for himself.It is always quiet, and no one will look sideways at him.

It's as if he never existed, there is no such person in the real world.He can no longer consider other people's opinions.

This is where he was first born and where he will end up.

Marco grabs his hair, and Ace's chin is thrown back by the force.No matter how close he was to him, Marco just hit him hard with his forehead.

"You brainless guy! Could it be that you were all fake on our ship for three years? And your brother—is it all fake? You answer me—" He vaguely felt the coolness on his forehead , I don't know if it's his own blood or the other's, but he can't care so much anymore.The anger erupted like a volcano, and he couldn't control his emotions at all, "What is your world? Don't be so fucking sentimental, you little brat, you have only lived for a long time. It is extremely stupid to deny your existence so easily. You It's a real person, your name is Portgas D. Ace, not this bloody dark."

"You don't understand, don't pretend to know everything! If everyone in this world doesn't want you to be born, then no matter how great your life is, they won't bless you. They just want to kill you—— There are people around you when they take everything away

When the time comes, do you still expect yourself to survive easily?I can't, Marco, I've had enough. "

"I don't care what you did to make the world abandon you like this, but listen, I only know one thing, if you don't want to lose it, you have to stand up and protect it. Don't forget how Dad carried us The Whitebeard Pirates—do you think those guys will be less ostracized than you? But they still live well. You are the same as them, why can't you learn? Is it so difficult to open your eyes? "

Marco's hands have been straining, and Ace can hardly speak normally.He tried to grab Marco's collar, but soon realized that his clothes were gone, and he could only grab his shoulders.Both of them burst into flames with annoyance.

"Also, listen to me. From the moment you board our ship, your life is not your own business, and you have no right to decide whether to live or not. It's okay if you didn't come—I don't care What kind of guy you are and where you die is none of my business, but you are on our ship now, I can't ignore you, if you regret it, regret why you stayed in the first place. You idiot."

Marco let go, and Ace stepped back a few steps.His nose was full of blood. Marco hit the bridge of his nose with the hammer just now like steel, and he didn't know if it was broken.He wiped the blood vigorously.

"I know I can't say without you, what you say is reasonable. But you are not me, what can you understand?? Have you ever tried to stay in the dark for two years before you were born? Have you ever tried to lose important people? ?Your so-called ostracism is based on the fact that you all stood on the opposite side of the world, but I didn't, I didn't do anything fucking."

"What? You mean that you have never done anything bad as a pirate, and you are innocent at all? Since you feel so wronged, why do you still want to be a pirate?" Marco felt that he was about to be pissed off. Laughed.Ace's logical confusion made him more and more feel that the quarrel between them was nothing more than trivial bickering among children.

"It has nothing to do with me being a pirate or not. It's that I was born guilty." Ace said, "Of course, I don't think I am guilty, but this world has defined me, so what else can I do? You guys Before you become a pirate, you have the opportunity to choose your own destiny. There are so many roads in front of you, but there is only one in front of me. If I have to watch you die for me in the end, why can’t I choose to let myself back to the start?"

He thought of those two dark days.He was hiding in the warm darkness like a little monster, wanting to go out again and again but being called back again and again.He may not be thinking yet, but he can hear—all the voices outside, interrogations, searches, insults.He also heard that gentle voice reassuring him again and again, saying it's okay, it's okay, I will let you arrive in this world safely.

But the world rejected him.Maybe only the days of curling up in that dark space are truly free, because there is no pain and struggle.There is no need to force yourself, and no need to learn how to deal with loss.

"I really tried, Marco." There was a bitter taste in his mouth, "I just don't want to lose again. I'm not as brave as you think."

"You're wrong, I never said you were brave, you don't look like a man at all except that you don't like to shed tears." Marco walked forward and grabbed his arm almost by feeling. "I'm not in the mood to take classes with you. Although my father said to hand you over to me, a bad student is just a bad student no matter how he teaches."

Ace quickly freed his hand, but was caught again the next second.Then he felt a blow to the abdomen—Marco's knee hit him almost viciously in the stomach, followed by an elbow on the back.A gorgeous double image flashed in front of his eyes, and he opened his mouth, and a mouthful of blood gushed out.Before he had time to think about it, Ace hit his backhand elbow. After feeling the fall, he jumped up and twisted his body, and kicked his foot in the intended direction, but he was firmly grasped before he straightened his foot.

Marco threw him into the darkness with a hook of his foot.Clutching his hands behind his back, he pressed a knee against Ace's back.

"You're still decades away from defeating me with physical skills, brat." Marco's voice sounded high and high, "I'm not convinced by what you said. Does this make your muddy mind clearer?"

"Marco, let me go, you don't want to go out?"

"Are you threatening me? I'm sorry, I don't like this, I can't even take a coward with me, and I don't have the face to go out with a team leader. Ace, no matter what you say, you are guilty or innocent. The world is against you Wait, it’s a mess, I also have an idea. If you want to protect important things, you don’t have to trade your own life. As long as you have strength, even if the whole world is against you, so what? If you don’t want to lose, just make me stronger, don’t Just looking for a place to hide like a little devil."

The hand that twisted Ace's arm continued to exert force, and the sound of bones shifting could be heard in the darkness.

"Look, you're so weak—let's admit it honestly, it's not because you're born to be dark, it's because you—have no strength—"

"Shut up, you bastard!!"

Ace's voice was as violent as wet wood cracking in flames.Marco felt his hands go empty, and then he was hit hard on the face.He fell back with a low groan, feeling Ace pounce on him.Just as his fist landed on his face again, Marco quickly grabbed his fist and brought it to his mouth for a kiss.

"Let's get out, Ace. You have to become stronger, and you can't let these rotten things consume your fighting spirit. They are all waiting for you, and Luffy, we are all waiting for you—"

The world is waiting for you.

Ace felt that the sense of saturation that was originally full in his heart subsided in an instant, and the pain in his body returned, as well as real feelings of hunger, fatigue, dizziness from blood loss, and so on.What's more important is the power that is almost overflowing, it surges from the lower abdomen, flows through the heart, and finally reaches the limbs.Marco saw the flames erupting from his body, like the most gorgeous silk wrapping the core body, Ace looked up, and Marco saw the shadow of his smooth jaw and eyelashes under his closed eyes.The surrounding darkness was washed away, and then the corner of Ace's mouth curled into a strange arc.

"It's like a dream." He said nah.

"Are you talking about what I'm seeing now?" Marco was also in a daze, "Sometimes you are...unbelievably beautiful."

Ace looked at him a little surprised, too long a dark confrontation made them briefly strange to each other's faces.But the good news is that the momentum in Ace's eyes is back.The flames covered his whole body and continued to spread around him.

"Did you provoke me on purpose? It seems that you succeeded. I don't want to stay here now. I will grow up to the day I can defeat you." Ace said, "Let's go out."

Back in time a little bit.It’s really just a little bit, no one knows what is the principle of the space that Ace and Marco arrived in, they wasted a lot of time bickering with each other, but in the real world, it is only a matter of a few seconds.No one can say exactly which time is correct, just as no one can say whether the world he lives in really exists.

Just after Ace actively jumped into the pile of liquid, Dad shook the rushing green net to bloom everywhere, but more liquid wrapped the main body that swallowed Ace tightly, looking like a flower Huge green tulip buds.

"Hmph." Although the old man was furious, there was still nothing he could do.The reason why he didn't choose to shatter them all before is that the fluorescence is formed by the core in the center of the flower bud. If the core is not broken from the nutrition plate, it will be futile to smash the fluorescence.The layer of liquid outside the core can ensure that the isolation layer can be healed as quickly as possible after undergoing any ultimate move, so only by artificially entering that layer of liquid can there be a chance to meet the core.

Now he has lost both captains, but instead of showing signs of withering, the flower bud is getting more and more vigorous.

Just when Dad was upset, there was a vibration from the ground.

He took a step back. The source of the vibration was underground. Except for Yaji's family, there was nothing on this island that could create such a big fluctuation.

But Yaji and Lemon have left, so they are back again?

But this fluctuation is obviously much smaller than that of Kia Jiji, and it is impossible for Lemon to act alone without her mother.

Just as he was wondering, the fluctuation had come before his eyes. He squinted his eyes and saw a huge monster emerging from the ground a little to the left. It was about five or six meters away from the flower bud, which was a well-planned precision.The raised dust blocked most of the green glow for it, and then Dad saw that the animal had several people on its back.

"It's all mud, it's all mud!! Sach, you idiot, how are you going to pay for my clothes?"

"Didn't you see that my nostrils are full of mud? Would I also ask you to pay for my nostrils like you?"

"Thief ha ha ha ha cough cough cough cough—"

"Ah, old man!!"

The first to jump down was Brackman. He was covered in dirt and grass clippings. If it wasn't for the big gavel, maybe even the old man wouldn't know who he was.Then came Sage, Yizang, and Marshall Titch who joined later.

"Father, I found you." Sach happily climbed down from the animal. The animal had the same appearance as Aki, with a body similar to a lemon, shaking its head in fear.

"Ku la la la, it seems that Lemon still has a little brother here." The old man stepped forward, ignoring the eager condolences of the clay figurines, and caressing the head of the monster.

"Dad, do you know it? And aren't Marco and Ace with you?" Sach said a little guilty.It seems that the old man has a good chance of knowing the monster. If he knows how the four of them beat it up and then forcibly captures it to explore the way, the old man will definitely beat them up.

"It's one of my little friends. It seems that our family and the Nightmare family are quite destined."

"Father, listen to me, this island is very strange—" Sage hurriedly figured everything out.But before he finished speaking, Yizang pointed at the huge flower bud in front of him and shouted loudly.

"What is this stuff?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to it.The old man stroked his beard and said, "Aren't you looking for Ace and Marco? They're inside."

"What are you doing in there? Are you fooling around?" Saqi folded his arms and said, "They left you here alone, how could they be their sons."

"Tiki?"

Brakman looked at Tiki who was walking towards the flower bud a little strangely.He looked a little odd.

"Thief hahaha, dad, could it be that my captain was eaten by this thing?" His smile was stiff, and his beard was dirty and sticking to his cheeks.

"Don't you want to confirm this kind of thing?"

This is an unspoken command.Sach put away his smiling face and drew out his two swords.

"Really, why is this island full of strange creatures, and none of them can walk on their feet?" Yizang also drew his gun.But Di Qi was the first to rush over, his fat body suddenly as flexible as wings.

"Tsk, don't be so eager to work for your captain." Sachs sneered, and quickly followed.

But before they got close to the flower bud, everything in front of them changed drastically.The original bud-shaped core began to expand from inside, and the expansion speed was astonishing. The thick green surrounding layer outside the core was stretched to the extreme, and then two flames shot out from the middle, separating the buds from the middle like a sharp blade. Its range even reached the white bearded people who were not close to the flower buds.

"Get down!"

Blackman yelled.

Another flame followed the first two in a straight upward direction.For a time, the flames soared into the sky, and the whole night was illuminated brightly.

"Hey, it really was a pleasant surprise." The old man looked at the majestic flames and said triumphantly.

"Ace, move closer to the left."

Marco protects himself with blue fire.He yelled for Ace to burn the fire to his left.The dense darkness has been broken, and now the flame is using its destructive power to drive away all the fluorescent lights that may cause darkness.But Marco understands that there are more important things.That's the core of what Dad said.

The time spent in the dark space just now made him think that he was far away from the core he saw at the beginning, but after the darkness lifted, he realized that he was actually still nearby.Now he can see a strangely shaped plant on his left, its roots go deep into the ground, and on it are several huge branches that look like infusion tubes, they are twisted together like twisted flowers, and there is a layer of transparent skin on it. Fine lather.And at the top of the intertwined branches, a purple fruit lies quietly in the cradle made of branches.It still has a stubborn green fluorescent guard on it, but it looks so fragile under the flames.The fruit is covered with swirly stripes, which are the most familiar lines to Ace and Marco.

"For a long time, it turns out that you are making trouble!" Marco gritted his teeth.Just as he was about to break off the branch of the infusion tube below with one hand, the bunch of plants suddenly screamed.Even after a long time, Marco and the two still felt the lingering fear of that sound. It was not a terrible sound that humans or any other animals could make, but more precisely, it was like the scraping sound of metal from hell. Everything audible kills.

"Ah!!!" Ace squeezed his ears and screamed, and Marco felt no response after his ears rumbled.He saw Ace's pained expression, and he was talking loudly, but he couldn't hear him at all.And he found that his behavior began to lose control, and the hand that was originally aimed at the infusion tube turned to his throat uncontrollably.

Ace rushed towards him, and Marco saw blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. When he woke up and wanted to bite his tongue, he found that even this was not controlled by his brain.Ace came to his side, and he was horrified to see his hands grab Ace's neck and keep pushing hard.

Ace's face turned from red to white, and then from white to blue.His expression was startled and terrified, and Marco remembered the scene of Ace's death he had seen before, and an intuitive chill ran up his spine.

"Damn... Damn..."

Do you want to struggle to the death, let's see who can bear it more.Ace tried his best to break Marco's hand away. Just as his breathing recovered a little, Marco suddenly threw him on the ground. This is the real ground, full of dirt and gravel.Surrounded by his own fire and fled fluorescent lights.Marco knelt beside him, hands resting on either side of his head.

"A...s...listen...listen...I'm not...under control." Marco said with difficulty, "no...no way...to let myself..."

Ace suddenly understood what he meant, he wiped the blood from his mouth, and pressed Marco's head to himself.

"It's okay, I'll help you."

Nothing is more sensitive than the tongue, delicate and full of nerves, which stimulates the mind more than anywhere.Their lips touched each other, and the next second, Ace felt Marco's tongue poke in, and he narrowed his eyes to greet it generously.

It was a deep, blushing kiss in every way.They all have perfectly curved lips that don't find any gaps when they fit together.

The kiss ends quickly, but Ace doesn't bite his tongue because Marco looks normal.Holding Ace's face in his hands, he suddenly said, "I knew a woman before, and she told me something."

"I said don't tell me about your affairs."

"Don't worry, listen to me, she told me that if you love someone, just look into his eyes, say I love you, and kiss him."

Marco's blue eyes mirror Ace's dilated pupils.While the latter thought it was ridiculous, he also vaguely felt annoyed by being teased.

"Are you confessing to me? In this case? Or did you find out you fell in love with me through a kiss?" Ace said. "Who just rejected me?"

"You can think that I was shy just now, but now I think about it clearly. Your frankness is scary. If I continue to be hypocritical, I will probably get gastroenteritis."

He pressed against Ace's lips, where the moist feeling from the kiss was still there.

"I love you, Ace."

Ace felt that no amount of language foreshadowing would be a waste of time.Like Thatch said, just think they're fooling around.And the original battlefield became the best cover point.He wraps one hand around Marco's back and grabs the back of his head with the other.

"It's up to you to be seen explaining," he said.Marco nodded with a smile and kissed him again.