Hello, it's been a while! I'm here with a rewrite of my story, One Piece: Dreams, and a name change, as I was previously known as FallStar13. I hope you enjoy!


Chapter I – Young


The terminal blazed.

The fiery hell swirled with agonized wails, rivaled only by the outraged howls of those that battled inside the inferno. Ashes and smoke stung Luffy's eyes, but he watched his brother's every move, following the gleam of the pipe as it fought against the chaos.

The stench of burning trash and flesh stung his nose, the heat licking at his feet, absent of the sandals he'd lost a while ago. The blood and soot in his mouth left him nauseous when he swallowed.

Ace looked back at him, then glared at the bandit that had stayed with him -what was his name again? Jojo? Jiro? -and said, "Get Luffy out of here."

Luffy shook his head and stood straighter, "No, Ace! I'm staying! I can still- still fight…"

He'd tried to step forward, tried to look as if he could handle himself, to look strong, like his brothers were –but his legs betrayed him. He swayed, fell back, and the bandit caught him. Luffy struggled up, and his voice was ragged from the soot he'd been breathing, "I'm staying."

Ace scowled, but Luffy couldn't say any more because the bandit scooped him up an threw them both to the side. Luffy's head spun. There was a gleam of metal, orange in the firelight, followed by a heavy smack that Luffy recognized as Ace's pipe hitting something. Luffy scrambled to see better, just in time to spot the pirate flying into a pile of embers. Luffy's ears twitched at the scream that followed.

Ace moved to face him, look him in the eye.

"You. Can't. Fight anymore!"

Luffy flinched.

He hadn't ever heard Ace sound like that. Like he was hurt, scared. Like those feelings had nothing to do with Ace himself, but someone else.

The bandit picked him up and stood, "Kid, he's right. You were hurt when we got here, and now you can barely stand."

Ace once again caught his gaze, his eyes fierce and kind, like they always were, but also scared, and Luffy didn't want him to be scared.

"Go back and get better, Luffy. Don't worry about me," Ace smiled.

Luffy was scared, too. He trusted Ace, of course he did, but there was this nagging feeling, one that wouldn't go away, and he felt panic in his chest, "Ace-!"

"I won't die."

Luffy froze. Ace held his gaze, nothing but confidence in them. The heat and the fatigue finally caught up to him, and Luffy slumped in the bandit's grip.

"Promise?"

Ace grinned, relief in his voice, "Promise."

Several pirates were then thrown into view, followed by Dadan, who barreled her way through the fray. She spotted them and snarled, "What are you waiting for, Jorda? Get them out of here!"

Luffy vaguely wondered who Jorda was, but forgot about it when Ace darted forward, away from him –and smacked aside a pirate aiming for Dadan from behind, "I'm staying, Dadan!"

Dadan huffed loudly enough for Luffy to hear it.

"You little brat!" she yelled, but Ace just took up a spot at her back. The bandit holding Luffy took this as his cue to leave, and Luffy squirmed to look over the his shoulder, fisting his hands into the man's shirt when the weight of anxiety settled into the pit of his stomach.

His brother eventually disappeared into the fire and the chaos.

"It's a promise…"


"Let me go."

Luffy glared at Magra, who sat in the doorway of the bandit's hideout, steady as a rock. Luffy had woken up to a clear and sunny morning, ripe for adventure –but his brothers weren't here and all he could think of was smoke and ash.

That feeling in his gut hadn't left in the three days he'd been back at the hideout, and it scared him, and sitting still while he was scared was driving him crazy. Were they okay? Hurt? What if they got caught? Even his meals couldn't lift his spirits.

Magra sighed and shook his head, repeating his earlier explanation, "We're all worried, Luffy. You have to be patient. Dadan, Dogra, and Dolt are down there with him, and they wouldn't let anything happen. Besides, you're in no condition to go anywhere."

He gestured to the bandages across Luffy's chest, arms, and feet, covered in still-healing burns and scrapes. Luffy looked down, eyes hidden in the shadow of the brim of his hat. His shoulders shook, his fists clenched, and his nose sniffed –but he didn't cry. He wouldn't cry.

"But… but they're my brothers!"

Someone hit a wall, and the sound of splintering wood drew their attention.

"You think we don't feel the same way?" Jorda snapped, fist planted into the far wall. "Dadan, Dogra, Dolt, and you kids are a part of our family, too! I want to go find them as much as you do, we all do, but if we went to Gray Terminal now, we'd be caught and killed in no time!"

Silence reigned in the wake of his outburst, broken only by Jorda's harsh breathing and Luffy's continued sniffling.

Magra sighed.

"You've got to have faith in them. They're capable people," he looked to Jorda, including him in the scolding, "All we can do now is wait."

Jorda stared back for a moment. Then he huffed, pulled his fist from the wall, and went to push past Magra and walk out the door.

Only to freeze on the steps.

"Dolt-? Dogra! What happened?"

Then it was a mad scramble as everyone tried to get to the door, only for Magra to shove them all away again as Jorda and Dolt carried Dogra inside, to an empty space of floor.

"Lack!" Magra shouted, "Where is that man-?"

"Here," one of the bandits pushed forward, dragging a bag along with him, and settled at the floor beside Dogra. Dolt immediately collapsed against the wall, staff clattering to the ground beside him. Jorda hovered over them all.

Luffy trotted forward, though, the question burning in his mind, "Where's Ace?"

Dolt tensed. There was some kind of emotion in his eyes that Luffy found confusing. What was wrong? Where was Ace?

Dolt turned away from Luffy's pleading gaze, "… Luffy, I'm sorry…"

Luffy blinked.

"Then… Dadan, too?" Magra whispered into the quiet. Dolt nodded to the floor. Jorda and the other bandits muttered curses and words of grief.

Luffy shook his head, brows creased, feet glued to the spot. What…?

"You two seem to have gone for a swim," Lack commented, wrapping Dogra's head in a crisp, white bandage. Dogra, now drowsily awake, covered his eyes with his arm, shaking in silent fury. Dolt flinched at the implied question and opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out.

Dogra whispered, "That –that damned Celestial…"

Nervous static filled the room. Magra's eyes grew wide, "Dogra, what happened?"

"Sabo…" His voice hitched. "He killed Sabo."

"What!?"

Luffy's body responded to the shock that flooded through his veins by moving. He ran over and pushed Lack away with more strength than any of them thought the boy possessed. Luffy grabbed the front of Dogra's sopping shirt and shook him, "You're lying! Both of you! They can't be-! Ace and Sabo can't…!"

Dogra's eyes filled with tears, and he reached up to Luffy's hands, "Luffy…"

"Ace… had gotten caught by one of Bluejam's crew."

All eyes turned to Dolt, who met none of them, "We –we ran to try and help, but Dadan –she covered us. She got shot. Three times. I tried to get to her, but… there wasn't anything I could do. We were near their ship –I think they thought they could get away, but it was on fire too, and the mast –it fell, right on top of Ace. The –the fire got worse and we –we couldn't get close –I couldn't do anything…"

Luffy forgot how to breathe.

"We were trying to get back, on the cliffside path," Dogra picked up. "Sabo –he'd sailed out of the port in a little fishing boat. He was flying a black flag, and…" He swallowed. "The –the Celestial's galleon fired on him. I jumped in, I tried to get to him –he was sinking in the water –but I was too far away, and they fired again and –and…"

Dogra stopped. Dolt covered his own wet eyes. Magra's knuckles were white. Jorda slid down the wall slowly, hands clasped tight.

Lack gently pried Luffy's hands from Dogra's shirt and continued to bandage him with hunched shoulders. The air was heavy, and Luffy couldn't breathe-

"You –you're lying…"

Magra looked up. Luffy's breaths were shallow and panicked, "They –they aren't –they can't be…"

Lack shook his head, "Luffy—"

"No!"

The door slammed against its hinges, and Luffy disappeared into the forest.

"Wait!"

"Luffy!"

"Kid!"


Liars.

"No. No. No."

His heart pounded against his chest. His lungs burned. His injures stung.

"Hey, where are you going, Ace? Let's be friends!"

"Leave me alone, you idiot!"

"No, no, no, no…"

"You guys wanna be pirates!? I do too!"

"This isn't funny! Where are you guys!?"

"Run, Ace!"

"No. You guys go on."

"Are you crazy!? Come on!"

"I won't run from a fight!"

"Ace –Ace's gotta get famous-"

"I'll get stronger and stronger and win all my fights, and be famous, and the world will know who I am!"

"Sabo –Sabo, you've gotta write that book-"

"I'm gonna sail the whole world and write a book about everything! I'll learn to navigate and gather a crew, and we'll be the freest pirates to have ever set sail!"

Luffy's foot caught on a root. His leg stretched from the force of his sprint, snapped back, and sent him tumbling further. His hat flew off his head and settled on the grass beside him.

He paid it no mind. He curled in on himself, clutched at his arms, and spoke with a small voice.

"But –but Ace promised…"

"I won't die."

"Sabo was supposed to be happy…"

"Let's forget about Sabo for now. He might be happy there."

"We –we're supposed to be brothers!"

"Did you guys know that if you share a drink, you become brothers?"

"Brothers? I wanna be brothers!"

"This way, even if we end up apart or on different ships, we'll always be connected! It's a bond that can never be broken!"

"Wow, Ace, I didn't know you could be so cheesy."

"Shut –shut up, Sabo!"

"Haha! But I like it! Brothers!"

"Brothers!"

The voices of the memory faded. Luffy was left with only the sound of the wind in the trees.

Alone.

"You –you guys can't just leave me…" he said, tears dripping to the dry earth.

They hadn't shown up yet.

Sabo hadn't come and told him that he was going to stay with them from now on.

Ace hadn't come and hit him over the head, saying he wouldn't die that easily.

They hadn't come.

"It hurts… when I'm alone…"


"You go look over there! We'll search this side!"

"Stupid! Why'd he have to run off at a time like this?"

"One of you go check their treehouse!"

"Luffy…" Magra muttered, "You'd better be safe…"

"Dadan…" Jorda said, "She'd skin us alive if she found out we lost him, wouldn't she?"

Magra watched Jorda's regretful expression, then shook his head with a huff, "Skinned and fried in a vat of oil, probably."

Jorda gave a wan smile, but it fell away, "I shouldn't have yelled at him like that. He's just a kid."

"It's not your fault," Magra eyed the rubbed-away bark of the tree trunk next to him, worry pooling in his gut, "We've all lost someone in this mess."

A massive roar filled the forest, and Magra and Jorda turned towards the source.

"It would be just like the kid to go running into trouble, wouldn't it?" Jorda said.

Magra frowned and ran into the thicket. Jorda followed behind, loading his shotgun in a fluid motion. The trees thinned into a small clearing, and Magra was filled with heated anger.

Luffy was bleeding heavily from a gash in his shoulder –he'd just been barely nicked by the beast standing above him. A ghastly bear, paw reared back to strike again-

"Just try it, you damned beast!" Jorda skid to a halt and took aim, shooting the raised paw. The bear pulled away, growling as it spotted them. Jorda had already reloaded. He fired again, hitting it dead in the eye, and it reared back on two legs in pain. Jorda aimed again, this time for its other eye, and the bear fell, crying out in anger.

"Now, Magra!"

Magra moved quickly to the boy's side. Luffy clutched at his wound, shaking, face red and wet and the blood seeped out under his hand. Magra pulled off his jacket and wrapped him up as carefully and hastily as he could. Luffy looked even smaller curled in Magra's arms.

Another shot, and he stood, running around the bear and meeting Jorda once again. The bear, however, wasn't done, and roared.

Then a wooden pole came down on its head, and it collapsed to the ground with a grunt.

"You look like you needed some help," Dolt appeared from the bear's back, still looking worse for wear, breathing hard –and holding a bright yellow hat in his hand. "Let's get out of here before it gets its bearings!"

Magra nodded, and took off back to the hideout, the other two flanking him. Luffy was still bleeding –they would need to get him to Lack as soon as possible-

"It –It hurts…"

He glanced down, and quickened his pace, "We'll patch you up, Luffy. Just stay awake for me."

"It hurts… being alone…"

Magra's jaw clenched.

"Thi –this…" Luffy weakly moved his injured arm, tears on his face, voice catching, "Doesn't –hurt…"

Jorda growled and snatched the hat from Dolt. He caught up to Magra's side, then shoved the hat down on Luffy's head.

"Listen up, Kid!" He said, louder than he had to. "I swear to you, as long as we're here, you won't ever be alone. Got that!?"

Luffy shook with tears. Magra and Dolt decided that, no, they wouldn't let Luffy feel alone.

Ever.

Lest Dadan and the boys roll over in their graves.


The sky was clear of the ashy clouds that had been littering the mountain, now. The grassy ledge was quiet, way too quiet, and Luffy could only remember a similar place, where they'd all looked out to the wide open sea and screamed their hopes and dreams. He could still remember the looks on their faces when he'd screamed his own.

"Haha, that's Luffy for ya."

"Don't really know what I was expecting, but I guess that's about right for someone like him."

Ten days. Ten days since he'd gotten the news. Thirteen since he'd last seen Ace. A week more since he'd last seen Sabo.

His eyes were raw from tears and stung from the ocean breeze. A hand wandered to the bandage still on his left arm, where that bear had snuck up on him and tossed him around like he was nothing.

Like he had gotten beaten down so quickly in the terminal fire. Because he wasn't strong enough.

"I'm… just weak…" he whispered and hugged his knees to his chest. He let his head drop onto them, the brim of his hat shading his eyes as they followed the waves.

He hadn't been able to stop Sabo from being taken away.

He hadn't been able to fight alongside Ace.

He hadn't even been able to protect himself.

"Hey, Luffy."

Luffy looked up to find Dolt standing beside him, gazing out to sea.

"You sure do love the water, don't you?"

"Mmm-hmm…"

Dolt glanced at him, sighed, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a slightly crumpled envelope.

"This was delivered to the hideout today. It's a letter from Sabo. He must've sent it before he sailed."

Luffy's head whipped around, eyes wide, and regarding the paper with reverence. From Sabo? He wanted to reach out, take it, drink in the words his brother gave him, but…

He pouted, "I can't read that well… Sabo –Sabo was teaching me…"

Dolt hummed. "Well," he said, sitting down, "I guess I'll read it to you."

Luffy watched him open it with care, handing over the envelope when he got the letter out. Luffy took it and held it carefully.

Dolt squinted at the words on the page, "Wow, Sabo's handwriting is so tiny. Okay, here goes…"


'Ace, Luffy,

I hope you're both safe. I was really worried when I found out about the fire, but I have faith that you're both fine.

By the time you get this letter, I'll already be at sea. Yes, I know, we promised to wait until we were older –but a lot has happened since I last saw you. This is my way of becoming stronger. Then, one day, we can meet again on the wide open sea, as free pirates!

Ace, you're probably really mad at me for leaving first, but I've got something extremely important to ask of you. As my fellow older brother, I need you to watch over Luffy for me. He's still such a crybaby.

Luffy, you're probably crying right now, but I know you can get stronger and achieve your dream. I know all of us can. So don't miss me too much, okay?

Because we're brothers, so no matter how far apart we are, we'll always be together.

I promise I'll see you guys again.

Sabo'


Dolt finished and tried his best to keep from crumpling the letter into clenched hands. He was angry. At that Celestial, for taking Luffy's brothers away. At himself, for not being able to stop two kids from dying for no reason.

Who knew a bandit could care so much for a bunch of brats, huh? He could almost laugh.

He expected to see Luffy crying again, but when he looked up, it was to a dry-eyed kid reaching out for the paper in his hand. Dolt handed it over and watched Luffy flatten out the creases with his fingers. They sat in silence.

Then Luffy stood, walking close enough to the edge of the cliff to make Dolt nervous –Luffy wasn't the most graceful kid.

Luffy took a deep breath, rubber chest expanding slightly, and-

"ACE! SABO!"

-and Dolt stuck a finger in his ear with a wince, certain that his eardrums had busted. He couldn't stop the grin from reaching his face despite it.

There was the loud, obnoxious kid they all knew.

Luffy looked down at the page, "I'm –I'm gonna get stronger, okay? Stronger and stronger and stronger, and I'll become a pirate. A great pirate! The most famous pirate that ever set sail, just like you, Ace! And I'll –and I'll learn how to read and write and sail the whole world! I'll write a book all about it for you, Sabo!"

He took a moment to catch his breath, tears finally pricking at his eyes. But despite it, he looked lighter. Luffy reached up, planted a hand on his straw hat and looked back out toward the horizon.

"And at the end of it all, I'll be the PIRATE KING!"

Luffy smiled, and while it couldn't be compared to the blinding grin he usually wore, it was there, and Dolt never knew he could feel this much relief.

Then a loud rumble filled the air, cutting through the atmosphere. Luffy turned to Dolt.

"Uh…" He put a hand on his stomach, the other still on his hat, "I'm kinda hungry…"

Dolt couldn't help it.

"Pff –hahahahaha!"

The sudden one-eighty was just so Luffy that he could do nothing but guffaw. Luffy's put-out stare only made him laugh harder.

"Fine! I'll go find my own food!"

Dolt sobered up –because, no, he wasn't letting they boy go stomping back into the forest so soon –and caught Luffy's arm before he passed, "Hold on there, Kiddo."

Luffy's arm extended a bit before he stopped and looked back. Dolt grinned, "There's food back at the hideout. You can have whatever you want as long as you do one thing."

Luffy blinked and leaned in, "Whatever I want?"

Dolt nodded and whispered conspiratorially, "You just gotta play keep-away with everybody else. Don't let the other guys get any of it."

Luffy ran, his arm stretching further as Dolt was still holding it. Dolt let it go and the appendage snapped back to its owner with a strange noise.

"Maybe an impending lack of food will get everybody off their asses…" He snickered, then turned back to the ocean once more before heading back himself.

"I promise you all. We'll take care of him."


And there it is! Chapter one! Heads up, the bandits will be featuring prominently in this fic, which will reach canon... eventually.

Fair warning? Hang on to your seats and keep the tissues close.

-Dragon (no, not that one)