Ace opened his eyes to a blinding whiteness but as quickly as it came, it faded. The first thing he saw was a night sky that was anything but dark. It was filled with more stars than he thought to be in the sky. They shone bright and lit up the world around him. Which appeared to be a large body of water. I motionless ocean and he was somehow standing in the middle of it just upon the water.
He looked down at the water to see his reflection staring back. He flinched and stumbled back when an image flashed when he met his own eyes. Ace was suddenly overwhelmed by the phantom stench of burning hair and flesh. An all too fresh pain bloomed in his chest. It was then he remembered the large brown eyes looking up in horror. It was then Portgas D. Ace remembered he was very much dead.
Slowly he opened his eyes he clenched tightly shut. Ace held his breath when he looked down to his reflection once again. A shuddering sigh escaped him when he saw his chest was free of the blood and blackened skin. He was relieved beyond compare that the gaping hole in his body was not there. Not in this world, wherever this world may be.
Ace tilted his head as something came into focus by his feet. Somehow a strange petal floated along the water, followed by more until the flower it belonged to drifted past him along an invisible current. Ace followed the trail coming from behind him with his eyes. Slowly he turned and followed the flowers until his eyes met with a pair of bare feet and slender legs that were covered with a pale blue fabric. He jolted back and quickly looked up to meet a woman's eyes.
He stared in silent wonder at the woman, taking note as she did the same. Her tan face, just lighter than his own, was framed by dark blonde hair. But not like Marco's nor Sabo's, her hair had an almost pinkish quality to his. Like him, freckles dusted her face across her nose. And her eyes were a soft honey brown that did not break their graze into his storm gray ones. Tucked behind her ear was one of the very same flowers that floated in the water. She look so familiar.
Ace suddenly turned his focus as the woman raised her right arm. He held still, unable to bring himself to move as her fingers hovered, nearly touching his cheek. Slowly and gently she brushed her fingers lightly against his skin. Ace sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes darted back to meet hers.
"I know you." She whispered. Her voice was low and smooth. And for reasons he couldn't comprehend, it melted away his fears. Like it was some magic spell to ease his mind and calm him down. Because he knows her too, he is sure of it.
"Ace" she whispers with such emotion. Her hand cups his cheek and the other hand reaches up too, both gently holding his face. Suddenly the stunning world around him disappears.
"My Ace" she smiles at him so warming and lovingly. Her brown eyes tear up and they roll down her freckled cheeks. And Ace knows who she is now. He has dreamed of this his entire life. What this woman looked like, how she sounded, how she'd say his name. It was everything he wished for as a child. Seeing her face, hearing her voice, feeling the warmth of her hands on his cheeks. Ace didn't even realize when he too began to cry.
"Mom"