Death is a funny thing, isn't it? One moment, you're saving your brother from a rabid psychopath who just so happened to have lava powers, and doesn't really care about weather your defenseless or not and the next time you open your eyes, your about to be run over by a huge, blue meta thing that you have never seen before.

. . . Ace wasn't having a very good day, was he?

The young adult's instincts kicked in, screaming at him to move, which might've been helpful if it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't move. His body wasn't in pain, in fact, there wasn't even a hole in his chest anymore (he'd figure that out later) it was like his feet were bolted down to the ground with sea-stone nails.

The only thing he could do was stare wide-eyed at the metal monster in front of him, the only thing racing through his head was, 'holy shit, I'm going to die again.' Which wasn't very reassuring and was actually quite a pathetic last thought.

Really Ace? He mentally scolded himself. You face admirals, endure hell and go against the strongest man in the world, only to die by a metal ship on wheels? Really?

It was a joke; a cruel joke. Ace now understood the term 'hell' because, damn, he was about at the limit where he was going to punch someone in the face and hopefully break a few bones.

The fire-user turned away, bracing himself for an impact. Yet, it never came.

In fact, Ace couldn't feel anything. Blinking open his eyes in confusion, looking around only to have another one of those metal monsters pass right through him.

What the fuck was going on, here?

He'd seen some strange things roaming on the Grand Line, but this took the cake. Being passed through was definitely not a feeling that Ace had ever experienced. Or hoped to experience, for the matter. In fact, Ace was completely content with just being solid.

Forcing his mind back to his body, the teen raced for the sidewalk, hoping that he wasn't going to get run through again. The other people just walked around lazily like any other town Ace had been to. Though they didn't seem surprised about the killing machines that raced along the black cement road or the fact that someone had almost freaking died.

Wait, could Ace die twice?

He shook his head, opening his mouth to warn the people about the metal monsters, but his words died in his mouth as he watched some guy open the monster and calmly get inside of it. Ace could only gawk as the machine suddenly roared to life and took off into the street full of all the other monsters.

"This is so messed up." Ace muttered to himself as he watched the people walk by him without even glancing at the teen with no shirt on. "Where am I?" He wondered aloud. "This sure as hell isn't Marineford or any other place I know of on the Grand Line."

He wondered if he should go ask one of the civilians but then shook the thought out of his mind. What if they recognized him? The marines did, after all, broadcast his entire linage to the world. It didn't even occur to him that he was standing out in the middle of everything where someone could easily recognize him and call the marines just so he could die again.

No thank you.

But he hardened his resolve, confident that he could take on the marines sent his way. Without properly thinking anything through, the fire-user walked straight up to one of the civilians that were calmly walking down the street. "Excuse me—" The civilian ignored him and walked right by him without a care in the world.

"Rude," Ace huffed, puffing out his cheeks slightly. He moved onto the next person; a woman around the age of twenty. "Hello miss, do you—" Again, the woman walked right past him without a second glance.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, the fire-user came to the conclusion that he hated this island, especially the people. He was rather pissed off to begin with and now these morons wouldn't even tell him what he wanted to know? Honestly. He just wanted to know where he was so he could get back to his family.

He spotted his next victim and this time, he wasn't taking no for an answer. "Sir—" Ace tried once more, attempting to to put his hand on the man's shoulder just in case he was planning on ignoring him as well. It probably would've gotten the man's attention if it weren't for the fact that Ace's hand passed right through him.

"Shit!" Ace jumped back, staring at the man (who hadn't noticed a thing) and then staring at his hand in horror. He felt like his head was going to burst at the rate it was spinning as he tried to reason with everything that had been going on. "Someone please tell me this is a joke."

But no one ever did.

The fire-user, then preceded to wave his hands through the people's faced, denying the fact that no one could see him. That no one could hear him as he yelled at them, desperately trying to wake up from this nightmare. That no one could feel him as he grabbed onto people shoulders, waists, hair.

Still in shock, Ace backed up until his back hit the wall behind him. He quickly scrambled into the nearest alley and slumped onto the cold, hard and unforgiving ground that was littered with garbage and blood.

Was this hell? He wondered, staring up at the sky that held no stars. Is this how I'm going to spend the rest of eternity? Alone? As a faceless ghost who wonders the earth?

Ace winced. Alone? That might've been okay with him years ago but now he couldn't seem to bear to think about it. He had a family, damnit! He had a father! A real one this time! He had a little brother who had gone through hell to save him! His eyes started to sting but he refused to let the tears fall.

He was alone again, wasn't he?

And Ace's mind drifted to the war. Why did they fight for him? Why did they call him brother? He thought about the raging fire that he saw in Luffy's eyes as he punched marines down one after another. The same brother who had changed his life in more ways than one.

Being alone is worse than being hurt!

And now, starring at that dull, starless sky, Ace felt as if he truly understood those words that Luffy had understood at age seven. He missed them. Everyone. He missed them so much that it hurt more than any physical pain that he'd ever experienced.

For the first time in a long time, Ace felt salty tears run down his face. He didn't wipe them away. He couldn't. He was mourning. Mourning his father. His nakama. His brother. He was mourning his life.

It was pitiful, really. Wasn't he Whitebeard's Second Division Commander? Wasn't he Hiken no Ace, feared across the whole word? Wasn't he Luffy's older brother, who had blatantly told the boy several times that 'crybabies were weak' and 'crybabies get left behind'?

Did he have a right to call himself brother anymore? Did he have a right to call himself a commander when he couldn't even protect his captain? Hell, he was the reason his captain died in the first place! And . . . And . . .

He died too, didn't he?

Yeah. That's right. Ace died. Memories flashed before his eyes and he let out an involuntary gasp. Luffy! What happened to Luffy? All he remembered was his little brother, in so much pain, on the bloodied ground as Akainu went for him. He remembered the pain. The pain the blazed across his whole body as he shielded the boy that had changed his life. He remembered . . .

"Thank you . . . For loving me!"

No, Ace thought as he buried his face into his arms. Luffy. Luffy was there. Luffy had caught him when he could no longer hold himself. Luffy had heard him cry as he finally died. Why Luffy? Didn't he lose Sabo, too? Luffy didn't deserve that! Luffy was innocent. Pure. Someone that you couldn't push down no matter how hard you punched.

He was the start of the trio. The catalyst of their duo. The one that carried all of their dreams on his back, alone.

Why was Luffy alone again?! He promised! He promised Sabo! He promised himself! He had told the boy, right?! It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

"Listen Luffy, I will never die!"

Yet another promise out the window, huh? He really should think about things before he says them, because, damn, he has a really big mouth when he's sad. Or angry. Or depressed.

Ace lifted his head out of his arms, placing it against the brick wall as he whipped away the dry tears. The sky was so dull compared to what Ace remembered . . . He used to lay out on the deck of the Moby Dick for hours, just watching the stars, hoping the one-day he might be one of them. This place—This place didn't feel right. Didn't feel real.

Ace held up his hand in front of him, almost sighing in relief as the familiar warmth took over and his hand lit up in a bright flash of fire. The fire blazed across his shoulders and arms for a moment until they flicked out. He still had his mera mera no mi and no matter how desperate it sounded, he was glad that he still had something familiar with him.

He looked out on the streets, watching as people raced by like it was any other average day. They seemed so comfortable here, living beside the metal monsters and bright neon lights came from the buildings.

Was he even in his own world anymore? Ace doubted it, as ridiculous as it sounds. From the monsters to the people that couldn't see him, things were really messed up. If Luffy were here, his little brother would probably laugh, call it an adventure. He could see it now— Wait.

A flash of yellow raced past the entrance of the alley way before it disappeared again. Ace's mouth hung open for a second as he tried to gather his thoughts back up in his mind.

Wait. Wait. Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait— Was that . . .?

The fire user jumped to his feat, eyes wild and a tad bit crazy. He took off, out of the alley, racing in the direction that he saw it. His heart was pounding through his chest as he searched through the crowd of people that were walking. He still didn't like the fact that he passed through a few of them, but that could wait for another time.

He was almost positive that he saw it! It had to be! No one else in the whole world would wear such a unique item out in public.

A straw hat.

And it was! Ace could only gap as the familiar thin frame raced through the crowd with so much grace that Ace wondered if he'd done this before. Ace just stood there in shock as Luffy raced away, his eyes a little damp and his mouth hanging open in a silent cry.

"Luffy . . ." He whispered, his legs turning out without him. Wind and people whipped through him as he thought of everything. Of the war. Of Sabo. Of Luffy. "Luffy!" He cried out a bit louder and much more desperate. Fresh tears swayed at the corner of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. "Luffy, wait!"

Ace's mind was blank as he plowed through everyone. Everything. The lights that swirled around him became a blur. He cried out Luffy's name, though the boy never responded.

As he finally caught up to the boy, a distant thought raced through his mind. What if Luffy couldn't see him? Would he be just like everyone else in this whole hellhole? Would his moment of relief turn into horror just like before?

The answer was yes. This was a nightmare.

Luffy didn't even feel him as his hand passed right through the boy's shoulder. Ace stopped running at that point. There was no need.

No, please no.

Not even his little brother could see him? Was hell this horrible? "Luffy." Ace said with as strong of a voice as he could muster. Luffy's figure was disappearing though the other people, though Ace still didn't move. "I'm so sorry. I really am. I didn't want this. I want to talk to you. I want you to hear me. To see me. But you can't, can you? You're probably not even the Luffy that I grew up with." He gave a wet chuckle. "I'm sorry."

Like Ace expected, Luffy never turned around. The fire-user watched his back until the red of his vest disappeared in the crowd and Ace found his feet moving. It was as if fate itself wanted Ace to follow the boy.

The fire-user sighed as he caught up to the boy once again, only then noticing the look of horror on the boy's face. "Luffy . . ? What's wrong?" And even though he knew the boy couldn't answer him, Ace talked anyways.

"I can't be late," Luffy whimpered to himself, his eyes wide and his voice was full of fear. "He'll kill me."

Without warning, Luffy turned into an alley, slowing his pace to a brisk walk. Ace stuffed his hands in his shirt pockets and followed with mild interest. A worried frown had made its way across his face as he said, "Who's going to kill you?" The war flashed through his mind and his eyes lost all emotion. "If anyone tries, I'll be the one killing tonight."

Still, Luffy didn't hear him as he jumped a chain-length fence and separated . . . something. Ace just walked right through it, not completely comfortable with his newfound power, but he wasn't going to waste it either.

His eyes narrowed when his little brother let out a sigh of relief as a door came in view. The teen jogged up to the door, his happiness replaced with fear and pain. His placed his hand on the door, then let it slide down to the doorknob, but he didn't open it.

Instead, Luffy just stared at the door and whispered, "Please don't be home. Please don't be home."

Before Ace could even comprehend what his little brother had said, the door swung open from the other side, causing Luffy to cry out and take a step back, eyes full of fear as he stared up was a man that Ace never wanted to see again.

With a twisted grin, the man reached out and grabbed a fistful of Luffy's hair, pulling forward so he was face to face. "Hello little Luffy. Welcome home."

Two voices answered back, even if the man could only hear one. Two tones chorused together; one scared and one incredibly pissed.

"Teach."

And here's yet another story yay. This is the last multi-chapter story, I kind of promise. At least, until most of my stories get to chapter ten or so. Unexpected Emergencies has nine and Confusion Ensured has 10 but things like Hunted and Sanity only have two.

I already have the first two or three chapters written out for this one and a detailed plot to go with it. This story is about a year old, I came up with it around the time that I came up with Shattered, but I've just never posted it.

It'll have Acelu in this, but only brotherly unless a majority want it otherwise.

Other than that, enjoy! ~ Comments and such are very appreciated c: