WE WERE LEGENDS
PART I
CHAPTER ONE

Well, I suppose if you're reading this, then I did it. I managed to get this story out to the world. Hopefully multiple copies, with the others' help. I can't be sure of when or where in time you've found this, dear reader. Has the world changed so much that I wouldn't even recognize it? Or do pirates still freely roam the seas? Do dream seekers continue to chase legendary treasures? … Well, enough pointless questions. If you picked up this book, it was because you wanted to know our story. Now where to begin? The stories of our crew vary in intensity and all began at different times. Or do we skip the past and start right with the adventure? I've included the stories of our past, which you can find in PART I. Skip them if you wish, but let me warn you that our pasts are an integral part of the story as a whole. We'll begin with mine, I suppose. Hold onto your hats, readers, because this first story might shock you and it may come off as crazy. Before I begin, I have one last question: Do you believe in reincarnation?

The last thing I remembered was seeing headlights heading for my car and the horrible sounds of brakes screeching and metal crashing against metal echoing in my ears. The next thing I remembered was a bright light - sunlight? - and fuzzy people shaped blobs flitting in and out of my field of vision. Perhaps it was because of my twenty four year old brain in this tiny, obviously newborn body, but it was weeks before I began to recognize all the things my still developing eyes were seeing. My mother looked like an unhappy woman - dressed in fancy, expensive clothing with her face all done up with makeup and wild ashy blonde waves, even with a obvious hint that she lived well… she wasn't happy. Father was a mean faced man with long, greasy looking black hair and a mustache and he looked like he was constantly sucking a lemon.

The only one who ever looked happy was my older brother, who turned four years old just one day shy of a month before my birthday. He seemed fascinated with me from the beginning, always hanging around Mother and I whenever he was done with his studies for the day. He would blabber on a mile a minute as he recounted all the different things he learned that day, not stopping until Mother's unsurprisingly thin patience would snap. Chastised and with a deep sadness that no small child should have in their eyes, he would retreat to his room and it would be hours before he would dare to come out again. He would even sit with me in the nursery at night, weaving stories that no normal child would understand, but that I followed with ease.

"I'll always protect you, Bryony."

It was a whispered promise. One he did his very best to keep - visiting every day, keeping an extra close eye on me once I learned how to crawl around six months of age. Most of his free time was spent keeping me from getting into things I wasn't supposed to. But suddenly, around nine months old, when I began to toddle about on uncertain feet, he began spending less and less time with me as Mother and Father began piling more and more lessons into his schedule. Manners, dancing, math, reading, writing, piano, history - the list was never ending. I was lucky to see him every two or three days at the least, once a week at the most.

Around eleven months old, my unsteady steps began to shift into a brisk walk and before I knew it I was speeding around the house just in time for my first birthday. It felt like I was as quick footed as a ninja - much to my parents' ire and my brother's amusement, I would vanish the second you took your eyes off of me. Tracking me down soon became something almost like a game to my brother, but it didn't keep me from realizing that he was smiling less and less.

Two months after he turned five, when I was only fourteen months old I awoke and he wasn't there. I huffed unhappily from the crib and began chanting out his name, calling for him as I had started to do every morning.

"Bo! Bo!"

But he was just… gone. No amount of searching led to where he had vanished to, although Father kept the search going for weeks. After three months, he finally gave up, sure that some terrible fate had befallen my brother. But it wasn't true and we all knew it. My brother had run away, the hatred he held for this house - for High Town in general - had finally become too much for him. He had been suffocating under the responsibilities and expectations that our parents had forced upon. He had grown so far apart from our parents after he realized that they cared more about what their lives would be like thanks to him rather than caring about what would become of him like good parents should.

He left, but at the same time I knew he was still watching out for me. Sometimes I would find new toys in my room - ones I knew hadn't been there the day before. Sabo was still coming to see me, he was just doing at times when my parents wouldn't know - during the middle of the night. Sabo was always looking out for me, even if I couldn't see him. But without their son to foist their attention and expectations on, it was only a matter of time before Mother and Father turned their attention to me. Their one and only daughter.

By age two I was undergoing the same rigorous study schedule that Sabo had suffered through for so long - learning how to speak properly and politely, learning how to read, how to write, how to dance, and play piano, and how to act like a lady. It was overwhelming and suffocating and it made it so easy to see why Sabo would want to do nothing but run and escape. I itched to do the same, to go with Sabo and just leave High Town behind. But at two years old, I would only be a burden to Sabo right now.

So I would leave when I was five - just like he had done. I could endure it all, at least for that long. I could put up with the lessons, and the harsh words from Mother and Father, the dresses, and being expected to schmooze up to the other Nobles as if they were better than me or any other person in the world. For the first time, I found myself hating that I was born into a wealthy family. The wealth was not worth losing the pieces of myself that made me a compassionate human being. Sabo had seen what this life had turned our parents into and realized that he didn't want that.

I didn't want that either. So I would endure, and just like my brother before me, I would one day just quietly vanish much as he had. It quickly became obvious that while I did excel at certain things - speech, reading and writing were things I began to pick up on with ease, most likely due to the fact that my brain was that of a twenty four year olds. But I continued to struggle with math as well as learning the piano, much to my Father's displeasure. Though I had been musically inclined in my previous life, it had been limited to playing flute in my high school marching band and performances in my high school's extremely small drama club.

Playing the perfectly polite daughter came much easier than it probably should have. As far as my parents were concerned, I was polite as could be and seemed to be turning into exactly what they wanted me to be - the sort of girl that held her tongue and was a perfect lady. I couldn't wait to shed that image and find out exactly what kind of person this version of me was going to be. This new chance was an opportunity to be different - to be more interactive with others, to be more outgoing, to have more than just two friends who I was pretty sure only hung out with me from obligation.

This was a new beginning.

~WWL~

The first time I actually laid eyes on Sabo after he left was the night before what would have been my fourth birthday. I had been sent to my room after completing my reading and math lessons, with the promise of starting World History the next day (joy) and a book tucked under my arm. I had just closed the door behind me and turned around to plod over to my desk when I realized someone was sitting at it, watching me with a gap-toothed grin.

"Bo!" I squealed, dropping the book and launching across the room to wrap my arms around him.

He laughed. "Hi, Bryony."

I giggled, burying my face in his chest. "Miss you, Sabo."

"I've missed you, too," he answered. "It's strange being away from home, but I like it so much better out there than I did here in High Town."

"It is suffocating," I agreed. "I understand why you left - wish I could just run away and join you."

To my surprise, he gave a sharp shake of his head. "No way. The forest and the mountains are way to dangerous for you."

I snorted. "You ran away when you were five."

"Yeah, and even then I needed help from another boy to survive!" Sabo sighed. "Even with Ace, surviving is hard. We have to hunt our own food, steal from people just to have money to save up and that's not counting when we actually have to spend it when either of us get sick, or when we feel like eating actual food made by someone else for a change."

"A hard life is still better than a life that's decided for you," I said firmly, crossing my arms. "Besides, when I leave here - and I will eventually - I'll have you."

"... There's no way to talk you out of this, is there?"

I smiled innocently. "No~pe."

"How did I get such a brat for a little sister?" Sabo sighed, running a hand over his face.

He was too young to have such a worried look on his face, and I hated seeing it. So to distract both him and myself from the heavy conversation, I picked the book up from the ground and handed it to him.

"Read this yet?"

He scanned the title. "A Semi-Complete Guide to Devil Fruits? What the hell is a Devil fruit?"

I grinned widely. "They're fruits that supposedly give people crazy powers, but the price for eating one can be steep. You won't be able to swim, which in this day and age is a pretty big sacrifice. But some of these powers make it seem so worth it. There are three different classes of Devil Fruits, and a couple of those even have sub-classes. But the fruits are rare in and of themselves, and some of the subclasses are even more so - like Mythical and Ancient Zoans."

Sabo thumbed through the book. "There are three main classes of Devil Fruit: Paramecia, Zoan and Logia. Each class has different effects on the human body and some are more powerful than others. Huh, seems like some pretty interesting stuff. But I can't see any power that would be worth giving up being able to swim."

"Not even to control some sort of element?" I reached over and turned a few pages in, where there was a list documenting known Devil Fruits and what they did. "See this one here? The Rumble-Rumble Fruit lets someone control electricity, create it, and they can even turn their body into it. And Zoans let some transform into a hybrid animal-human form or even into a full animal form. It's really fascinating."

Sabo made a noise of assent and closed the book, setting it on my desk. "Yeah, it is. Too bad we'll probably never seen one or anyone who uses one, since Devil Fruits are so rare."

"So rare outside the Grand Line, maybe," I argued. "The book says Devil Fruit users are a belli a dozen in the Grand Line and New World. And one day I'll see both and see all kinds of amazing Devil Fruits and powers."

Sabo chuckled and changed the subject to his new friend - by the time night began to fall, I knew more about Portgas D. Ace than I probably needed to know - including a secret that Sabo had been unable to keep.

"Gold Roger? Seriously?" I hissed.

"Shut up!" Sabo spluttered, arms flailing. "You can't tell anyone. Ace would kill me if he knew I told you!"

I snorted in a very unladylike manner that would give Mother a heart attack. "Who am I going to tell? I don't care who his dad was. Gold Roger is long dead and gone and the only thing that still lives on is that he started the Great Pirate Era."

"You say as if that's not a big deal," Sabo muttered before pushing himself to his feet. "I should get going."

"Do you have to go?"

"Yeah, can't risk being seen," he replied, picking up a - was that a pipe? - that was leaning against the wall near my open window. "I'm honestly surprised Dad hasn't come to check on you."

I shrugged. "They pretty much leave me alone once I finish my lessons - probably because I've proven to be so well behaved and act like a perfect little lady."

Sabo grinned. "You sure have them fooled, Bry. Oh, and happy birthday."

He reached into his coat and drew out a crudely wrapped package, tossing it to me. I fumbled the catch, but thankfully it didn't fall to the floor. I unwrapped it as he launched himself out of the window and to the ground below. It was a locket and on the inside was a picture of Sabo, grinning his gap-toothed grin and pipe slung over his shoulder in the picture. I smiled and closed it before slipping the locket on over my head and hiding it under the front of my dress.

It wouldn't due for Mother or Father to find out Sabo was still alive - not when he was so happy where he was and with Ace. It would be our little secret, mine and Sabo's.

Days passed by even more slowly after Sabo came to visit, and I found myself getting more and more bored with my lessons with each one that dragged by. If Mother and Father took any notice, neither said anything. As long as I was putting on the ruse of the perfect child, they were content with letting spend my free time however I pleased. As days turned to weeks and then into months, Sabo didn't visit again, but I had begun to hear whispers among the townspeople. Some had heard rumors from the guards about two young boys causing trouble in the lower parts of the city - stealing, dining and dashing and getting into scuffles with other thieves and thugs that lived there. I never heard mention of any names - it was unsurprising that the Nobles didn't remember - but I knew in my heart that those boys had to be Sabo and Ace.

It was nice to know that they were thriving.

Then one day, five months after Sabo's visit, it happened.

"Bryony."

My back stiffened and I forced myself to smile prettily. "Yes, Father?"

"We'll be having guests for dinner tomorrow - another Noble family and their young son. Be on your best behavior - he could be a future suitor."

Oh, please kill me.

"Of course, Father."

Translation? Over my dead body, old man. However much Sabo might have been against it before, it was more and more apparent that time for me to flee was running out. So I would start planning first thing after lights out and I would be gone before that damnable dinner could ever happen.

I was not the type of girl to just sit still and look pretty.

~WWL~

The plan was a simple one: convince Mother that I needed a new dress. The woman would toss me a wad of cash, ramble off some list of forbidden colors, and tell me what time to be back. Perhaps it was because they were safe within the sturdy walls of High Town with guards around every corner, but I had always thought it was stupid that my mother would let me shop alone.

It just went to show that the Nobles truly felt like nothing and no one could touch them here within these walls.

Mother shoved a rather ridiculously large bundle of beri into my hands, made sure I had the family pendant with me and rushed me out the door with platitudes to 'have fun' and 'be back by noon' and slammed the door behind me. I blinked up at it for a moment, thoroughly unimpressed before turning on my heels - seriously, what kind of parent put a four year old in heeled shoes? - and started off down the street. A quick count of the money told me that I had about a hundred thousand - money my mother believed was going to be spent on a dress but that would actually be used to buy some much more suitable clothes that would be much more comfortable than the frilly dress I currently wore. Even though the shops did carry things like jeans and the like for girls and women, the supply was small. And to go with them was an abundance of the STAR clothing line - various t-shirts, tank tops and the like made with high quality material that cost a pretty beri. Just three shirts and four pair of pants cost around seventy-five thousand beri, leaving me with only twenty-five thousand to bribe Sabo with.

Though I was hoping it wouldn't come to bribery - I was his baby sister after all, surely he would let me stay after I told him that Father was already beginning to consider who I would end up married to one day, right? … Right? A sigh left my lips and I realized that the odds of Sabo being okay with his sister being a four year old runaway were slim to none - that hypocrite.

Well, I would deal with that problem when it came around - or completely ignore the situation and any attempt Sabo made at speaking about it. He had only visited that one time since he had left, he hadn't been around to realize exactly how stubborn I could be when I wanted to be.

Getting out of High Town was what proved to be a problem. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't figure out how Sabo had done it. Had he snuck past the guards at the front gate? Had he climbed the wall? I realized I should have really thought this out more. But there were some things I could use to my advantage. Ducking behind a building, I shimmied on one of the small pair of jeans I had acquired under my dress. A quick look around revealed no one around and I quickly discarded the dress for one of the shirts. Then, grabbing one of the side in my hands, I yanked, pleased with the ripping noise that came to my ears even as I practically heard my brain sob over the waste of money. Kneeling, I rubbed my knees against the rough ground, and it wasn't long before the fabric began to fry, dirt and grass stains surround the destroyed strands.

Now, for the final piece. I grabbed a handful of dirt and spat into before rubbing some on my face, shirt and arms. A quick way to get yourself thrown out of High Town was to look like you didn't belong there. I paused, thinking on it for a brief moment before I grabbed some more dirt and repeated the process with my hair, stopping only once it looked suitably filthy. Nodding to myself, I darted out from behind the building towards the guarded entrance, striding forward until I was standing behind one of the guards, who was dressed in his ridiculous green suit that supposedly protected him from the 'taint' of regular citizens.

The thing about Goa Kingdom was that it was separated into four areas - High Town, Town Center, Edge Town, and then Gray Terminal, the trash heap that sat outside of the Great Gates that led into Edge Town. But in between the Town Center and High Town sections of the kingdom was another gate, separating the two sections - after all, it wouldn't do if the trash that frequented Edge Town or the lower class citizens of Town Center were able to mix with the nobles of High Town.

"Um, mister?" I squeaked out, trying to sound frightened. "Can you help me? I'm lost…"

Dull, unamused eyes stared down at me from behind the black mask that covered his entire head with something resembling a porthole on the front.

"How the hell did this disgusting brat get here?" he questioned the other.

"Dunno. Better toss her out before one of the Nobles sees."

The first guard grunted and hefted me up by the back of the shirt. I put up a slight fuss, kicking out at him half-heartedly as he opened the gate and tossed me out.

"Get lost, brat, and don't come back here again." He placed his hand on a gun at his belt for emphasis.

I made the effort to sniffle, letting a couple of tears fall - damn, I was good - and nodded before scrambling to my feet and hurrying away. I didn't let the smirk come to my lips until I had turned the corner. However Sabo had gotten out of High Town, I much preferred my way. Now how would I go about finding Sabo?

… Yeah, I really should have thought this out a lot more rather than rushing through with a half-assed plan at the last minute. But it was fine, I could do this. My body may have physically been that of a four year old, but I was operating using the brain - or at least, part of the brain- of an intelligent twenty four year old woman. I could make it through Town Center and Edge Town, and I would find Sabo.

Grrr….

But first, I would get some food. A quick glance around showed no promising prospects and I was worried that I would be unable to find something to fill my stomach. Thankfully, after a rather embarrassing amount of wandering around lost and getting distracted by trinkets being sold street side, I finally came across a food place that seemed to specialize in steak. My mouth watered at the delicious smells that emanated from the building and I hurried in the door, eager to snatch a bite.

Hands grabbed me roughly. "I certainly think not, young lady."

"Hey, leggo! I'm hungry!" I pleaded, struggling to twist free.

"We do not serve Edge Town trash in Town Center," the host sneered.

"I got money!"

"I'm afraid that stolen beri is no good here."

"I didn't steal - I said let go of me!" I screeched, now flailing as the man practically lifted me from the ground.

He ignored me, opening the door and tossing me out much more harshly than the High Town guard had done. He glared down at me as I pushed to my feet. We stared at each other for a moment, and I was ashamed to feel the furious angry tears biting at my eyes.

I hated this place - I hated Goa Kingdom, I hated nobles, I hated it all. For the first time, I could feel like I actually understand the reasons why Sabo left. This place, the way it was, it was like a poison and if he or I had stayed any longer, we could have ended up just like these horrible, awful people.

"Have a good day."

I spat at his feet before I took off running. Fine, if I couldn't get food here, I would just have to try my luck in Edge Town. My feet slowed as I approached the obvious divide that signaled the end of Town Center and the beginning of Edge Town. Not only had the atmosphere changed, but the buildings were beginning to look much more decrepit and worse for wear than even the ones in Town Center. And the people that walked around held none of the refined dignity of the High Town nobles, nor none of the shine of Town Center's middle class citizens. No, the residents of Edge Town all look rough around the edges. Eyes shifted back and forth constantly on the lookout for danger or for an easy mark to rob or steal from. Squeezing the bag with my clothes and hidden money close to my chest, I slipped into the crowd, doing my best to stay alert. My eyes, wide with wonderful and a little bit of fear, darted back and forth from one person to the next. Most were adults, but even in this heavy crowd I could see teenagers and even children that looked my age slipping in and out of the crowd. No doubt some thug would later find his pocket lighter than he remembered it being earlier.

Perhaps being small was an advantage - could I ever learn to pick pockets like that? Swiftly, silently, there and gone before the mark had even noticed I had been there? So focused on these thoughts was I, that I left myself open. I felt the bag being torn from my grip and a boy took off. I gave a startled cry and gave chase - my eyes planted firmly on his back so that I wouldn't lose him. Shaggy black hair covered pale skin that vanished under a red tank and he wore black pants and black shoes.

Red, black, and black. Red, black and black. I chanted in my head, memorizing the colors in case I lost him in the crowd. He had a pipe in one hand and a quick glance over his shoulder to see if I was in pursuit revealed dark brown almost black eyes and freckles on his face. His lips curled up into an irritated sneer when he realized I was still behind him and he put on another burst of speed.

"Give that back!" I yelled, racing after him and shoving by people unceremoniously and uncaring of the dirty looks and threats being hurled my way.

The boy didn't answer, merely took a sharp turn into a nearby ally. I followed, turning the corner only to be met with a pipe to the face that me crying out in pain and gripping my now bleeding - but thankfully not broken - nose.

"Gee, Ace, nearly caught by a little brat."

"Shut up and deal with her!"

"You're the one who didn't make a clean getaway!"

"No one is dealing with me," I mumbled, voice sounding stuffy from me pinching my nostrils shut. "Damnit, what is that stupid pipe made of?"

I heard the boy - Ace - scoff. Well, fuck him, the stupid - wait, Ace!? I blinked in shocked and lifted my green-gray eyes to look at the two boys standing in front of me. It had been a few months, and his hair had gotten a little longer, and there was some bandages on his arms and one of his right cheek, but it was him.

"Sabo!" I cried in joy, launching at him.

He caught me, obviously confused as I buried my face in his chest. His clothes were the same as the ones from months before, a dark blue shirt with a brighter blue tailcoat, jeans, and that stupid top hat that he had been wearing when I saw him. Hands grabbed my shoulders, pushing me back and black eyes scanned over my face.

"Bryony? What the hell are you doing out here!?"

"I had to leave, it wasn't - I couldn't -" I tried to explain, but he cut me off with a shake of his head.

"I get it," he muttered with a sigh. "It's too late to go back now. Not that I could make you."

"Who the hell is this and why do you know her?" Ace growled, grip on his pipe tightening.

"I'm his little sister, who the fuck are you?" I asked just as bluntly, taking a sort of joy in the way my language seemed to surprise him.

"Sister? I thought -"

"Yeah, she's my sister," Sabo grumbled. "She was supposed to be staying with some trustworthy people."

Sabo was lying? Did his friend not - no, of course Sabo wouldn't go around telling people he was the son of nobles. His whole reasoning for leaving had been to distance himself from our parents and the way they lived because it disgusted him.

"They turned out to not be very trustworthy," I added, throwing Sabo a look. "Were planning to sell me off or something. I didn't stick around to learn the details."

Sabo's eyes lit with fury - he knew exactly what I was getting at. "Can't do anything about it. You'll just have to stay with me now, I guess."

Ace was watching the two of us quietly.

"I would like my clothes and money back," I added, pointing at the bag. "It's literally all I have."

Scoffing he tossed the bag to Sabo, who caught it with ease. "Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow, Sabo."

"Yeah!" Sabo agreed as Ace took off.

"He's… friendly."

"Don't start, Bryony," Sabo groaned. "He takes a bit of getting used to, yeah. He's a little rough around the edges."

"Is that what they call being a jerk these days?"

"Give him a break, he's had an even worse life so far than we have," Sabo scolded. "And that is saying a lot considering."

I considered this for a moment before shrugging. "Fine, fine, I guess the jerk kid gets a pass for being rude. Just this once. Next time, I'm taking that pipe and bashing his skull in with it."

"... I really hope you aren't serious."

"Of course not, he would probably kill me," I scoffed, before glancing at him from the corner of my eye. "So… where do you live? Well, where do we live, is what I really mean."

"I've been staying in the forest next to Gray Terminal," Sabo explained, taking my hand and leading me from Edge Town and into the tall trash hills that made up Gray Terminal.

Gray Terminal was where the residents of High Town, Town Center and Edge Town all dumped their garbage. Lots of homeless people lived there, digging through the trash day in and day out in the hopes that they might find something worthwhile that the nobles had carelessly tossed out. Sometimes some of them did get lucky - or unlucky, if someone else decided that they wanted what you found. It was common for the people of this place to turn on each other. Friends could become enemies in the blink of an eye, stabbing you in the back for a pocketful of beri.

"In the forest?"

"Yeah, there's this ginormous tree and I live under the roots."

"Under the… roots," I repeated slowly.

"Forgive me for the less than comfortable living conditions, Princess," he said sarcastically, shooting me a look. "I've got plastic sheeting strung all through out to keep out the wind and rain, and I found some old pillows and blankets. It's not exactly comfortable, but it's good enough."

I had never been in a forest before. Trees rose from the grand so tall that they blocked out the sky with all their branches and foliage. I recognized a few different types of trees - mostly oaks and some willows. It was so pretty, sunlight dappling the ground between the leaves and birds singing peacefully. But there were also dangers that stalked this forest. I had heard about the animals here, bears and tigers larger than they had any right to physically be, crocodiles that lived in the rivers, snakes that could swallow a child whole. It was terrifying and exhilarating, and I loved it here.

When Sabo had called the tree he was living under massive, I had just thought it was an exaggeration. I was wrong. This tree had to be easily sixty feet tall or more with massive roots that had large gaps in between and underneath where the earth had eroded away some. A space just big enough for two small children to live in. And Sabo was small for a eight year old boy, almost worryingly so. He was maybe six or seven inches taller than me and I was four. Life in the forest where he had been hunting for his food had probably led to all sorts of nutritional problems and stunted his growth. Even Ace was too tiny for his age. Of course, having been hunting for themselves all these years, who knows if they've even touched anything besides meat of any kind in that time. Did they eat fruits? Vegetables? How had they not somehow gotten horribly ill from their meat only diet?

"- and this is home sweet home."

I blinked, coming out of my thoughts. "It's… It's great, Sabo. It's good to be home."

He grinned his gap-toothed grin, and yeah, I thought, this is a place that actually feels like home. It wouldn't be easy, living in the forest and learning to hunt, fight, and possibly steal. But I had Sabo, and maybe even Ace would grow on me with time. And I knew as long as the three of us stuck together, we would be fine.

We had to be.

A/N: Whew boy I cannot believe I am actually undertaking a project. I want to thank my friends on the This Bites discord for being supportive and helping me out whenever I got stuck and for giving me great feedback. You guys all rock. I just want to go ahead and thank everyone for reading this first chapter of We Were Legends, and I can only hope I can do this story the justice it deserves!
~Allura