Warm Memories and Brotherly Bonds

by RoseDragonWitch

In the middle of some strange ruins, Luffy disappeared. As the rest of the Straw Hats try to find him, they end up travelling through his memories and are trapped in the past, with no idea to how to get out or how to find their captain. But not all things are meant to be seen… how will they take to seeing what had Luffy been hiding from them?

10. Goodbye Sabo, My Brother

Chapter 10: Goodbye Sabo, My Brother

"This isn't good!" Usopp said nervously, hearing the wind picking up outside, rattling the walls with such force that it felt like it was going to blow away.

"At this rate the fire is going to spread so quickly…" Nami whispered, going out to check the weather and frowned heavily at what she saw. She came back in and quickly explained, "The wind's blowing off from the sea, and if tonight's like this, along with all the explosives we saw, then the whole Terminal'll be covered in flames in a matter of minutes!"

"So they're really gonna let them burn to death?!" Brook called fearfully as the boys continued to fight tooth and nail to cut themselves free.

"Those bastards…" Franky growled, cracking his robotic knuckles together. "If I ever meet them, I'm gonna shove my foot so far up his…"

"Luffy!" Ace called desperately, unknowingly interrupting Franky. He had been looking around for something and spotted a window down near the far end of the hideout.

Luffy, who was crying, stopped and turned his head as far around as he could to listen. "See that window back there?" Ace asked him quickly.

"Yeah?" Luffy asked, sniffling as he looked down at, not understanding, "but why?"

"I get it," Robin said, "If they can get a shard of glass they can use it to cute the ropes."

"And if Luffy could get his body to stretch out and break it…?" Sanji said, a smile coming back to his face. "Genius."

"Do you think you can stretch your arm out and break it?" Ace asked, still pulling on the rope.

"I—I don't know!" Luffy said, trying to move his fingers, but was bound so tightly that it was almost impossible.

"Well, try something!" Ace snapped at him. "If you can't use your hands then try your feet or something!"

"Ok!" he gasped out, moving his foot up as high as he could. He then stuck his tongue out as he concentrated, kicking out foot as far as he could go. Like a rubber band, his foot shot out, but fell several feet short of the window.

"Damn it," Zoro said frowning, now starting to feel apprehensive. This wasn't good. Luffy still didn't have too much control over his own powers, and time wasn't on their side. If they didn't hurry, then they'd be going down in flames… literally.

"Try it again!" Ace called, and though he sounded calm, they could see the panic starting to rise in his eyes.

"I'm trying!" Luffy said fearfully, pulling his leg back so that he could try again.

"They gotta hurry!" Usopp said, biting his nails, cringing every time he heard the wind knock into the hideout.

"I'm sure that they make it out in time," Robin said, though even she sounded a little unnerved. "They're not the type of people who give up easily."

"Come on, Luffy!" Chopper called, now cheering Luffy on. "I know you can do it!"

Sanji puffed harder than ever on his cigarette as he glanced through the window and at the slowly darkening sky. "If I had to guess, they're sure to set off those crates when it's dark and everyone's sleeping."

"That way, by the time they woke up and realized they were in trouble, the fire would cut off any escape route and they have nowhere to go," Robin agreed. "That sounds like that's how they'd do this."

"That's horrible!" Chopper yelled furiously.

"But what's the point?!" Brook repeated for what felt like the millionth time. "Why would anyone want to do this?"

"Dunno," Sanji said, "But Bluejam doesn't seem smart enough to have come up with a plan like this."

"He did say that he wasn't the one behind this," Nami whispered to herself as Luffy kicked out again. Usopp and Chopper both cheered, but their voices died out when Luffy missed out. He was closer than he was before, but was nowhere close.

"Come on," Ace said, breathing hard. "If you don't wanna die, then put some effort into it!"

"I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Luffy yelled out in panic.

"THEN KICK THAT WINDOW OUT!" Ace yelled at him. "BREAK THAT GLASS AND PULL BACK A PIECE AND I'LL TAKE IT FROM THERE!"

"OK!" Luffy yelled back, "JUST STOP YELLING AT ME!"

"While I think that Ace could've handled it better, he gets to the point," Franky said bitterly.

Luffy tried again and again to reach the window, and each time he got closer, but each time he seemed to get more frustrated so that he looked ready to cry. The feeble light through that window was quickly fading and the sounds of chirping crickets could be heard outside—it was so quiet—no one could ever imagine what was about to happen.

And as Nami predicted, the wind hadn't died down. If anything, it had picked up and was now rattling the ground as well as the walls.

"Come on, Luffy-san," Brook encouraged the little boy, hoping that he could somehow hear him. "You're almost there! That was the closest one yet!"

Ace was listening hard to every little sound, looking around hurriedly as if he thought that they're were ghosts hiding in the corners.

"Come on, Luffy," he said loudly, "We don't have time for this! If we want to get out of here and see Sabo again, then we have to get out NOW!"

"I know," Luffy said, panting softly, but there was determination in his face. "I can do this!"

"Yes, captain," Robin whispered softly. The future captain that she knew had never thrown the towel in with anything he'd done in life, so it only made sense that he was just as stubborn as a child.

Luffy was breathing hard, determined to get out now. This time he put his feet together, the bottoms of each touching, and this time he kicked them both simultaneously. "Gum Gum… SPEAR!" he cried out, and this time, he stretched farther than ever. The sound of the window breaking as his feet went smashing through it was more than enough to renew their optimism.

"Good going!" Ace called, a little hope now shining in his eyes as he twisted around to get a good look, and saw the large shards falling to the floor.

"He did it!" Nami said smiling, "They might make it out of here after all!"

But no sooner she said that did they hear it. Somewhere far off, they could hear the defiant sounds of explosions and they froze, the smiles quickly fading. Gasping, Usopp went running to the window and looked out to see for himself.

"Hell they're outta time!" Sanji called out anxiously.

"SHIT!" Ace called out, hearing the noise and now fighting harder than ever. "We took too long! Luffy! Grab a shard and let's get out of here!"

"Right!" Luffy said, and he was able to carefully pick up a large shard with his toes before his feet snapped back.

As his legs return to its normal size, the glass shard fell near their hands so that Ace was able to grab hold of it and immediately began sawing away at their bindings. But soon they could see the light shining through, glowing red like a sunset, but they could hear several more explosions setting off much closer than before, and knew that it was only a matter of time before it reached the boys.

"The fire'll be here in minutes!" Nami cried out just as Luffy started crying again when he heard the next round of explosions going off closer than ever. Ace kept calm as he continued to cut through, but the longer they stuck around, the hotter the room seemed to become and the thicker the air.

"At this rate, the fire will get through those ropes faster than Ace will," Robin said.

"Why must you tell us things like that?!" Usopp cried out as Chopper began screaming.

"Relax," Zoro said, though he was gritting his teeth together as they continued to watch Ace struggling, squeezing down on the shard so tightly that he was cutting his hand.

Suddenly, a part of the roof started cracking and with an almighty CRASH it caved in. Thankfully, the boys were far enough away from it that it didn't fall on top of them, but the fire was now inside the hide out and was now licking the walls, creeping across the floor and smoke was filling up the space.

At the sight of the fire, Brook, Usopp, and Chopper screamed out, backing away. The rest of them stayed far back, but they couldn't feel anything. Even when Sanji was brave enough to venture close to the fire and let it lick his lower leg—he felt nothing but air. At the sight of the flames, Luffy was screaming out in terror, but unlike them, he could feel the heat and was breathing in the smoke.

The fire spread rapidly through the rest of the place, the wood breaking apart and turning to ash, burning higher and hotter with each second.

"Come on Ace!" Usopp cried out, the room filled with so much smoke that it was getting harder to see anything.

Luffy was now in full freak-out, screaming out, "It's hot! It's hot!"

But with one final slash, Ace was able to cut the bonds and they fell away from the post.

"He did it!" Chopper called out, tears of relief in his eyes.

"Yeah, but they're far from out of danger!" Franky yelled out as the rest of the roof was creaking dangerously. "They got to get out of here!"

"If the fire didn't spread all the way here, they might be able to get out," Nami said as Ace pulled the ropes away and stood up. "Damn!" he cried out, staring around him, looking for the way out. "We didn't want to be involved in this!"

Luffy was still on the floor, now smashing his little fists against it, screaming out, "We can't get away! I don't wanna die!"

It was strange to see Luffy as such a helpless child, but they couldn't blame him either as the fire continued to grow.

"What are they waiting for?! They gotta get out now!" Franky screamed, seeing the roof breaking apart. "Another minute and they'll be trapped!"

Ace spotted their pipe staffs on the floor near the doorway and then screamed at Luffy to stop complaining if he didn't want to be left behind.

At once, Luffy stopped crying and said, sucking his lips in, "It's not hot."

"Harsh but effective," Franky said, even with all this, sweatdropped at that.

"They don't have time for a debate here!" Zoro called out, as Ace grabbed Luffy by the back of his shirt and pulled him to the door, grabbing the staffs as he did so. He tossed Luffy his and they went running out through the door just as they heard the rest of the hideout fall apart.

"That's a close call if ever I've seen one," Nami cried out as they ran after the boys from the house. But the outside world was even worse. The fire had spread quicker than they thought—the trash surrounding them was now an inferno and Trash Mountain was quickly being reduced to ash as the smoke picked up and made it impossible to see farther than a few yards.

The fire was melting the scraps into pools of liquid-burning metal, paper and wood acted as kindling, and there were still minor explosives coming from inside the mountains of junk from whatever volatiles were thrown out with the junk.

"It's like we're in hell!" Usopp screamed out, dodging the falling burning pieces, though there was no need.

"Up there!" Robin told them, keeping up with Luffy and Ace.

"Whoa it's hot!" Luffy cried out, the fire grazing his skin—before he realized what he said and cried out, "No it's not!"

"There's fire everywhere!" Ace cried out, wiping the sweat out of his eyes as he took the lead and went running down the pathway with Luffy on his heels.

"This is terrible!" Brook called out, wishing that the darkness would come so that they couldn't see this anymore. "I can't tell where anything is!"

"How do they know where they're going?" Usopp shouted.

"I don't think they do! In this smoke they'll be disorientated!" Chopper cried out, "It's confusing them and they could be running around in circles for all we know!"

As the boys continued to run, Luffy was gasping for breath, going back and forth between keeping calm and freaking out. "I can't breathe…" before remembering what Ace said before and crying out instead, "Yes I can…"

But as he breathed in, he coughed and gasped out, "The air is hot! No, it's not!"

"While I admire him trying to stay calm, now isn't the time," Zoro said, staring around him, cursing himself for not being able to sense anything here. "Damn, I can't tell where anything is here!"

"Not that means much," Sanji said, "You're sense of direction would only kill them faster even if you were there."

"What was that you idiot cook?!" he yelled.

"Bring it on Moss-Head!" Sanji yelled.

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" Usopp screamed out. "WE HAVE BIGGER PROBLEMS!"

Ace moved back from some burning metal as Luffy continued to try and keep himself calm. He didn't look at his little brother, but he spoke in a voice that they hadn't heard yet from the child Ace. It was… oddly gentle. A more comforting voice than the one he usually used with Luffy. "It's going to be alright," he said softly, though still firm at the same time, "I'm here with you."

Zoro's eye widen a little before a small smile played on his lips, the first smile he had since before Sabo was taken away. Looks like Ace finally found something he wanted to protect. He was going to use his strength to keep his brother safe.

At his tone, Luffy looked a little surprise as well at the sudden change in Ace, but he gulped down and nodded a little as he calmed down and continued to follow after him, much more serious than he had been, but in control of his emotions.

"I'm amazed at how Ace can do that," Nami said, gasping for air as she ran with them. "I mean, not even we can talk like that to Luffy and have that much of an effect."

"Bond between brothers," Robin smiled as she went running right through a fireball, "It almost makes me jealous."

Onwards they ran, though it was getting harder to tell where they were going. The Gray Terminal fire was growing and even for the Straw Hats, who were breathing clear air and able to run through fire, it was impossible for them to tell where anything was. They could only imagine how bad it was for the two brothers.

"Run Luffy!" Ace called.

"I can't go any faster than this!" he cried back, but still he pumped his legs harder.

"Why don't they try rocketing out of here?" Brook suggested.

"With what?" Nami demanded, "There's nothing for him to grab onto that isn't already burning! And they don't know where they are! They could end up going the wrong way and into a place where they'd be surrounded! If they can get back to the Middle Forest, then there's a chance!"

"But isn't a forest the worst possible place to be during a fire?" Usopp cried out.

"Normally yes," she gasped out, jumping over a melting pipe. "But with the wind on the sea, the fire most likely hasn't spread near the forest yet. If they can get there, they should have a clear path up to the mountains! They should be safe there!"

"Come on guys!" Chopper called to them, almost willing them to run faster. However just as he called out, the top of one of the towers of debris crumbled and fell towards Luffy. Luffy didn't notice it until it was just above them.

"LUFFY!" Zoro, Nami, and Usopp screamed out, just as Luffy screamed—suddenly unable to move. At his cry, Ace looked back and saw what was happening. With inhuman speed, he jumped, tackling Luffy and rolled them out of the way as the flaming wreckage reduced the ground to charcoal almost on impact.

"Nice save Ace!" Usopp called, his heart beating so fast that he thought that it was about to burst. He didn't know how much more he could take of this.

"Luffy!" Ace gasped, quickly pulling Luffy back from the fire as it blocked the way they came from, "Are you ok?!"

Luffy only nodded, trying to hold back the tears as Ace hugged him tightly, his eyes wide with emotions they hadn't seen before. Terror… fear… protectiveness…

He was scared, really scared.

"A-Ace…" Luffy cried out, biting down hard on his lips to keep him from screaming out.

"I told you didn't I?" Ace asked him harshly, leading him back down the path, "I'm here with you ok?"

"Now there's the Ace that we met in Alabasta," Sanji said smiling in spite of himself.

"Nothing can bring people together like almost dying together," Robin proclaimed as Usopp shivered.

"Robin you have to stop that," Franky said as Chopper cried out for them to keep running. Onwards they ran, the smoke thicker than ever, now almost completely surrounded on all sides by fire.

Pulling his goggles down, Usopp tried to get a better view on where they were. Desperately searching, he spotted something just through the thick smoke—and he cried out in joy as he realized what it was.

"There!" Usopp called, recognizing the trees that towered over them, "They'll almost out!"

But Ace was forced to jump back as another pile of burning wood almost hit him. Luffy was looking around, "I wonder if those old men escaped safely."

"This is no time be concerned about other people!" Ace yelled at him, straining his eyes as he stared around, searching for the right way.

"Even after all this, he's still worried about everyone else?" Franky asked, suddenly deeply touched by that.

"How can he be worrying about others when they're shit-deep in all this?" Sanji asked, "He's too nice sometimes. What a pain!"

"He's a pain alright," Nami said, smiling at her captains big heart, "But we wouldn't want him any other way, right?"

"Nope," Zoro answered almost teasingly, "Why else would we let him be captain?"

By now, Ace was coughing violently, bringing them back to what was happening here.

"This is getting worse!" Chopper said, his eyes almost budging out of his head, "They've been here too long! All this smoke! Any longer and they won't be able to breathe!"

"And if that happens they'll pass out and be burned to death," Robin said, freaking some of her crewmates out, but even she was sounding concerned.

"Damn…" Ace cursed, struggling for air. "I don't know where I am."

"Just run forward!" Usopp told them. "You're almost out!"

Almost as if he heard him that time, Ace stepped forward, but before he could start running they heard someone yell behind them, "Who said you could get away, you brats!?"

The Straw Hats felt themselves freeze, which was ironic considering where they were, but they knew that voice. Slowly turning, they spotted them coming after them from the flames. Like demons from the pits of hell, they came at them. Each carrying a weapon, their eyes oddly blank, and twisted smiles on their faces—as if they were loving every minute of this hellish world.

"Bluejam!" Luffy exclaimed in shock.

"What the hell are they doing back here?!" Usopp yelled, taking a step back, "I thought that they cleared out long ago!"

"Yeah, they sure seemed keen about escaping before," Franky hollered out.

Ace was as stunned as the rest of them, but it quickly turned to anger. "Why are you still here after setting the fire!?" he screamed out, "You were supposed to have escaped by now!"

"My bet is that these idiots couldn't get out," Zoro said.

"Most likely they set off too much explosives and were trapped," Robin said, though even she doubted her own words. She did not like those insane looks of delight on their faces.

"Oh, shut up, you little shit!" Bluejam shouted, taking them all by surprise.

"What's going on here?" Zoro shouted out. Before Bluejam had always been sadistic and cruel, but in a cool and collected way as if he planned everything out. But here, he was raging and storming in annoyance…

All at once, he suddenly started that grin again. It sent shivers down Zoro's spine, he knew that something was wrong.

"We're hopeless, you know," Bluejam chuckled.

"For once, they're making sense," Sanji said, throwing his cigarette away as he watched.

"We have an unforeseen dilemma," Bluejam went on, "Human are strange creatures aren't they? When you hit rock bottom, you can't stop laughing."

"What's with them?" Usopp asked, as the rest of Bluejam's crew all started to laugh along with him, their smiles almost fake now. "They're creeping me out."

"They are acting weird," Luffy whispered nervously to Ace, not liking this either.

"They're not well," Brook said, the look in their eyes was much different from before… changed… almost… possessed even.

Nami's eyes widened. "Oh, no…" she whispered so softly that she wasn't sure they heard her. "They've gone insane."

"What?" Usopp asked just as Ace's eyes widened and he cried out for Luffy to run.

"Don't let them go!" Bluejam ordered as the two ran in the opposite direction. Now, even the fire seemed safer than with these pirates.

"What's going on?" Chopper asked, "They're not normal!"

"They've lost their minds," Robin said frowning as the whole crew surrounded the boys, not letting them pass. "I don't know how, but they've become like demons now. There's no humanity left in them now."

"Man, this just keeps getting worse all the time!" Franky yelled, now sounding close to losing his mind as well. "I don't see how it could get any…?"

"Don't say it can't get worse because it just might!" Usopp yelled.

"But you just said it!" Chopper yelled at him as he hit himself in the head.

Bluejam slowly lumbered forward to them, "Now now…" he said still smiling, "We worked together, we're friends. We have to die together."

Nami stood back, now feeling terrified at what was going to happen next.

"This guy's scaring me," Usopp said, sweat pouring down his long nose. "He's seriously sick here."

"We don't wanna die with you!" Ace snapped. "Not in a million years!"

"Seriously, who'd wanna die with him anyway?" Sanji asked, though there was anxiety in his tone.

"You're so cold," Bluejam said, still grinning as he walked forward. "Come to think of it, you haven't told me where you keep your treasure. I'll save it for you before the fire gets it. So tell me where it is!"

"Wait a minute," Franky said, incredulously. "You mean that he came back here just to get the money?"

Ace obviously felt the same way because he was crying out in disbelief, "Your life in danger and all you care about is treasure?"

"I see, and I thought that Nami-san was greedy," Brook said and Nami kicked him hard in the head so that he hit the ground with a painful bang.

"My priorities are always life first and then money!" she yelled at him.

"True," Usopp said, she always made someone else risk their life, and then steal the money when no one else was looking. He didn't dare say this out loud because Brook was whimpering on the ground.

Bluejam laughed harder before asking, "If you don't care, then tell me where it is."

Ace's eyes darkened. "You've gone mad."

"If you're not going to get it, it'd be a waste," Bluejam said in a strangely calm voice, clumsily moving a little closer. "If nothing is done, it's going to be reduced to charcoal like my ship. What a waste."

"Wait, I thought that he didn't care about his ship?" Usopp said quickly.

"That piece of shit," Franky growled, furious that anyone could treat a ship, a work of art, in such a manner. "Then again, it's out of its misery. If I had to be the ship of a bunch of low-life murderers like them, then I'd probably want someone to finish me off."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Luffy yelled out at him, and they all suddenly reminded at how hard Luffy fought to keep that a secret from Porchemy. "That treasure is…"

"Alright, I'll tell you," Ace interrupted loudly.

"EHHH?" Chopper called out. "But they all worked so hard to get that treasure!"

"Chopper," Zoro said firmly, leaving no room for an argument, "It's just a pile of gold. It's not worth dying over."

Nami didn't say anything, but though she knew he was right, she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. Perhaps it was habit, but she couldn't bear the thought of anyone leaving money like that behind. But this time she'd let it slide. Of course she much rather that Luffy and Ace escape alive… even if a bastard like Bluejam did end up with all of it. She supposed that they could always go out and steal more if they made it out in one piece.

"Ace," Luffy yelled, "you and Sabo spent a lot of time…"

"Sabo would understand!" Ace yelled at him, and Luffy stopped to stare at him. Ace kept his back to him as he continued to glare at the pirates. "What matters the most now is your…" he stopped there for a second before he corrected, "what matters the most now is our lives."

The Straw Hats all stared at Ace's resolve. They didn't miss that little slip-up and it was all clear to them. Right now, Ace no longer cared what happened to him… here, he was thinking of Luffy, and Luffy alone.

"He's not thinking about himself here is he?" Brook asked softly.

"Right now, he wants to get Luffy out of here," Sanji explained quietly. "He probably feels like it's his fault that they're in this mess since he was the one who agreed to work for scum like them in the first place. There's a chance that he feels like he couldn't live with himself if Luffy got hurt because of him. Moss-head was right for once… it's just money. It's not worth dying over."

Luffy sniffled a little as tears quickly dried up in his eyes from the heat. It was hard to tell whether he was sad over the money, or he noticed the slip-up in Ace's words. "Ace…" he said softly, before he blinked the tears away and glared at Bluejam.

Ace then walked over to a pile of junk that was left mostly unburned and picked up a piece of wood, "If I tell you, you have to promise to let us go!" he said to them all firmly.

Bluejam merely grinned at that as the other pirates all looked on eagerly as Ace quickly drew up a crude map using a charcoal-burnt stick as a pencil. Zoro couldn't help but feel deeply impressed at how calm Ace was here as he finished up the map by drawing an X on the tree.

"You know, he could always lie about where he hid it," Nami added hopefully, "Just draw any tree there."

"It's not worth it Nami," Robin said, "Besides, they might think they're lying about it."

"Wait, he's gonna let them go isn't he?" Chopper called out worried.

"I highly doubt it," Sanji said, gritting his teeth together. "But hey, if they're this insane, they might be able to get away before they notice it."

Ace finally handed the wooden map over. "We keep our treasure from the last six years in this tree," he said calmly.

"I see," Bluejam said as he greedily took the map and looked over it with that same hungry glint in his eyes. Luffy sniffled again as he watched all the hard work that he and his brothers had done go to such a criminal.

"Don't cry," Ace said to him firmly, not letting him see how hard it was for him too. "It's alright. This is not the end."

"He's something else," Brook said in awe. "With everything happening… the fire, and now Bluejam, he's taking all this well."

"Funny how it takes your life being in danger for you to see your priorities," Robin said smiling knowingly, remembering how she had come to the realization that she wanted to live. Just when it looked like the boys were going to be ok, Bluejam passed the map to one of his men, while two more grabbed Luffy and Ace from behind.

"HEY!" Chopper yelled, "What's he doing?!"

"What's it look like?" Nami demanded. "Twice Ace took a pirate by his word, and twice he was betrayed!"

"But they told them!" Usopp yelled out.

"Like Nami, they know that there was always a chance that they could've been lying," Robin said.

"What are you doing!?" Ace demanded as he fought and lashed out. "I told you where it is!"

Bluejam chuckled to himself, "You're right, this isn't the end. Which means you could be lying. You have to come with me."

"But then they'd be no way for them to escape!" Franky called out in alarm.

Nami stared around at the flames. "The wind's picking up again!" she screamed. "They have to leave this place now or it'll be too late!"

"No way! Then it would be too late to escape!" Ace screamed out, now losing his cool and struggling harder than ever, "Why don't you go on your own!?"

"Come on!" Brook called earnestly, "You have no more reason to hurt them! Just let them GO!"

However Bluejam lost all façade and pointed his gun at Ace's head to get him to stop. He looked angrier than ever, which only served to make him look more twisted than before. "You don't want to mess with me now!" he yelled out threateningly, "I'm determined to make a comeback even if it means stealing from kids so I can take revenge on the nobles. And your brother is one of them."

"Revenge?" Brook repeated questionably.

"On the nobles?" Usopp finished for him, before his eyes widened in understanding.

"I can't say that I'm surprised," Robin said, having already guessed this when she first saw the pirates coming through the flames.

"So you mean…?" Chopper said slowly.

"The nobles betrayed them," Robin nodded, "I should've figured that was what happened. They're the ones who were behind the fire, and they left them here to die with the rest of the trash."

"But they were following their orders," Chopper said horrified, "Even so, they locked them in here?"

"It all makes sense," Robin confirmed, "The nobles wanted the Gray Terminal taken care off so they hired him to destroy it. They must've promised him a lot of money in return… perhaps even something like a full pardon for their crimes as pirates."

"But they never intended to keep their promise," Zoro nodded in understanding, "I get it. Can't say that they don't deserve it, but that's low even for the nobles here."

"I'm not broken up about it," Usopp said, as the rest of the crew nodded. "They deserve everything they got for all they did."

"But again, why?" Nami demanded.

"That doesn't matter now," Sanji said as Luffy was glaring fiercely at Bluejam for what he said about Sabo.

Bluejam didn't bother look at him as he clicked his gun back, still pointing the barrel at Ace. "They think they're so special and look down on others as if we're trash!"

"Actually, that's true," Robin said, having seen that countless times in the past. "But at the same time…"

"Sabo isn't like that!" Ace yelled defiantly.

"Yeah!" Chopper yelled out, his hooves in the air. "Don't you dare say anything bad about him!"

"He's the same as them, fool!" Bluejam screamed at him, his eyes now almost popping out, "He was with you both just to feel superior!"

"That's not true!" Luffy screamed at him, refusing to listen to what he was saying.

"His parents are loaded—he doesn't have to worry about anything," Bluejam yelled at him. "It was just a pastime to him! He was looking down on you guys and laughing to himself holding his nose!"

"Just because his parents were like that, doesn't mean that he was!" Brook called as Franky cracked his metal hands together to calm himself down. "Don't drag Sabo into this!"

"Stop talking badly about Sabo!" Ace threatened wildly, his temper quickly growing out of his control again.

"Yeah, Sabo just wants to be free!" Luffy yelled out before he finally escaped the pirate's grip by biting down on his arm, causing him to scream in pain. Luffy jumped down and turned to face him, his staff held high, ready to attack.

Pulling out and raising his sword high, the pirate screamed out, "You little shit!"

"DUCK LUFFY!" Usopp screamed, but too late; as Luffy tried to block it, the sword cut right through the pipe and leaving a deep gash that stretched across half his face.

"Luffy!" both Nami and Ace screamed in terror.

"OH NO!" Chopper screamed out as Luffy screamed in agony and fell to the ground, rolling around as he gripped his hands over the bleeding wound. "He almost lost an eye there! He needs a doctor!"

But the pirate then raised his sword directly above him, the point held down as he declared, "I'm going to kill you!"

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" Usopp and Brook screamed out.

"Let go of me!" Ace yelled in a panic as the pirates laughed when the sword thrust down, Luffy's uninjured eye widening in terror through his fingers.

"LUFFY!" the Straw Hats screamed out, for one heart-stopping moment, thinking that it was all over. Until…

"Don't touch Luffy!" Ace screamed out so loudly that he might've torn his throat. But at those words, without warning, they felt it. Even though it was a memory, they could feel the shockwave coming from Ace, for a moment everything froze. The fire around them died down, the men stood there with stunned looks on their faces… and that was when they fell. All pirates, save for Bluejam, fell where they stood—each one out cold before they even hit the ground. Ace jumped down from man who held him as the sword narrowly missed Luffy's face, and instead sinking into the ground next to his head.

As soon as the sword missed its target, time seemed to start up again and the fire was back in full force. The Straw Hats all stood there, staring in shock at Ace, who had flung to his little brother's side. "LUFFY! LUFFY! Are you ok?!"

"That was…" Sanji croaked out, his eyes widening.

"Conqueror's Haki," Zoro finished for him. "Unbelievable… Ace is only ten! I mean, it took a war for Luffy to learn how to use it!"

"It's not that surprising, considering how strong Ace was," Robin said, though she too looked amazed.

"But why isn't Luffy asking him how he did that?" Chopper croaked out, "And why isn't Ace wondering how…?"

"I doubt they even notice," Robin said, as Ace put his hands over Luffy's and moved them away so that he could see the deep gash that was bleeding everywhere. "Considering all this, Ace probably didn't even realize what he'd done."

"How could he not notice that?!" Nami demanded.

"That's some major, SUPER, power!" Franky added.

"When his brother was in danger, he subconsciously used it," Robin answered them, "In his desire to save Luffy, he tapped into power he never even knew he had. He didn't think about, he almost 'willed' it to happen." She stepped forward to see Ace closer, "Whether or not he could use it from this point on is a question I don't know."

"But still!" Brook called, while Bluejam stared at his men in horror, not understanding what just happened. "So amazing! Such power at such a young age!"

"This power is sometimes awaken through time of great stress and desperation," Robin said, "Haki responds to desperation by growing even stronger."

"You don't get more stressed out than this!" Usopp called as Chopper nodded firmly by his side.

Luffy was still crying as blood seeped through his fingers and Ace looked over him. But as his full attention was on Luffy, Bluejam grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him away.

"What did you do!?" Bluejam bellowed as he slammed him into the ground.

Ace slowly tried to get up. "Dammit…" he cursed when Bluejam stomped down hard on Ace's chest so that he couldn't move and the gun was being pointed at his head again. "You creepy little brat!" Bluejam yelled, now almost foaming at the mouth and they knew that whatever sanity that had been there finally snapped. "Do you want to make a fool out of me too!?"

"Well if it happens enough times it can't be that hard!" Sanji challenged. "Why not pick on someone your own size!"

"Shut up, you scumbag!" Ace yelled at him without a trace of fear.

"You bastard!" Bluejam yelled with his finger on the trigger. Luffy had rolled over onto his stomach and looked up "Ace!" he screamed, even worse than when Sabo was taken away. "DON'T DO IT!" he begged Bluejam.

Nami had a violent flashback of her mother being killed by Arlong, and her eyes widen in terror. This couldn't end like this! Chopper covered his eyes just as the gun was fired. As he heard it go off, he had horrific memories of being shot at by the villagers of his home island and felt the need to be sick.

But as he cautiously opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was that the rest of his crew was staring there with their jaws open wide at the scene before them—each one of them with identical expressions of shock on their faces. Chopper fearfully looked back to Ace, almost expecting to see Ace lying there bleeding with a bullet hole in his head…

The gun was still smoking, but the bullet had missed Ace's face much like how the sword had narrowly missed Luffy before; instead, there was a small hole in the ground next to him that was also smoldering. The only reason that it missed was because a familiar figure had grabbed hold of the gun barrel and forced it away at the last second.

"DADAN!" Chopper and Luffy called at the same time.

Dadan's eyes were narrowed dangerous as she held up her long ax, her thick orange hair swishing around like the blaze around her. "Stop it, you sea cretin!" she took a swing at him, finishing by calling out, "Let go of Ace."

"I can't believe she showed up!" Nami exclaimed in shock. Dadan swung and Bluejam held his sword up, blocking it—thus saving his life, but forcing him away from the boys.

"LOOK THERE!" Brook called, pointing behind them, and they could see a large group of people fighting their way through the fire. When they were close enough, they recognize who they were.

"The mountain bandits?" Usopp cried startled. "What're they doing here?"

"Don't know, but I'm not complaining!" Franky cried, finally grinning again. "They came here to save them!"

The little man named Dogra was the first one to Luffy, and helped him to sit up as he looked over his injury. Luffy looked terrible, the bleeding wound was now covering half his face with blood, and Luffy kept his right eye tightly shut.

"What are you guys doing here?" Luffy asked him, wincing in pain.

"Finally, we found you!" Magra called in relief.

"How could they find them in all this is a miracle itself!" Nami said loudly.

"These are pretty serious wounds, Luffy," Dogra said worriedly, looking over him. "Are you okay?"

Luffy looked towards the bandit. "Dogra…" he croaked out.

Dogra was now glancing around quickly, "I don't see Sabo anywhere?!"

"Sabo went home," Luffy explained quickly. "He's not here."

As Dogra sighed in relief, he called for one of the bigger bandits to come over and carry Luffy.

"I don't know where they've been all this time," Robin smiled, "But it's a good thing that they came when they did. Another few seconds and Ace would be dead."

"Robin why must you scare us?" Usopp begged.

"Looks like they do care after all, Yohoho," Brook said happily as Ace turned to face Bluejam, Magra now trying to hold him back.

Bluejam however glared over them all with frustration, "You're the boss monkey from Mount Corvo!" he asked her.

Dadan looked up at him and stood tall. "I'm the mountain bandit, Dadan," she corrected proudly, like she couldn't imagine any other life she rather be living. "I don't know why, but I'm registered as their foster parent." She then looked back at Luffy and Ace who were now being protected on all sides by the other bandits. "When someone tries to take my boys' life, I won't stand by and watch."

She sighed before she pointed her axe at Bluejam and proclaimed, "Even if I am not their real parent!"

The Straw Hats couldn't stop staring at her. Just a few months before this event, she couldn't seem to have cared less about the boys, but here she was now risking her life for them.

"When did that change?" Zoro asked.

"Well, they are cute," Robin smiled. "It's hard not to love something so sweet."

"That or she's scared that Garp might kill her for letting them get killed," Zoro muttered.

"Must you ruin such a touching scene?!" Brook yelled at him. "They're here risking their lives for them! Of course they care! It was so touching that it touched my heart! Not that I have one but still!"

"I agree," Nami smiled, filled with new respect for Dadan. "Even if she has a strange way of showing it, she does care about them." She shut her eyes for a brief moment, thinking of her mother's smiling face. "Just because you're not related to someone doesn't make you any less than family."

"I'll just let you go if you back away," Dadan said firmly, holding up her ax, "If you don't, then I'll have to resort to violence!"

"Yeah! Cause now he's the one outnumbered!" Usopp grinned.

"He's not the problem anymore!" Nami yelled as the fire grew hotter around them.

Bluejam didn't react at all as he glared at her, slowly grinning as he held up his sword. "Try it!" he threatened her.

"Alright!" Franky called, grinning from ear to ear. "Show him, Dadan!"

Dadan stepped forward, looking ready for that fight as she held her weapon in one hand. "Oh yeah?" she said as she glared at Bluejam. "Alright then…"

Chopper and Usopp both stood there, smiling eagerly, ready for Bluejam to get what he deserved.

"Run!" Dadan screamed out and just then she turned and ran with the other bandits. Usopp and Chopper both fell forward and did face-plants on the ground.

"What the hell?!" Usopp screamed, popping back up.

"I thought she was gonna fight him!" Chopper yelled out.

"It was obviously a bluff you two," Sanji said, most of the rest of the Straw Hats had sweatdropped at the sight of seeing them run. "But then again, I think it'd be better to just leave. They wasted enough time with this loser anyway." But then he noticed that there was someone who stayed where he was.

"HEY! What're you doing!?" Dogra yelled back. Ace had stood there, not making any attempt to run as he still stood there facing Bluejam, Magra there, pleading for him to run as he pulled desperately on his arm. But Ace pulled himself free as he stepped forward.

"What's he thinking?!" Nami cried.

Zoro's eye narrowed. "He's not leaving."

And just like that Ace held the pipe up, still glaring firmly at the pirate.

"I…" Ace said without a trace of hesitation or fear, "WON'T RUN!"

"Not again!" Usopp cried, freaking out. "He's doing it again! Sabo was right! Ace has a death wish!"

"What's he think he's doing?!" Nami screamed out. "They're home free! Just turn and run! The fire has almost blocked everything off! Even if he does stay and fight him he'll be killed one way or another!"

But Zoro kept his eyes on Ace's—he could see was this was about. He could see that fierce determination in his eyes and why he wasn't going to run.

"Please run Ace-san!" Brook called with Chopper crying as he climbed up onto Brook's shoulder, crying in fear.

"What are you saying Ace!?" Dogra yelled, voicing what they were feeling. "Don't try to fight him! Bluejam is a real villain! He's not a guy that a kid like you can beat!"

But Ace wasn't the only one who wanted to fight. Seeing his brother there had given Luffy his second wind, he was now struggling to get out of the bandit's arms and get back to Ace. "L… let me fight too!"

"NO!" Chopper yelled out, "He's really hurt! He needs medical attention now!"

"No, Luffy!" the bandit yelled, grabbing him in a bear-hug to keep him from running back.

"Someone grab Ace!" Sanji called, but Dadan was now slowly walking back as well, her ax over her shoulder. She turned back to the rest of them and said, "You all, why don't you take Luffy and go on ahead."

"B-Boss," one of the bandits gasped.

"She's…?" Nami whispered.

"I'll take responsibly for bringing Ace home," Dadan said firmly, also with a hint of annoyance, clear that she wasn't happy about this, but her mind was made up.

"She's staying to help Ace!" Franky said, "Yow! What a woman! I'm sorry I called her ugly before!"

"Boss," the bandits muttered, each one of them was looking upset and sick at the thought of leaving her.

"Go!" Dadan ordered fiercely, much like how a pirate captain would give an order to their crew.

"Yes, ma'am!" they yelled as they turned and ran.

Luffy was flung over the bandit's shoulders as he screamed out his brother's name. "ACE!" he called out, still trying to fight to get back to him, but was weak from blood loss. Having no other choice, the Straw Hats all went chasing after him, but as they ran, they couldn't stop themselves from looking back as well—watching the two forms of Ace and Dadan disappear in the blaze.

"Ace!" Luffy cried, tears now falling with the blood, "ACE!"

But the bandits had a tight hold of him as they kept running across the hellish landscape and into the safety of the Middle Forest. But they didn't stop, they kept going anyway until they were as far away from the Gray Terminal as they could get—stopping only when they climbed a large hill. They couldn't see the Terminal thanks to the trees, but the sky was bright red and the black smoke lifted into the air.

They all stood there, each one of them crying out for Dadan and Ace… hoping for a miracle. Luffy cried loudest of them all, his eyes wide in horror as he watched the fire continue to spread and the roar of the flames burning the wind itself.

"AAAAAAACCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEE!" he bellowed out at the top of his lungs, as if hoping that his brother could hear him and find his way back. The darkness was back and the memory finally faded, and not a moment too soon. Each one of the Straw Hats was staring in front of them, unable to believe what they had just seen.

Usopp was shaking from head to foot. "I can't believe it," he whispered, "How the hell could Luffy stand all this? First Sabo was taken away… and now all this?!"

"This happened years ago," Robin whispered, "To survive, you have to be strong enough to keep going forward. Luffy is stronger in more ways than one."

"I'd say that it's more like he's driven to keep going," Sanji told her, his hand shaking a little as he finally pulled out another cigarette and lit it.

"Yes," Robin said, "But he's strong to do so."

She thought of all that fire, suddenly thinking of how Ohara looked after the Buster Call. She shivered, and wrapped her arms around her as if cold. Even after all these years, she was still haunted by that horrific day—the image of her home being destroyed in much the same way as the Gray Terminal was. She kept her lips firmly together, fighting hard against the wave of grief that welled up inside her, almost escaping.

"I just don't see how it could possibly get worse from here," Usopp croaked as he sank to the ground, suddenly exhausted, "I mean, what else could happen?"

"Almost afraid to find out," Sanji said. "But hell, Ace was something else wasn't he?"

"He was a bigger handful than Luffy was," Zoro sighed, still thinking about that fierce determination in Ace's eyes.

The darkness faded for the next scene and the first thing they saw was the inside of the mountain bandit's hut. Luffy was there, practically crawling along the side of the wall, making his way slowly to the door. He looked exhausted as he hung on, bandages covered his arms that were mending his burns along with the half of his face where the pirate attacked him.

He seemed barely able to stand on his own, breathing almost painfully. But still, he was heading to the door, with every intention to go out and find Ace and Dadan.

"What's he thinking?!" Chopper cried out, looking close to panicking again. "He's in bad shape! He should be in bed!"

But there was only one thing on Luffy's mind.

"Ace…" Luffy said to himself stubbornly, finally making it to the door. Just then, Magra came in, and spotted him out of bed.

"Oi! Luffy!" he called.

But Luffy ignored him as he leaned against the wall, struggling for breath. Though he had only moved a few feet from his bed, the effort was quickly taking its toll.

"Well, at least they treated him this time," Sanji said grimly.

"Easy, easy. Wait, Luffy," Magra said as he headed over to him, the rest of the bandits had come from the back as well to see what was going on. "You haven't recovered—where're you going?"

"Where does he think?" Usopp asked, "Aren't they worried at all about Ace or their boss?"

"I gotta go look for Ace and Dadan," Luffy said, though weak, his voice was still strong. Taking a deep breath, he ran to the door.

"You can't do that!" Magra called just as he threw the door open with such force that he fell through it and hit the ground.

"Ouch," he whimpered softly, curling into a ball where he lay and didn't move again.

"Is he ok?" Nami cried out as Chopper quickly ran over and looked him over.

"It doesn't appear to be anything life-threatening," he said, looking up at them. "He's just exhausted mostly… and he did lose a lot a blood from last night. Magra's right, he shouldn't be moving. Even with Luffy's fast healing, he should still be in bed."

Speaking of Magra, he ran up almost as soon as Luffy hit the ground. "See? That's what I told you," he said, carefully picking him back up and carrying him back to the bed. The rest of the bandits sat there watching as Luffy was tucked in, and tended too with a box of medical supplies next to his head.

"But why don't they go look for them?" Chopper called out. "Don't they care at all?!"

"Why don't you look at their faces?" Robin asked softly.

Blinking in confusion, Chopper did—and he could see at once all the scared and worried looks, each one of them glancing at the door, as if hoping that they would come back and everything would be like it was.

"What else could be happening?" Sanji demanded. "What's going on that they can't leave and look for them?"

"What I don't get is why the bandits are suddenly caring so much," Zoro said, looking over them all. "After all, it's been months since they left this place, but they came out to look for them in that fire and are taking care of him now… not to mention Dadan staying behind with Ace?"

"Like Brook said before," Robin told him, "You can't spend so much time with someone and not worry about them." She glanced up at the bandits again and added, "Though they act like they don't care, they still spent a lot of time with the boys. And when they saw the fire starting, I'm sure that they were worried about them.

Magra sighed as he leaned back. "You're seriously wounded," he informed him. "You have to rest nice and easy."

Chopper nodded, glad that Magra was taking charge of this; while he didn't seem like a doctor, he did seem to know a thing or two about medicine.

"How can anyone sleep after what happened last night?" Franky asked bitterly, thinking of all those people who must've died last night.

As if he heard what he was thinking, Dogra spoke up, trying to reason Luffy into staying and resting, "There are a lot troops in Gray Terminal now taking care of the mess from the fire. And it's not just burnt junk they're taken care of, but survivors too. You're going to get killed if you go there."

"Wait what?!" Usopp screamed out. "You mean they're…?"

"Why am I not surprised?" Zoro demanded. "We should've guessed that they do something like this. After all, wasn't them who planned the fire in the first place?"

"Killing the survivors?" Chopper whispered as the rest just looked on, horrorstruck by those words. The way that Dogra said it… like it was something that happened every week…

But Chopper couldn't take it. He was a doctor for crying out loud! Those people who did survive the fire might've been saved if they were taken to a hospital and given emergency treatment! But instead, they were probably being killed even as they talked about it. He couldn't take it as he cried out at the idea. He could only imagine how those people might've felt. To survive such a devastating fire, probably lying there burnt and pleading for help… to see people coming towards them… probably thinking that they were here to help… only for them to…

"Damn them," Nami whispered, biting her lip at how sick and twisted this was. "This place…? Those nobles are worse than anyone in the Gray Terminal." She was actually shaking at the thought, her fingernails digging into her palms. "They're worse than anything rotten in all that trash. They're… they're rotten to the core! To actually plan all this?! It's one thing to want to get rid of the garbage but the people too?"

"To them, the people who lived there were no better than garbage," Zoro said darkly, his head lowered sadly. "But you're right… there's nothing but empty, soulless bastards."

"To treat life in such a way…" Brook whispered, his hand on his cane—shaking violently so that his bones knocked together. "It makes me sick to my stomach." He was so angry, he didn't bother to try and make a joke about it.

"But…" Luffy began with a whimper, unable to accept the truth. Tears were forming in his eyes, and he didn't even bother to hide them as he sobbed openly, screaming out, "I wanna see Ace!"

At those words, Nami looked away, feeling tears in her own eyes. She knew that Ace must've made it out of this mess alive, but she still couldn't stop them from coming. Franky, Brook, Usopp and Chopper all felt the same way as they began to cry as well. Not even the bandits could be completely emotionless after hearing that and looked away, all of them with pained expressions. "I know Sabo's worried about us, too!" Luffy added as he cried loud and hard.

"I don't want to see anymore," Nami whispered, her hands covering her face. "I wanna go back to the Sunny…"

"We all do," Robin said, tears also pricking at her eyes as she put her hand gently on Nami's shoulder. "But at the same time, it's like we can't bring ourselves to stop watching.

The memory faded out again.

"I know, but I still can't stand to see anymore," Nami said, rubbing her eyes. "This is all private anyway!"

She looked to them all, desperate for some kind of door to open and they could leave. "There has to be a way out of here!"

"I'm on it, Nami-swan!" Sanji declared, and without another word, he went running off into the darkness.

"Sanji!" Usopp and Chopper cried after him as his footsteps disappeared into the void.

"Does that idiot even know where he's going?" Zoro asked before he heard the sounds of running behind them and looked back at once. But he stared at what he saw. It was Sanji, running back towards them. As soon as he saw them all, he skidded to a stop and stared at them.

"What the hell?" he cried out, looking behind him. "But I just…"

"Wow, Sanji," Chopper cried out. "How'd you do that?"

"I didn't do anything!" Sanji said, looking back at them with wide eyes. "I just went running off to look for a door and I'm running back here!"

"What?" Franky cried, and then he went running off in a random direction.

"Not you too, Franky!" Nami cried out behind him, but almost as soon as the sounds of his clanking footsteps faded in front of them, they heard it behind them and they spun around to see Franky running towards them out of the dark.

"EHHHHH!" Usopp screamed out, "What's with this place! How do you run away from something only to end up back where you started from?!"

"I suppose you could if you walked around the world," Robin said softly.

"I guess it's a small world after all," Zoro said, though even he sounded concerned.

"Unless…" Robin added softly, her eyes widening. "Wait… I think I might know! We've experienced this before remember?"

"Huh?" they all asked looking at her.

"Yes!" she declared, "If I'm right then…"

But what she was about to say next was swallowed up as the memory came back again.

This time, it looked to be the late afternoon as they stood in the middle of the bandits hut. They looked around at all the bandits who were all sitting there sulking in depression around the room, each one of them with bleak looks on their faces.

But the Straw Hats were all quickly looking around for one person only. They finally spotted Luffy—and from the looks of things, it had been at least a full day since the last memory. His wounds looked mostly healed, most of his bandages were removed, and he was now curled up in a small ball against the door.

"I'm guessing that Ace-san still hasn't come back yet," Brook asked softly.

"And neither has Dadan," Nami added, now looking deeply concerned.

"You don't think they've been hurt do you?" Chopper asked softly, now cursing himself for not being able to help.

"I doubt they were able to get away unscathed," Sanji told him. But then, the door burst open and one of the bandits came running inside, gasping for breath. "Hey, hey guys!" he cried out, standing in the doorway as everyone looked up at him.

"What is it?" Magra asked, getting up and going to him earnestly.

The man then looked up, tears of relief in his eyes and a smile on his face that could only mean one thing…

"They're returned!" he cried out.

Relief flooded through each of them as Luffy looked up at once, jumping up and running to the door. The only problem was that as soon as they heard that, they all made a beeline for the door as well. After much struggling, pushing, and shoving, it had been Luffy and Magra who got out first. The Straw Hats on the other hand, simply had to walk through the wall as if they were ghosts.

"That never fails to freak me out," Usopp said, shivering. "It's like we've all become ghos—and what the hell?!"

He stopped dead at what he saw… they all did.

Ace was slowly approaching the house, covered in burns, ash, and mostly destroyed clothes. He was missing a shoe as he continued to walk closer, gasping under Dadan's weight, who he was carrying on his back. Dadan looked, if possible, even worse. She was covered in bandages, her hair singed and coughing, she seemed barely aware of what was going on around her. But still… both of them were alive.

"This is bad!" Chopper cried out, looking over their conditions.

"No kidding," Sanji muttered, a little green in the face, "They look half dead on their feet."

The bandits however were all cheering, all of them so happy that they finally came back.

"Ace… Boss…" Magra croaked out, tears of joy in his eyes as they ran forward to help.

"Those wounds look terrible! Hurry! Tend to the boss's wounds!" one of the bandits yelled as they helped her off Ace's back, and led her back to the hut. Ace, still struggling for air, followed after them. As for Luffy, he was just standing there, looking too stunned to speak; he stood there in a kinda daze as they were taken inside and it wasn't until Dadan was being treated did he come back to reality.

"Is he ok?" Usopp asked, looking at Luffy, who never stopped staring at Ace as if he was afraid that he'd disappear.

"He'll be just fine," Robin smiled. "Luffy's just happy that Ace came back. Watch…"

And as if she had said the magic word, Luffy charged Ace from behind, crying out his name and hugging him so tightly they almost wondered if he intended to ever let go.

Ace, who was changing shirts, looked down at him. "Luffy…" he said in a tone they knew all too well, showing that he was annoyed. "Did you think I was dead?"

"He didn't want to," Brook said, "He was just worried."

"I see how this is gonna end," Zoro said, shaking his head, though there was a shadow of a smile on his face.

Luffy let go and croaked out, still crying hard, "But…"

"What are you crying for?" Ace demanded, suddenly angry as he gave Luffy a hard punch to the head. "Don't act like I'm dead when I'm not, you idiot!"

Nami sighed as Luffy cried even harder, rubbing his head where it was starting to swell already. "Not even five minutes and he's already hitting him. What more does he want? They're both back and alive aren't they? Why's he trying to pick a fight? You know it was his fault for refusing to run. I still think they should've knocked him out and made a run for it while they had the chance."

"It's nothing to worry about," Robin smiled. "It just proves that things are back to normal. I suppose that we should just count our blessings that they're dealing well, considered everything that happened."

"And I'm guessing that Ace still doesn't know how to react to someone caring about him," Sanji said, remembering how he had tried to pick a fight with Luffy after they rescued him from Porchemy.

"Now, now, let him be," Magra scolded Ace lightly, a small smile on his own face. "Luffy is just happy."

"He doesn't look like it to me," Chopper said, watching.

"Now," Sanji said, breathing out smoke. "We all have our ways of showing how we care." He then turned to Nami and Robin and cried out, hearts flashing in his eyes, "My loves! I hope you always know how much I care for you both! I'll gladly go to the ends of the earth for both of you! No matter how hard or long the journey will be, I'll be there to protect you the whole way!"

Nami rolled her eyes as Robin smiled politely. Now that the danger was over and Ace and Dadan were back, everything seemed to be looking brighter.

Ace glared at Magra for a second before he looked down at Luffy, as if wondering just what he was supposed to do now. Finally, he ruffled Luffy's hair in an awkward, but oddly tender way. At his touch, Luffy ran back to him and hugged him tightly, as he cried harder than ever.

Ace was startled by this, but didn't say anything as Luffy clung on strongly.

"That's just too sweet," Robin said, once again, feeling jealous of the bonds that brothers had.

"Yeah," Usopp agreed, also smiling again. "So sweet I think I'm getting a cavity just looking. I'm glad that things worked out."

Once Luffy had calmed down enough to stop crying, and let go of Ace, Dadan was properly treated and they were all surrounding her bed.

"How bad is she, Chopper?" Sanji asked, not liking to see any woman in pain.

Chopper looked over them at the wounds that Magra was treating. "She was seriously burned," he informed him. "And from the look of it, she inhaled a lot of the smoke. But I think she has a good chance at pulling through without any long-lasting effects if she lets herself rest."

Nami sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. I was worried."

"Ace… about the night of the fire…" one of the bandits said as they finished bandaging Dadan's hands up, "After we took Luffy and left… what happened to you and the Boss when you stayed behind?"

"That's what I wanna know," Zoro said interestedly.

Ace sighed, and explained the whole thing. "After you left, we stayed and fought Bluejam," he stated simply. And then he went on to explain how they were able to defeat him, but when they did, they were surrounded by fire. He told them all how it was Dadan who went running through the fire to get them out, how they hid in the Middle Forest near the river as Ace struggled to keep Dadan alive. He told them about how he had been forced to steal food and medicine from High Town and was able to stabilize her—all the while, hiding from the soldiers who were still looking for survivors.

"What a brave woman!" Franky cried out. "I take back everything I said about her! What a lady!"

"Looks like she does have a kind side to her after all," Nami smiled, glad to see that she'd been wrong about her.

"Now, now," Magra said with that same kind look on his face, looking down at his boss, "so that's what happened? Well, I'm glad that you both made it out alive."

"I think we all agree there," Usopp whispered, feeling much more light-hearted than he had been for such a long time.

"I'm sorry I made you worry," Dadan said softly.

"Did she just apologize?" Zoro asked in surprise.

"Is it really that hard to imagine that she cares about the bandits?" Brook asked, though it was hard to tell, the bandits were a family… much like how the Straw Hat Pirates were. Was it truly hard to believe that they did for one another?

Ace looked ahead, lost in thought as he muttered to himself, "I never thought that something like this could happen to the Gray Terminal… I'm sure Sabo's worried."

"He must know by now about the fire," Sanji said, his own eyes narrowing. "No one could've missed that. And he would be worried sick over wondering if his brothers being hurt or not."

As Ace continued to talk with the others, Luffy decided to go outside with the white dog that acted as the mountain bandit's mascot, Pochi.

"Wow," Usopp said, looking up at the sky, "I didn't realize just how much time had passed, it's almost night."

Luffy looked up at the sky as well with a melancholy face and asked Pochi, "I wonder what Sabo's up to." But he down looked at him with a small smile, "Still, I'm glad Ace came back and Dadan's getting better."

Pochi barked in agreement as Brook said, "I too am glad. It was all so frightening, I felt as if my heart would stop! Ah! Not that I have a heart to stop! Yohohoho!"

"Well, at least we know that Brook's feeling better," Sanji chuckled.

As Luffy wandered around the hut, he found two large beetles, which caused Nami and Sanji to stand far back from. But Luffy's eyes began to glow at the sight of them and brought them both to a small barrel where he put them there, trying to get them to fight each other.

"Isn't that cute?" Robin smiled.

"Boy, he's acting just like he did when we were at Jaya," Nami sighed, but even she was having a hard time not to beam.

"An Atlas and a Hercules beetle!" Chopper proclaimed proud that he could recognize them, "Luffy talked all about them when we were looking for that South Bird."

"There's just something about little boys that just love playing with bugs," Nami sighed.

"Hey, be nice," Franky said grinning.

"Alright, who's going to win?" Luffy asked cheerfully, poking them both with a stick.

"I see that he's recovering from the fire quickly," Brook said happily. "That's good to see."

"He's resilient," Sanji reminded him. "He just bounces back no matter what happens."

"You think he'd be a little more upset to what happened though," Usopp said softly.

"Ace and Dadan came back," Zoro answered, watching the happy shine in the boy's eyes. "That's enough for him for now."

As Luffy continued to play around with the beetles, they heard rustling coming from the trees, and that was when Dogra came out from the forest. He was pale and shaking—obviously tired from his long search for Ace and Dadan.

Luffy heard him, and when he spotted him coming, he got up and cried out, "Dogra!" waving the stick around happily. "You went looking for Ace and Dadan, right? They've both came home!"

Dogra looked a little relieved, but the nervous, pale look on his face didn't fade at that. "R-Really?" he stuttered, for some reason not really able to look at Luffy. "They have? That's great…"

"What's his problem?" Franky asked annoyed, "You think he'd be happy to hear that they're alright. That's why he went out to look for him right?"

Zoro narrowed his eye, watching Dogra smile a little too forcibly at Luffy, a little too cheerful, "Something happened."

"Yes, and if he was out at the Gray Terminal, there's a chance that he saw the soldiers there and…?" Robin offered before she trailed off. But no one needed or wanted her to finish that line. Luffy, not noticing Dogra's behavior, lead him inside the house, happily telling everyone else that Dogra had come home.

It was a relief to see that Dadan was already sitting up, looking pale, but much better as Magra poured some Sake for her.

"This is all the medicine I need," she told him firmly as she drank it down, "When life gives you lemons, buy more Sake if you ask me."

"Words to live by," Zoro smirked, now dying for a hard drink himself.

"Oh, Dogra!" Magra said, smiling when his friend walked in, but it soon faded when he saw the shocked look on Dogra's face. "What is it?" he asked.

"Yeah, you look like you just saw a ghost," another bandit told him.

Luffy finally noticed and asked, "Dogra?"

Dogra didn't say a word as he stood there in front of them all, it was then that Zoro noticed that his hands were shaking, and his face was working hard as if trying to find the words to describe what happened.

"Dogra?" Dadan said to him loudly, helping herself to another swig of drink, "What is it?"

Dogra was shaking all over now, but he finally spoke, his hands curled into tight fists at his sides, "I went into High Town earlier. I heard that there was some kind of ceremony going on. I snuck in and I overheard some of the guards talking about it." He was gritting his teeth together, his eyes suddenly shadowed over so that they couldn't see the emotion in them. "The King and the nobles were the ones behind the fire the other night. The Nobles planned it all… they spread the rumor to Edge Town that it was Bluejam who had caused it…"

"What kinda king would do this?" Brook demanded in outrage.

"Those lousy, pieces of shit," Sanji growled.

"They really are all real monsters," Nami croaked out miserably.

"But they call us monsters," Chopper reminded her, suddenly fretfully.

"There are two kinds of monsters," Sanji said looking down at him. "The strong and powerful kind… and the ones who do horrible things like this. We've all done a lot of—ah… questionable things in the past that we aren't proud of, but we never hurt people like this."

"So the people in Edge Town didn't know anything about it?" one of the bandits asked.

"They were in danger too last night," Dogra explained, "If the fire was any higher, the wind could've blown the flames inside the wall. No, they were all as surprised by it as the rest of us."

"But why?" Dadan asked the million beri question. "The nobles never bothered with the Gray Terminal before, why go through all this now?"

"What was so special about this stupid ceremony?" Ace asked angrily.

Dogra was now shaking, "They were welcoming the Celestial Dragons at port."

At that name, the Straw Hats eyes all widened and the air seemed to catch in their chests. Suddenly it all made complete sense. They all understood everything now.

"The… the Celestial Dragons?" Nami repeated, oddly numb.

"You mean the same ones that we saw at Sabaody?" Chopper cried out, "The ones that tried to take Camie from us?!"

"So that's it," Robin said softly, her eyes narrowing. "The nobles wanted to impress them so they decided to get rid of everything—undesirable in their kingdom. So rather than spend so much time and money cleaning up the mess they decided to burn it all as a cheap and quick escape."

"You mean they did all this for the world nobles?!" Nami cried out, "They killed everyone in the Gray Terminal just for something like this?"

"Why those…" Sanji growled. "Just when I thought that they couldn't be any more rotten. This whole kingdom's rotten to the core!"

"But why would they come here?" Usopp demanded, "Why would they come all the way to a kingdom this far out in the East Blue?"

"Why would they be here?" Magra asked, thankfully asking Usopp's question.

"I don't know," Dogra went on with a shake of his head, "Apparently they were here to inspect the kingdom."

"Inspect?" Dadan asked, thinking something over. "Oh, right…" she said, "I remember reading about something-or-other about an inspection of Goa."

"Who are these guys anyway?" Ace asked grumpily. "What makes them so special?"

"Nothing at all," Franky shouted out, "They just think they're special."

"Think of them as like nobles of the World Government," one of the other bandits told him. "You think the guys here in Goa are rich with a lot of influence? Well, they're nothing compared to the Celestial Dragons. They have influence everywhere in the world! Not just on this island."

"Dogra?" Luffy asked innocently, not understanding what was going on. "What's wrong?"

Dogra was shaking worse than ever.

"Seriously, what's with him?" Franky asked, folding his massive arms, "You think that he saw someone die or something."

"I don't know how to say it…" Dogra said, his voice now trembling, "I was there at port watching the Celestial Dragon's ship coming in… but as they got near, a small fishing boat set out from out of nowhere!"

"A fishing boat?" Dadan repeated in surprise, "What's that got to do with anything."

"The Celestial Dragon's ship fired on it and killed the person on board. It was a child…" Dogra cried out, shaking his head hard and he finally cried out, "It was Sabo! It was him!"

The Straw Hat's felt as if the world was closing in around them making it hard to breathe… each one of them felt as if they had just been punched in the gut as Dogra finally screamed out, "SABO'S DEAD!"

No one spoke, they were all petrified by what they learned.

"This can't be," Brook whispered, now falling back, unable to believe what he just heard.

"Sabo… he's…?" Usopp could bring himself to say it, shaking from head to foot.

"Gone," Robin whispered, her eyes wide as she was forced to accept everything that happened.

Chopper was crying as he thought about the boy that he had grown to like so much. Sure, he never met Sabo, but he had learned a lot about him through these memories and he couldn't help but feel as if he lost a dear friend. Nami's hands were over her mouth as she stared at Luffy's and Ace's face. They looked as if they had just had their hearts ripped right out.

Sanji actually fell to his knees. "Damn them… Damn them… DAMN THOSE BASTARDS TO HELL!"

"Sabo is…" Ace whispered in disbelief as he stared at Dogra, not believing it. Luffy and the bandits were each staring at Dogra with identical expressions of shock. They couldn't believe it either.

"You liar!" Ace screamed out as he charged ahead. Ace's eyes suddenly burned with rage and he tacked Dogra to the floor. "Don't even joke about that!"

He held his fist up, looking ready to strike until Magra called out, "Don't do it, Ace!"

"He's just delivering the message," Zoro said enigmatically, "There's no point in taking his anger out on him. He's not the one that should pay."

"It's not a lie, nor a joke," Dogra gasped out. "It was so sudden, I barely realized that it had happened. I doubted my own eyes! I wondered if it was a dream or an illusion!"

"A common response if it's so sudden," Robin whispered, these last few memories kept bringing back more and more of her own memories of Ohara… how it had all happened so quickly that she couldn't believe her own eyes. It was like she was in a sort living nightmare. Even now, she could almost swear that it had all been a bad dream.

"Shut up!" Ace screamed out, now shaking Dogra, looking like he was going to seriously hurt Dogra if he kept talking. "Sabo went back to his noble born parents! There's no way he would sail out to sea!"

"That's right! Sabo went home!" Luffy yelled out in agreement, refusing to believe that Sabo was dead.

"They're in denial," Brook whispered.

"Of course," Robin told them, her hair hiding her own face, "Sabo was alive and just fine a few days ago. They decided to leave him alone and wait for him to come back… but now he can't ever do that. And now the last memory they have of him is of him being taken back to the place that he was so desperate to escape from. On top of everything that happened in the last few days… it's too much for them to accept. Especially when they thought that they were safe…"

"Outlaws like us understand how he must have felt!" Dogra yelled, "We all have places we really don't want to go back to!"

With a great effort, he was able to push Ace off him. "Do you really think he would go out to sea if he were actually happy?" he bawled him, finally looking up with tears now streaming down his face as he cried out, "Do you really think he would fly a pirate flag and set out on his own!?"

Ace froze where he was, as if those words had struck him dumb. Like a curse, they fell over everyone in that room so that no one could move. The wind blowing through the window, ruffling the curtains was the only noise that they had as they all stood there as the rest of the world stopped.

"No one could do that on their own unless they were truly miserable," Zoro whispered.

"Why?" Usopp whispered, tears now in his eyes. "WHY WOULD HE DO THAT? WHAT WAS HE THINKING DOING SOMETHING SO STUPID?!"

Luffy stepped forward, almost staggering, his expression of shock now turned to pain. "Sabo…" he croaked out, tears forming in his eyes and now quickly falling from his face, "HE REALLY WASN'T HAPPY!" he screamed out.

At his words, the bandits all bore similar expressions of grief and sorrow, but Ace was on his knees, twisting his hair around so violently that it looked like he was trying to pull it out. "Why…?" he cried out, "Why didn't we try to break him out of there!?"

When his eyes opened, Zoro saw at once that something snapped inside of him.

"He's going to do something stupid," he said. And knowing Ace, he was going to charge in head first.

Filling up with a rage, Ace grabbed hold of Dogra again. "Where is the person who killed Sabo!? I'm gonna murder them!"

"EHHHH?" Usopp cried, his eyes now red and puffy. "He's gonna kill himself! Remember what happened when Luffy attacked that one at the auction house?" He stopped at that, suddenly realizing that when Luffy attacked that Celestial Dragon that day, there was much more to the story than he had ever thought. When he did punch that guy, was he thinking about Sabo at the time? Was it also possible that Luffy was taking revenge for when his brother was killed?

"T-the Celestial Dragon!? There's no way you can do…" Dogra cried out, but Ace was passed listening. Going for his staff, he went running to door, screaming out that he was going to avenge Sabo's death.

"Someone stop him!" Nami cried out, suddenly realizing how close Ace had come to getting killed. But this certainly proved to her once and for all that Ace truly was Luffy's older brother. They were both fearless and protective of those they love. The fact that they both were willing to attack a Celestial Dragon and risk the idea of an admiral was enough. Though now that she thought of it, Ace probably had no idea how dangerous it was to go after the World Nobles.

Thankfully, her plea was answered. Dadan was on her feet again, and tackled Ace—slamming his head into the floor so hard that it was smash into pieces. "But she didn't have to do it like that," she added, wincing in pain.

"Drop it, you damn brat!" Dadan yelled out as Ace fought to get up.

"Get off me!" Ace shouted out as he swung around to glare at her. "Don't get in my way!" he cried out at the blood that was falling from a gash from one of the boards. Luffy and the others only stood there, staring in alarm at what was happening, unsure as to what to say or do.

But Dadan had only gotten started. "You keep acting tough, even though you don't have any real strength!" she shrieked out, shoving his head down even deeper into the floor. "What the hell do you think you can do now!?" she demanded. "You'll just end up dead! You will die and everyone will forget about you by tomorrow! That's all you amount to right now!" She took several deep breaths as she glared at him, his eyes wide with desperation. "It was this kingdom that killed Sabo! It was the world itself! What can you do!?"

"Nothing," Franky whispered, thinking of how helpless he Tom was been taken away. "That's what he hates! The idea that he can't do anything to avenge his own brother's death is more than he can stand."

"But you know that's not completely true," Robin said softly, her eyes going to the still crying Luffy. "There's one person who'll always remember him."

"Your father's death brought about a new era!" Dadan yelled, holding him up and shaking him hard. "Once you have become a man of that caliber, then you're free to live or die as you like!"

Ace was still struggling, fighting to get free. And they could see that he knew that Dadan spoke the truth, but to admit to it would be like admitting that he couldn't do anything.

"I can't imagine how hard it would be for Ace-san to except that," Brook whispered.

"But it's true," Sanji responded bitterly, "After all… weaklings can't protect anything. You don't get to pick how you want to die."

Seeing that he wasn't going to calm down anytime soon, Dadan yelled to the other bandits as she threw Ace at them, "Go tie this moron up!"

Shaken, the bandits handled Ace—carrying him outside to the nearest tree to tie him up—the whole time he fought back, cursing at them all, but too tired from his ordeal to do much. The whole time, Luffy was there crying, tears quickly forming a flood as he screamed out his lost brother's name. Ace screaming outside at Luffy to shut up, at how men weren't supposed to cry.

But no matter how much he yelled, Luffy kept crying, and the cries of pain and lost filled their ears as the darkness came back. Nami had been unable to hold back her own tears as she thought about how that little boy had been so brutally killed for no good reason.

"So that's why we never heard about him," Zoro said quietly, feeling oddly numb from the whole thing.

"Don't you realize what this means?" Usopp cried out, running his nose along his arm. "Luffy lost both of his brothers! First Sabo, and then what happened to Ace…?"

"Poor Luffy," Chopper whispered as he bawled too. "It's not fair! How could this happen?"

"The government is never fair," Franky hissed out, blowing his nose as he fought the urge to break something big and heavy. "They don't care how many innocent lives they kill so long as they get what they want! This is what the government really is like! They go on and on about how they uphold justice while they're the ones behind all the suffering in the world! What makes those nobles so damn special?"

"But why would they kill him?" Nami cried, going to Robin to bury her face in her friend's shoulder. "Sabo didn't do anything?!"

"Most likely the Celestial Dragons were offended by him ruining their entrance and decided to take care of him," Robin whispered.

Tears were also falling from Brook's empty sockets as he and Zoro kept their heads down, silently paying their respects to Luffy and Ace's brother.

"Man, and I thought that Ace dying was bad enough," Usopp said, sniffling, "But then there was all this mess with Sabo! How was Luffy able to deal all this on his own?"

"He wasn't alone," Robin whispered to him. Usopp looked up at her to see her empty eyes—she looked as if her thoughts were a million miles away right now. "It was different with Sabo than it was with Ace," she told him. "Luffy never saw Sabo die. He only ever heard about it. And even then, he still had Ace there to help him through it. But Ace died right in front of him and, in a way, he was all alone after that."

She glanced at them all and knew they were all wondering the same thing. Just what happened in that warzone? None of them new the whole story to how Ace died, or exactly what Luffy had to go through that day… but they all noticed it. Though Luffy had grown a hundred times stronger than ever before, and he still went on through life with a bright smile and simple attitude… but he wasn't the same person as he was before they were separated by Kuma.

It was almost as if he was carrying around a heavy burden on his shoulders… as if he was struggling underneath a great weight.

The darkness disappeared, and now they were all standing out on the cliff that overlooked the sea. They knew where they were at once—it was the same place where the three brothers had once talked about their dreams shortly toasting their brotherhood. That memory seemed like a lifetime ago…

For a moment, they didn't see Luffy, but soon spotted him lying on his stomach on the soft grass, but his hat was covering his face as he gazed out at the sea.

"Luffy," Usopp said softly as he carefully approached him, wanting to comfort him, but instead, his hand went right through. He never felt more useless in his life. How could he be sitting here watching this while his captain was suffering? Even if it was years ago, he felt sick with himself for not being able to do more here.

"Ace-san…" Brook said softly, and they glanced up in time to see Ace walking towards them. His face was grim and cold… yet much calmer than he had been before. His burns from the fire seemed to have healed, as well as the cut on his forehead; meaning that it had to have been a couple days since they got the miserable news about Sabo.

He didn't seem surprised at all to see Luffy there as he slowly approached, not saying a word, but making enough noise that Luffy could hear him. When he was close enough, he made a fist and blew on it before he gave Luffy a quick bonk on the head. "How long are you gonna mop around like this?" he demanded.

"Was that really necessary, Ace?" Usopp asked him sadly.

"Yes, we all need our time to grieve," Brook whispered softly. But Luffy didn't complain, he merely gripped the rim of his hat tightly, refusing to look at anything.

Ace stood there for a minute, just gazing out at the sea before he began to speak. What he said next, was in an indifferent tone, as if he couldn't care less about it, "All the treasure we hid in the Middle Forest is gone now."

He shrugged grimly as he folded his arms, "Maybe it was stolen by the survivors of Bluejam's crew, or maybe the military found it… I don't know where it is now."

"That doesn't matter anymore anyway," Nami said softly, her mother's smiling face coming to mind once again. "Even with all the treasure in the world, you can't bring back someone you love."

Apparently Ace agreed.

"But that pile of loot doesn't matter anymore," he said to Luffy, "Sabo and I were gonna use it. It was our Pirate Fund. But in the end, Sabo didn't use it. So I'm not gonna bother with it either. Not much point in gathering treasure if we can't look after it."

"He's handling it all well," Brook said kindly.

"On the outside," Robin said sadly, "But I think on the inside he's still in a lot of pain. After all, Sabo was his best friend before he became his brother."

"A-Ace?" Luffy asked, his voice thick with emotion. "I… I want… I want to become stronger!"

He sniffed, and they could tell that he was fighting tears, "Stronger and stronger… stronger and stronger… stronger and stronger…" This went on for some time as Luffy continued to repeat the word 'stronger' putting much emphasis on how strong he wanted to be. Even while stating this with much vigor, he was still crying. "Stronger and stronger… and even stronger than that! And then, I'll be able to protect anything! I won't have to lose anyone ever again!"

The Straw Hats all kept their eyes firmly on the little boy. They all knew full well that he would, indeed, become stronger than anyone could imagine. Now here, it all made complete sense.

"So that's why he's so protective of us," Nami whispered.

"I get it," Franky hissed, his robotic hands curling up in tight fists. "It was never just about becoming Pirate King."

"He can understand the pain of losing someone," Brook whispered, "He went through it and he never wanted to go through it again."

Zoro didn't say anything, but he now felt like he understood Luffy so much better than ever before. He knew that same feeling after all. After Kunia died, he too wanted to become stronger than she ever was. Strong enough so that his name could reach up to the heavens where she could hear him. Letting her know that he carried on her dream and that he hadn't forgotten her. Luffy had been doing that exact same thing all this time… he was carrying on his brothers will. But he felt sick with himself for finding out this way… if Luffy had ever wanted to talk about his past, he would've mentioned it. Watching all this suddenly felt like a betrayal of the deepest decree and he was having trouble breathing.

"Please…" Luffy suddenly begged out. "Ace… don't die too!"

They all caught their breath.

"Luffy…" Nami cried in hardly more of a whisper.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ace yelled, punching him in the head again. "You should be more worried about yourself than me! You're way weaker than I am!" he stood up straight and declared, "Listen up, and remember this, Luffy! I WON'T DIE!"

"Too bad that he couldn't hold that promise…" Sanji muttered bleakly.

"No one can forever," Zoro said quietly.

"He was promising that he wouldn't leave Luffy alone," Robin whispered as Chopper burst out in tears at that, "That he would always be there for him when he needed him."

"Oh, man," Franky called, covering his face with the hanky. "I'm all torn up inside! I knew that they were close, but I never knew how much!"

Luffy slowly sat up as Ace went on, "Sabo made that request too. I promise, I will not die! There's no way I'd die and leave behind a weakling of a brother like you."

"Well, that's mean," Usopp cried out.

"Ace still isn't good with being gentle," Robin said softly. "He's dealing with it as best as he can."

"I'm not that smart," Ace went on, still staring out at the bright blue sea. "So I don't know what it was that killed Sabo… but whatever it was, it was the opposite of freedom! Sabo died without ever gaining his freedom."

"But what's the opposite of freedom?" Chopper asked.

"The world," Robin answered grimly. "It's always been the world."

"But the two of us, who shared a toast with Sabo, are still alive!" Ace finished. He never once took his eyes off the sea, and his resolve appeared in his eyes. A light breeze picked up and he breathed it in, as if Sabo was there telling them this. "So, listen up, Luffy! We will definitely live life without regrets!"

"So that's it…" Sanji said, breathing hard on the cigarette. "That's why Luffy can act selfish when he wants to. The last thing he wants is to leave this world with… with regret. He wants to live to the fullest."

Ace looked down at Luffy and told him, "Sabo once said to me that in this country, Noblemen only become true nobles when they turn eighteen. That's why he had planned to leave when he turned seventeen! So that's what we're going to do!"

Luffy nodded firmly as they both looked out at the sea together. "Someday, we will set out to sea and live life the way we want to! With more freedom than anyone else!"

"Freedom…" Nami whispered to herself almost in a dream-like state. Just what was freedom in this world of prisons and boundaries? Her eyes widening as she remembered what Luffy once said to Rayleigh.

"I don't wanna conquer anything! It's just that the person with the most freedom on the seas is The King of the Pirates!"

She smiled, closing her watery eyes, now fully understanding.

Luffy merely nodded with his brother. It was really all they could do. Sabo may be gone, but the two of them were still alive. The three of them once shared the same dream, and if Sabo couldn't fulfill his, then they were willing to stand up and do it for him.

"I'm sure that we'll make a lot of people are enemies…" Ace said, "Gramps will become our enemy, too. We'll be risking our lives! We'll cast off when we turn seventeen!"

The two remaining brothers looked out at the two seagulls flying over the waves. "WE WILL BECOME PIRATES!" Ace declared to the heavens, as if hoping that Sabo could hear him.

"RIGHT!" Luffy called out firmly. "And one day I will become the King of the Pirates!"

Ace merely smirked. "So long as you don't regret anything that you do from here on out that's all that matters. From this moment on… we live how we want to! For Sabo's sake if nothing else!"

Franky cried harder than ever, feeling as if his heart was being torn out.

"I gotta admire their dedication," Sanji said.

"It's incredible," Usopp whispered. "Even after all these years, they held true to their promise. They never once stopped!"

As they sat there, Ace reached down the front of his shirt and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper.

"What's that?" Luffy asked as Ace carefully unfolded it and stared at it.

"A letter…" he said softly, "From Sabo."

Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats gasped out. "But how?" Luffy called loudly, "Sabo's…"

"Sabo sent it before he set out to sea," Ace explained, "When he knew that he was going to take his chance at freedom. I get now why he didn't come back. He couldn't come back to us without worrying about us getting killed."

He held it out to him. "You wanna read it?" he asked.

Luffy looked at it before he shook his head. "I don't need to," he said firmly. "Sabo was our brother and we're gonna become pirates and live out his dream! That's all I need to know!"

Ace smirked. "I knew you'd say that. Sabo was just writing to tell me to keep you safe."

But Robin was curious as she leaned over Ace's shoulder to look at it and read it out for them as Ace gazed long and hard at the paper, as if trying to memorize the words.

"Ace and Luffy," she read out to her crew. "I hope you weren't hurt in the fire. I'm worried, but I have faith in you. I'm sorry about this, but by the time you get this letter, I will be out at sea. A lot has happened, and I've decided to set sail ahead of you."

Franky's lower lip was quivering as Chopper kept rubbing his swollen eyes and Usopp sat on the ground, staring at his feet, unable to say anything. The rest of them merely stood there and listened to Sabo's final words to his brothers.

"My destination… won't be this kingdom, but elsewhere," Robin continued on, feeling tears burning her own eyes as she read the sincerity in each word. Sabo truly wrote these words from this heart. There, I'll get stronger… I'll become a pirate. Let's become pirates with more freedom than anyone else, and then meet up again someday. The three of us. Somewhere out on the wide, free ocean… I'm sure that someday, we'll meet!"

Now Sanji and Nami had joined in on the crying as Brook kept his boney hands over his ribcage, where his heart would be normally. It was cruel to think that the brothers were never to meet again.

Oh, and Ace, I wonder who's the older brother between the two of us. Two eldest sons, and one younger brother. It might be strange, but this bond between us is my greatest treasure.

"They do say that not all treasure is silver and gold," Sanji said softly, looking down at his hands, his own treasure. For most pirates, they consider things like gold to be the only kind of treasure. However, the true treasures were the ones that you held to your heart. So long as it is something that you were willing to fight for, it was a treasure.

"Luffy might still be a weakling and a crybaby, but he's still our little brother," Robin finished up, "So take good care of him for me!"

She stood up slowly, as Ace sighed and forced a smile.

"It's gonna be ok," Ace said to Luffy softly as he held out the paper and let the wind carry it away from him. They all watched the letter drift on the wind, over the ocean, fluttering almost like the wings of a bird as it continued onwards to the horizon. "You're right. We don't need a letter to know what Sabo wanted… Sabo just set sail ahead of us that's all. We'll leave when we become stronger! Stronger than anyone!"

*Luffy*

"So that's what's going on," Luffy said thoughtfully after he listened to Ace's explanation to what where he was and why he was here.

"You didn't understand a word I just said did you?" Ace asked him with a knowing smile.

"Nope," Luffy answered truthfully, actually laughing a little as he rubbed the back of his head, "But it sounds like I'm not dead."

"Well, you attained more than I thought you would," Ace said, laughing alongside him. "You really are the same as always… little brother."

At the word 'brother' Luffy stopped laughing and gazed long and hard at Ace. Ace looked a little surprise by Luffy's sudden change in attitude and asked what was wrong.

"Nothing," Luffy said, before he launched himself at Ace, hugging him as tightly as he did when Ace had come back to the house after the fire. He had thought that he'd see him again both times… but he was proven wrong.

He didn't care if this was only temporary or not. Ace felt so real… so solid against him. For the last two years he often dreamed what it would've felt like to see his big brother again. To talk to him, to touch him… even to feel Ace punch him… he had been willing to trade all the treasure from the One Piece just to see Ace one more time. To just feel safe again… "I'm just so happy I got to see you again!"

Ace must have understood, because he smiled gently, ruffling Luffy's hair as he hugged him back tightly. His arms were clasped around Luffy, securing him to his chest, as Luffy started sobbing in earnest.

"There were just so many things I had wanted to tell you!" Luffy's voice grew louder and throatier with each word, not ashamed at the flood of tears that were falling thick and fast. "I can't tell you what it felt like to just sit there and watch you die."

"It wasn't your fault, Luffy," Ace sighed heavily, and Luffy felt Ace's rib cage rise and fall with the air flowing through his lungs, as though he were organic and alive. "I wasn't thinking about it. I just acted… but I thought I told you that I had no regrets about how I lived my life."

"I know but…" Luffy croaked out, "But that moment's been haunting me all this time. Even after everything that's happened, it's like a part of me just can't move on from that!"

Ace made a soft, soothing sound, patting Luffy on the back as he continued to hold him tightly, letting the tears drench his skin.

"I was so angry at you," Luffy told him as his voice hitched, "For a long time. You promised me that you wouldn't die! I'm so sorry!"

He suddenly felt the world tip slightly, first one way, then the other a couple of inches up and then down, like a see-saw. He realized that this was because Ace was gently rocking him.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" Luffy went on, "I wanted to see you so much! There's so much I want to tell you!"

Ace grinned, "Sabo will be glad to hear that."

Luffy's eyes snapped open and he pulled back to stare at him. "Sabo…?" he croaked out. "He's…?"

"Here?" Ace smiled, bumping his knuckles against his brother's forehead again. "Duh. Want to see him?"

(I hope you all enjoyed this long chapter, it was a pain to write. We covered a lot of ground here. And I know that I said here that it had been a couple days since Ace and Dadan came back, but honestly we don't know how long they've been missing. In the Anime, Sabo's father mentions that the ceremony would take place day after tomorrow, and it wasn't until then did Ace and Dadan come back, so I'm guessing it's been at least a full day, maybe two. And now, just when the Straw Hats hear the horrible truth about Sabo, Luffy has a chance to meet with his brother again. I'm still trying to decide if I should still have him as a child or as an adult version of him. And for those of you who will most likely be asking, yes it's the real Ace that he's speaking too—or rather Ace's spirit. And yes, it will be the real Sabo that we're going to see. For those of you who are going to ask—I really do like Sabo, but we've got to face the facts here. I'm afraid that Oda clearly said in One Piece Green that he'd been killed in the attack. So unless he states otherwise, I have to go along with it, so please don't try and tell me about the sake cups that were at Ace's grave. I'm afraid that unless it comes out that he's been with the revolutionaries all this time, then I have to believe that he's dead.)