Luffy

It had been two days.

Two days since his brother had suddenly appeared on the Moby Dick, two days of hiding and he wasn't any closer to having an actual conversation with him. Ace, instead, had locked himself in his room after his little breakdown on the first day.

He was still embarrassed—mortified that he had cried in front of his comrades, his family. He was the 'thickheaded, tough, don't take shit 'Ace so he was sure they were as baffled as he was when he allowed tears to fall from his eyes at the sight of Luffy but it was Luffy.

Luffy.

Just the thought of his little brother caused a stab of guilt to pierce his heart. He couldn't possibly come up with a reason as to how Luffy was here, alive—he was there when his last breath left his small body, he was there when he buried him near the cliff that overlooked the sea that Luffy was fond of; he was there dammit.

It was still fresh—as if it had happened yesterday; the sound of thunder and rain falling, Luffy's pained cry and Ace, still in shock and mortification, watching as Luffy fell to the ground, lifeless and bloody. But he didn't do a thing; he was useless.

That day haunted him like an omen from the pits of hell, the thoughts and nightmares he had were almost unbearable and only gotten worse as his guilt ate him away.

"I'm sorry…" He placed his head in his hands. "…Luffy."

He couldn't bring himself to open his door when there were oft knocks at the door, asking him to come out and eat but he couldn't. He couldn't face Luffy, it hurt. It hurt more than Ace thought it would ever hurt. He couldn't face Luffy, he wasn't sure if he could ever face him.

He didn't even look up as the knob jiggled, didn't flinch as the door opened and heavy footsteps near him. He already knew who they were.

"Your little brother is a little shit, y'know." Ace didn't say anything to that, feeling a tug at his heart as the person sat next to him on his bed causing the mattress to groan in protest from the extra weight. "Brat causes more trouble than you do."

"He's fallen in the sea like sixteen times already in the last two days, yoi. Namur's flipping his shit at how many times he had to save the kid," Ace clenched his hands into tiny fist, his eyes clenched tightly. "He eats as much as you, too."

Ace kept his head bowed, not wanting Thatch or Marco to see his tears, his weakness.

"He has his own crew, y'know. He keeps going on about them," One of them chuckled—Thatch—in amusement, "Well, when he isn't moving. The kid can't keep still for not even a moment."

Marco made a noise in agreement before he added, "He has the weirdest names for everyone too."

"Marco's the best; he's upgraded from Pineapple to Blue Chicken after he saw him change." Thatch laughed out loud and Ace could almost feel Marco's glare.

"But the person he talks about the most is you." Ace felt his heart stop and restart at his words; he suddenly didn't want to hear anymore.

"Yeah, I don't know what type of pill you gave that kid to like you but he can't stop talking about you." Thatch joked with a lighthearted voice. "'Ace is mean sometimes but he had a bad life so I don't mind' and 'I'm happy to see Ace again!'" He said with a high pitched voice in a poor imitation of Luffy.

"That was horrible, yoi." Marco shook his head.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Ace choked out, covering his ears.

"Cause you gotta see that he doesn't blame you for anything you did in the past," Marco said, slowly and Ace looked up at him slowly. "You're his big brother."

"Your past haunts you too much, Ace." Thatch added with a small smile. "Let it go, Ace, Luffy is here—"

"But he isn't," Ace said with gritted teeth, his hand shaking. "I'm a monster, I'm a murderer."

"You were a kid, kids make fuckin' mistakes and you made one but you give yourself shit about it every single day," Thatch argued back, "So, we're not gonna blame you for shit you did in the past. We're pirates, we live for today."

"Look what you're doing Ace," Marco came forward to place a hand on his shoulder. "You're making Thatch into a sappy ass, yoi."

"Hey!" Thatch protested, giving Marco a shove.

"How is he here?" Ace asked with a frown, the two stopped bickering to look at him. "I saw him die in my arms, I buried him."

"Well, that's when things get a little complicated," Thatch said, scratching his neck. "He isn't exactly from this world, that's the theory that's been goin' round."

Ace blinked at them blankly, "I don't get it."

Marco rolled his eyes, "He isn't your Luffy, he's Luffy but he's another Luffy—shit, this is getting confusing even for me, yoi."

"You're making my head hurt, Marco." Ace said, clutching his head.

"Let's just say he's from another world," Thatch offered. "He said that he found a treasure chest and one of his nakama—the navigator, I think—read the words that was on the chest and next thing he knew he was here."

"But he's Luffy?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Oh." He managed to say before he fell silent, he didn't know what else to say and apparently neither did Thatch and Marco; a comfortable silence settling on them.

"Talk to him, Ace." Marco said, softly, after a moment of silence.

"I can't," Ace said with a scowl. "How could I? I don't even deserve to be called his brother."

"Ace, shut up!" Thatch snapped and Ace looked at him with wide eyes, he had never seen Thatch look so…angry. "Stop wallowing in guilt 'n anger, cause that ain't the Ace I know and that ain't the Ace Luffy knows. He wants to see you cause…"

Thatch stopped so suddenly that both Marco and Ace could only gap at him in shock. They had never seen the brunette so angry and irritated, it was almost surreal.

"Cause of what?" Marco was the first to get over his shock and asked the question. "Thatch, answer me."

Thatch turned away from him, suddenly nervous. "Well, we talked and one thing led to another and…" He mumbled out the rest and Ace felt his heart drop to the ground; just what exactly was Thatch hiding.

"Thatch." Marco said in a harsher tone and Thatch crumbled.

"Okay, okay," Thatch sighed, looking both guilty and sad. "He told me he hadn't seen you in two years so he was happy to get the chance to and …"

"And…what is it, damn it!" Ace shouted, jumping to his feet. Had he abandoned his little brother in this other world as well? Was he a scum over there too?

Thatch's eyes flickered between Ace and Marco, biting his bottom lip with a deep frown on his face. They all stood in tense silence for a moment and, finally, a voice answered Ace but it wasn't Marco or Thatch.

Luffy Ace thought as he looked past his nakama to see Luffy standing at the doorway. His face was distorted in so much pain and sadness that Ace vowed to kill the bastard that had put such an expression on his bright and carefree little brother's face. Ace was so caught up with staring at his little brother that he almost missed the words that came out of Luffy's mouth.

"You died, Ace."

Robin

"The Treasure of Nirvana?" Robin questioned as she watched her mother hand over a book to her. It had been two days since she had arrived at her hometown, Ohara. She had been quite surprised when she found that the island was unmarred and safe from the Buster Call and the people she had once knew and loved were still living happily.

"Yes, it is also called the Treasure of Rebirth," Olvia said, leafing through the large book. "It's a cursed treasure chest that floats aimlessly in the sea until a crew with strong bonds come across it. The legend says if the words inscripted on the chest were said aloud then the crew would be sent to a reality that they deem as perfect."

"I see, so you believe that is what happened to my crewmates and I?" Robin asked as she took the open book that her mother offered. Her eyes widened as her eyes scanned the small passage before she looked up at Olvia, "This is exactly what our navigator had read."

"As I thought," Olvia nodded, leaning forward. "Then, that should be the reason why you are here."

"How can we return to our own reality?" Robin asked as she closed the book. "Do we repeat the words?"

Olvia shook her head, "No, it is not so easy. You see, Robin, this is your perfect reality. This is a reality that all of you can call perfect in one way or another but…it comes with a price."

Robin's eyes widened in realization, her heart speeding up, "I died, didn't I?"

Olvia smiled sadly, "Yes, you did."

Robin shuddered at the thought, so that was it. They had all died, their luck had finally vanished and they died, it seemed so surreal. "How…did I die?"

"The Government," Olvia said, sadly. "You were never afraid to voice out your pride of reading Poneglyph and when they came to the island for an inspection, you were caught and killed."

Robin bowed her head, so in this reality, she had been the one to perish and not her home. "I see."

"I'm sorry," Olvia whispered, "I was a horrible mother to you—"

"You were the perfect mother to me," Robin cut her off, softly with a soft smile. "Thank you." Olvia nodded but she seemed doubtful of her words.

"So, how do we go about fixing this?" Robin asked after a moment.

Olvia looked down at the book before she sighed, "Well, no one knows for sure. There are a lot of theories but one that most theorists go with is…"

"Yes?" Robin asked, turning to her mother fully. "What is it?"

"You must release the thing or person that keeps you anchored in this reality." Robin widened her eyes as her breath hitched.

"You mean…?"

"The loved one that keeps you anchored in this reality must perish." Olvia said, in a soft whisper almost sounding pained.

Robin sat there in shock, she had to kill her mother to go back home. She knew the others wouldn't agree and she didn't either; she wasn't a murderer and she certainly wasn't going to kill her mother.

"No." She shook her head.

There was a knock at the door, hurried footsteps and soft murmurings. "Olvia?"

"Just a moment," Olvia called out before she turned back to her daughter. "You must Robin; you don't belong in this reality."

"We can find the treasure chest and destroy it, that will break the curse or…" Her mind desperately tried to come up with different situations that they could try to fix this, anything but what was suggested. "I will not kill you."

"The chest could be anywhere; you wouldn't find it even if you looked for a hundred years." She grabbed Robin's hands. "Please, I want to see your happiness and you are happy with your crew in your world."

"I-I won't," Her voice cracked at the weight of her emotions. "I can't, there has to be another way."

"I'm dead in your world, right?" Olvia asked softly. "Think of how many people your life has affected but here that hasn't happened, not for you…and not for your friends." Her thoughts went to Vivi and the countless other Luffy and the rest had helped out but she couldn't do what was being asked, there had to be a way out of this.

"Your life is worth living," Robin said fiercely. "I've learned that the hard way but as long as even one human being loves you than continue to live."

"Oh, Robin," Olvia's eyes shined brightly, a small smile on her face. "I—"

"Olvia!" The person called out again and Olvia sighed in irritation as she stood up and went to answer the door. She paused, her hand resting on the doorknob as looked to her trembling daughter, "Just think about it, please."

Olvia opened the door and glared at one of the scholars that stood there, "What is it, Nijo? I am busy."

"Yes but…" Nijo turned to look behind him, his face showing his fear and nerves. Robin stood up and looked around for an escape route out of habit. "An Admiral is here… Admiral Aokiji."

Phew, and that's chapter three folks! If you would be so kind, please leave a review or fav/follow if you liked. :)