Warnings: Violence, angst, OoC characters, character death, mentions of drug abuse/child abuse

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. Eiichiro Oda does.

Suggested Music:

(1) Revelations - Veigar Margeirsson

(2) Leaving the Past (From the Mind Gap) - Veigar Margeirsson

(3) It Ends Tonight - All American Rejects

(4) Apologize - Timbaland or One Republic

The Worst Birthday: A Death in Flames (Luffy 17, Ace and Sabo 14)

(1) Bellamy coughed violently, his body shaking with each jarring motion. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin was pale. He was breathing heavily with hatred shining in his eyes. He fell to his hands and knees, glaring at the picture below him – the picture of Doflamingo.

He brought his fist down on the frame, cracking the glass which subsequently cut deep into his hand. He did nothing to stop the blood from flowing from the deep cuts.

"Damn bird," He said with a choking, painful voice. He coughed again, his eyes moving to glare over at the food on the floor.

It had been poisoned. He learned all of his food had been poisoned right after he had his meal. He tried to run away, but got as far as the hallway before he collapsed. Doflamingo had merely laughed and walked right by him while telling him what he planned to have happen later on in the day. He also told Bellamy exactly how he was ill. Since when has he had MPD? But then again, it makes sense now. No wonder he couldn't remember even a fourth of anything he had ever done in his life. But this time, he knew, he might not survive. Doflamingo's plan was pure cruelty. If that plan went down how he planned word for word, the consequences would be ghastly. Not that he would be alive to see it… He desperately hoped that kid named Luffy wouldn't listen to anything he was told to do. And that was his last thought before his world went black.

Bellamy passed out, unaware of Doflamingo in possession of his phone far away, texting one last thing before dropping the device in water.

Doflamingo looked out over the land as he flew over in his private jet. The airhostess served him some wine as he grinned.

"Today it all goes down. What a pity I cannot be there for it all." He looked at the glass in front of him and the sunken, waterlogged phone inside of it. A sick grin came over his face.

"Now, the cursed children of Dragon will die."

He looked down at the pictures of the two children, Bellamy and Luffy. Bellamy had been a drugged and drunken mistake on Dragon's part – Doflamingo's own wife had seduced the man after getting him drunk and pouring some drugs in his drink. Dragon didn't even know he existed. The boy looked exactly like his mother. On the other hand, Luffy had not been an accident – he was born from Dragon's love – yet he was born prematurely.

Doflamingo only knew who Bellamy was due to his wife's diary, which he had found one year later. He had her murdered out of pure anger and sent the boy off to be experimented on. If it had bee anyone but Dragon's kid, he probably would've had a normal life. He actually took almost completely after his mother. But no – anyone related to Dragon, especially with the last name Monkey, must die.

Did she really think he wouldn't notice that the boy Bellamy had the same dark blue eyes as Dragon, Luffy, and Garp?

It didn't matter anyway – the bitch was dead now, and soon the two wretched children would be gone from this world. He let those boys, ignorant of their shared blood, beat each other. And it was all because of that magical mixture of drugs – it had created an entire other personality in the blond boy; violent by nature, a lust for blood, and a love of torture. When he learned that Bellamy had Luffy raped in the same way Doflamingo's own men had raped him, Doflamingo could not stop laughing from the sick joy.

He really screwed up Dragon's kids, didn't he?

Doflamingo regretted nothing.

That day, his seventeenth birthday, Luffy woke up with a strange feeling. Something big was going to happen that day. He didn't know what, but he knew it was unavoidable.

That was hours ago and now, it was mid afternoon. It was a hot summer day and he was currently down by the river, his feet in the water to try and cool him off. His brothers were swimming in the river. After almost drowning, his parents made them go to swimming lessons. Luffy learned how after many long weeks but he couldn't swim for long and felt more comfortable on land. If he had a boat he'd go out on water but as it was, he had no boat.

Suddenly his phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked at his brothers one more time before pulling it out and looking at the text, glaring at it with contempt.

[You better be here tonight or your brothers will suffer.]

He closed the message and shoved his phone into his pockets as his brothers began to walk out of the water towards him. He took the moment to admire how they had grown – they weren't the little weaklings he once had to protect anymore. They were strong, with the beginnings of muscles that would likely bulge and abs starting to form. They had grown taller and he had the feeling that one day the both of them would tower over him. He grinned, happy that they had come out of life strong, something he was not sure of for himself.

"Hey, Luffy," Ace asked as he sat next to his brother, leaning on his palms to support his weight, "You're still taking us to the movie tonight, right?"

Luffy felt his smile fade as a grimace took over his features.

He was looking forward to the movie, and so were his brothers, but now he couldn't because if he didn't go face Bellamy, the bastard would use his mafia connections and have everyone he cared for murdered. And this wasn't the first time he had to ditch on his brothers either, and he had done so before to with his friends because of Bellamy's arrogant, selfish whims.

"Something popped up," Luffy said with a sigh. He said no more but heard Sabo's disappointed, quiet sigh as Ace went frigid next to him.

"It's always something that's popped up," Ace growled, glaring over at his brother. "Why can't you just tell them no?"

"It's not that simple, Ace."

"It is that simple! You're just to stupid to think to say no!"

"Ace."

Luffy inwardly grimaced as his brother began to yell at him, but he let it happen. Sabo tried to stop him, but it was futile.

"I guess you just don't want to hang out with us, given how often you've been doing this. It's getting really annoying. Why can't you understand that? Just tell them no!"

"I can't do that Ace. You don't understand anything. I can tell you later, but for now, just stop asking," Luffy sighed. Ace, meanwhile, grew furious. Whenever anyone told him that he wouldn't understand, it was always because he was too young and stupid to get it. And whenever he was told to wait, he never got answers.

"I guess that you're starting to think that we're not important to you as those bastards are," Ace hissed out and the next thing he knew, Luffy had punched him in the face. It was full of hate but Ace couldn't tell what it was directed at, just that it wasn't him. Sabo yelled at both of them to stop, but Luffy began walking away.

"You never will understand Ace. You're too immature to get it," Luffy knew he was hurting both of his brothers with his words but he said it anyway. Because if he didn't and if he told them what was happening, then they would worry. If he let on that something was happening that he couldn't handle, they would try to get involved. The best was to make them angry and stay out of it, even if he had to hurt them in the process. It killed Luffy on the inside, but he would rather have this than let them get hurt or worse, die.

He heard Ace growl and say, "Too immature? I'm not the one failing most of my classes. I'm not the one who keeps lying about where he goes. You're calling me immature? I can see right through you," Luffy closed his eyes, knowing that at this moment Ace didn't see his reasons but Luffy was wishing that Ace could see them, "I don't understand why Mom and Dad didn't just give you to the orphanage after they found you that night." Luffy heard Sabo start to yell at Ace and follow his twin as the other stalked away in a rage. Luffy kept his back turned the whole time, staring up at the sky. When the two were out of his hearing range, his face adopted a pained expression.

He knew he deserved that, since he had been pushing everyone away, but it still hurt like hell. He kind of had to wonder, though, when did Ace and Sabo learn about that?

"I have to end this as soon as I can," Luffy whispered to himself.

(2) He returned home, relieved when he found his brother's were not there. He took off his shoes and walked upstairs. He stared into his own bedroom with sad eyes, looking at its messy state. With a heavy sigh, he began to clean the room. The clothes were picked up off of the floor and put into the dirty laundry pile. He vacuumed and dusted. He put all of his books and papers in neat piles then arranged everything on his desk. He made his bed for the first time in a long time. And then he looked under his bed, and the only stray objects under there were Merry and Sunny, the brother's old teddy bears, staring back at him with sad eyes. He pulled both of them out and gave them a squeeze and a hug before neatly placing them on his bed, nostalgia shining in his eyes.

Then, he turned back to the one thing he left on his desk – a letter that had arrived this morning, a letter that had been in the mail for many years. It was a letter from Garp, before he had died.

Slowly, he grabbed the letter and sat, opening it and beginning to read with worn eyes.

Luffy,

By now, it is very likely that I am dead. I am, after all, an old fart, aren't I? Bwahahaha. I hope you are okay when you get this, and I hope that your birthday is going okay.

I feel bad telling you this now, but this is something you must be said.

I don't know if you know yet, but you are an adopted child. Over the years though, I had been searching for something. You see, you would've had an uncle. Roger never met him, and I wish the two had met. But this uncle died.

I had been searching for the reason as to why he died, and I discovered what happened.

He was trying to reveal Donquixote Doflamingo, the man helping to create and promote drugs in candy, and the government scam to the world. What they did was horrendous. And Dragon would have succeeded. Him and his wife were so very close.

But then, tragedy befell. Luffy, you are Dragon's child. Your mother, sadly, died in childbirth, and your father was shot through the skull just hours after you were born. I don't know how, but through some turn of events, you ended up living with your uncle and aunt anyway. It must have been a miracle. And let me tell you, I am so very happy that it happened.

Luffy, I am so proud of you. You are a strong boy and I know that one day, you will become a great man. I beg of you to stay away from the Donquixote's, because I want you to live. You deserve to live.

Now, I have a warning to give you. Out of everything, Dragon wanted you protected the most – it was his dying orders. If Donquixote truly does know of your existence, he will make your life awful. Stay as far from him as possible, because he won't hesitate to hurt you. I hope nothing has happened to you.

I love you very much Luffy. I'll always love you.

Grandpa Garp

Luffy was trembling and the letter was slowly becoming wet from his tears. It wasn't much, just a letter with vague information, but it made him cry.

So from the beginning, he was being targeted by the Donquixote's because of his family. Luffy began to cry as he realized more – it was all his fault. His birth mother's death, his blood father's death, Garp dying protecting him, Shanks's arm being torn off because of him, since the Chainsaw Murderer was a man was found to be a drug addict and a former member of the Donquixote group. All of it was because of him.

He gulped heavily and rubbed furiously at his eyes. He left the letter on the desk and took out his own paper and began to write with conviction. He knew he had to let his parent's know where he was, and what was happening, just in case they were attacked after this and he was no longer there. He knew that the chances of him living were very, very slim. But still, if he did nothing, he knew they would just come after him again, and again, and again.

He wouldn't let the people precious to him die.

Even if it meant he did.

A few hours later, he walked out of his house without his straw hat for the first time in years and the knowledge that he may never set foot inside again. He locked the door since no one else was home and walked down to the sidewalk. He looked up, taking one last look of the house he had lived in his whole life, his home.

"Goodbye," He whispered, mouthing an "I love you" to everything he was leaving behind, before walking forward, the setting sun casting long shadows behind him, to his unknown fate.

"So, you really did come."

Luffy glared at Bellamy's back from the bottom of the staircase. He could see the gun in Bellamy's hand and knew that this would be the last time he would see the gun, no matter what.

"I'm gonna kill ya today, ya know?" Bellamy turned around, obviously high, with a deranged look in his eyes. His hair was a mess, as though he had been pulling at it, and a twisted smile contorted his facial features.

"I won't let that happen."

Luffy ran up the stairs, swerving left to right as Bellamy tried to shoot at him. Luffy managed to dodge all of the bullets and ducked right before reaching Bellamy, ramming him in the gut with his fist. Bellamy coughed as he went flying back on the floor, but then grinned. He dodged Luffy's kick and brought a knife out, standing and stabbing at his arm and cutting a large gash into it. Bellamy cackled and stood, tackling Luffy to the railing.

Luffy kneed Bellamy in the gut several times as his own face was punched, but then to his surprise, the railing broke. Quickly, he put Bellamy under him to break his fall. They landed and before Luffy could react, Bellamy once again punched him in the face. Luffy was thrown off of Bellamy and then stabbed through the shoulder with a knife he pulled out from an inside pocket. Luffy screamed and clawed at Bellamy's face, causing Bellamy to scream in pain. Luffy shoved him off with his feet and quickly got to his own before brutally kicking Bellamy in the face, causing his nose and mouth to bleed.

Bellamy grabbed his knife again and threw it at the other, managing to cut a deep gash in his chest. Luffy growled as he knelt down in pain before forcing himself to move. He stood quickly as Bellamy did and, using his good arm, punched him in the gut. He followed up with and elbow to the face before punching his jaw upward, causing him to go through a pair of open doors.

Luffy followed Bellamy into the room to see him scrambling to his feet on the other side. The door suddenly slammed shut behind him, causing him to turn in shock. In those few seconds the other grabbed his gun and shot Luffy in the other shoulder, then, to Luffy's horror, near his heart, causing the boy to scream out in pain. He turned quickly and ducked behind a couch, avoiding more bullets until the gun was out of ammo. His world began to spin as he clutched at his chest, trying to stay stable and not pass out. He was screaming at himself in his head.

Of all the places to get shot! Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!

(3) Bellamy was laughing as he tossed the unloaded gun at the couch, watching it bounce off and fall to the ground with a thud. Luffy stood slowly, painfully, and shakily despite the pain bursting through his body and the bleeding, gauging Bellamy's sanity as he stood there, head facing the sky and arms thrown out like a mad man.

"Finally! I have succeeded in capturing you! Now I can be free!" Bellamy laughed loudly, desperately, and Luffy felt slightly concerned over him.

"What do you mean free?"

Bellamy stopped laughing and turned his head down to Luffy, staring him right in the eye. Luffy felt something in his heart warning him when he saw the fight in Bellamy's eyes. Then, Bellamy gripped at his head and collapsed to his knees, screaming in pain and repeatedly hitting his head on the floor. Luffy stood, unsure of what to do as he writhed on the floor.

He suddenly went still after his screams ended. He was panting heavily as Luffy stood on guard, completely focused on the blond despite how his own vision kept blurring and he kept on staggering. But then Bellamy looked up at him and Luffy knew that deep down, this was not the same person who had hurt him.

"…Luffy…" He croaked in a weak voice. The look in his eyes – the pure agony, the regret, the fear – frightened Luffy, because that was something foreign on Bellamy. "I'm so sorry, but run! Please!"

"Why are you telling me to run?" Luffy wanted to run, that was true, but he was confused as to why Bellamy wasn't what he wanted to run from.

"Please! I don't know much about what has happened to you," He began as he slowly and shakily got on his feet, approaching the other cautiously. "But we're both puppets right now. We've played right into his hand!"

"Who?"

"Doflamingo."

A maniacal laughter was suddenly heard throughout the room. Both teens heads whipped up at the sound, eyes searching.

"You're very right, my dear Bellamy. You are just puppets in the grand scheme of everything. And that is what you will die as."

A gas was suddenly released into the room from a hole in the ceiling as kerosene began to leak out from vents on the floor.

"Sons of Dragon, you two will suffer miserable deaths."

The two boys turned to each other with mixed looks of awe, horror, fear and sadness as the liquid pooled around their feet and the gas surrounded their heads.

"Brothers?" Luffy said with a choked, tearful voice.

"I guess so…whatever happened, I'm sorry." Bellamy rasped as tears fell down his face. He knew Doflamingo was a sick fuck, but to seriously make the two suffer in such a way…

Luffy screamed as flames burst out all over the room, scorching his skin. Bellamy yelped and slipped, falling backwards and then screeching in pain as the fire began to consume his clothes. Luffy jumped over the table separating them and quickly pulled the other up before yanking his hand to the door on the other side of the room.

"That door will lead us to the back! It circles around back to the front door again!" Bellamy yelled and Luffy nodded as he began to slam himself against it which he knew he shouldn't be doing considering all of his injuries. Bellamy was violently coughing next to him as the heat began to become unbearable to the two teens.

When the door opened, they bolted. However, they were horrified to learn that the whole house was on fire. It looked as though this back area had been on fire for at least ten minutes. And worse, there was a closed and locked door at the end of the hall that both injured boys would somehow have to open.

Bellamy suddenly shoved Luffy forward, forcing the boy to the ground. Luffy was about to yell at him when he was cut off by an awful scream of pure pain. He turned around with terrified eyes, which only widened at the sight of the boy who was supposedly his brother.

The hall ceiling behind them had collapsed, and Bellamy had saved him while he himself had gotten crushed.

Luffy stared out at the scene in horror. Furniture from the floor above was burning or falling from the second floor as the ceiling lay on Bellamy, who was unable to move.

Snapping out of his reverie, Luffy scrambled forward on his hands and knees then stood and tried to lift the ceiling off of the teen. He grunted, putting his hands underneath it and ignoring the burn of his muscles and the flame of the fire that was slowly creeping closer as he tried to lift it off of the boy. He was at it for at least five minutes and by the end, tears of frustration leaked from his eyes. His strength was already quickly dissipating, he could barely tell left from right, and his ears were ringing.

He couldn't do anymore to save him.

A hand grabbed at his shorts and he looked down, collapsing to his knees again when he saw the other boy's weak look that was begging him to come closer.

"Bellamy…I'll get you out of here, I…promise! I-I have my…phone! I can call-"

Bellamy grabbed Luffy's wrist as it reached for his pocket.

"No…"

"But Bellamy! We…have to…get out of here! I…have to-"

"It's alright, Luffy…" Luffy stared and went silent as the other began to speak, trying to hear him over the crackling of the flames, the harshness of his own breath, and the sound of falling walls and furniture. "This way, I can be free, you know?...No more Doflamingo…no more twisted…second personality…I can be me…I don't know what I have…done to you…but…whatever it was…I'm truly sorry…I never meant any of it!" Bellamy stressed as his voice became choked by sobs as tears streamed down his face. Luffy shook his head violently.

"I always thought ever since that day in the bushes that something was wrong. I didn't learn until today…I'm so sorry about everything that happened! If I had tried to help-"

"It's not your fault…Nah, Luffy…even after everything…I'm…really happy…yah know…I know I…can't go on…but I hope…you can get out…and I don't know if…it's possible for you…to forgive me…but I have to say…that even though I barely…know you…my brother…I love you…and I'm sorry…so sorry…" Bellamy's grip was weakening and Luffy had to hold onto his hand, allowing his own tears to fall at an even pace.

"I can't forgive you." Luffy began and Bellamy looked resigned and accepting. "It wasn't you and it's all in the past anyway." The blonds eyes widened in shock as he looked up at the sobbing raven haired boy. "You didn't even know! You're not at fault! So don't you dare try to apologize to me! You are my brother, not that twisted fuck up inside of you, and I will always love my brothers!"

Bellamy smiled widely at him and, for the first time in his life, gave a real laugh. For the first time he could remember, he felt truly happy and alive. It wasn't maniacal, evil, or full of ill content. For the first time in his life, he was truly happy, truly living, even if it was just for a few moments.

"Thank you…"

Bellamy's hand fell limp and his eyes grew dull as the last tears fell down his face. His chest stopped moving in painful gasps and stilled. If it wasn't for the fire and remainders of tears, it looked like he had fallen asleep with a smile.

Luffy stared for a few seconds before wiping away the last of his tears. He then stood shakily and turned to the door. Screaming, he ran at it and hit it full force with his body. He would get out, or at least die trying.

Luffy coughed, vision quickly becoming blurrier, as he tried to open the door. The blood was pouring down at a fast pace now. If he did get out, he would probably die of blood loss. Or he could even die of blood loss right there and then.

The thought of dying like that motivated him to fight harder. He slammed his body against the door at least twenty times, his blood pouring out faster as a result, before it opened and he stumbled out, covered in burn marks from the fire devouring the wooden surface. He shoved himself off of the wall and began running down the now painfully long hallway for the exit, but then part of the balcony above him collapsed.

Luffy fell back in shock and made to get up, but before he could the ceiling collapsed again.

Pain filled all of his senses and he wondered who was making that awful screaming sound. They sounded like they were in a lot of pain. When he realized it was himself, he looked down and saw that both of his legs were crushed, maybe even torn off, along with some of his ribs, under the burning wood as the fire consumed everything around him.

Luffy stared. There was no way out of this. He could call 911, but he bet one of the neighbors did that since the house was lit up like a Christmas tree. And he didn't know if he would make it out of this – no, he wasn't going to be able to get out of this. Bellamy and him just seemed to have shitty luck…his brother…He left his younger brothers on a bad note.

Shakily, while trying not to breathe in the fumes that had already poisoned him and were slowly killing him, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled the phone out, pressing one of the speed dial numbers. It didn't matter who at this point, both would listen.

Luffy couldn't really hear it ring, but he could hear the voice mail and knew immediately it was Ace's phone. Luffy swallowed the sadness. They never ignored his calls. He smiled sadly, eyes clenching shut as tears formed in his eyes. He really screwed up this time.

As pieces of the house collapsed in on itself, as the fire grew while cracking sounds echoed through the poorly treated yet luxurious home, Luffy poured his heart out into that one phone call. He knew he wasn't going to get out of this. His vision blurred and by the end he was wheezing and crying as his skin burned and melted painfully on his form. He just hoped they didn't notice, but he knew they would.

(And for some reason, in the deepest reaches of his mind, through it all, he felt this had happened before in another world, another life, the words he spoke, and they echoed in his head like a bell in another voice that just made him want to cry even more.)

He didn't know if he hung up but his weak, shaking hands couldn't hold on anymore and oxygen was hard to get into his lungs. The phone fell to the ground with a dull thud, hot because of the surrounding flames, as Luffy stared at the burning walls holding him in with his blurred vision. His legs hurt awfully, but at the same time it was becoming numb. The tears were streaming down his face right now, but it wasn't that he regretted his death. No, it wasn't that…

He smiled as he realized everyone else would be safe. As his world began to turn white, the ringing in his ears grew unbearable while sound grew distant and nonexistent, and he felt everything begin to stop – the pain in his chest from the gunshot and stab wound disappeared and the burning of his crushed legs vanished. He could hear faint, heavy footsteps and looked up, seeing a figure walking out of the light. It was familiar.

Eyes widened in understanding, he raised his trembling hand out to his grandpa, the smile on his face growing.

"You've done good Luffy. I'm proud of you."

The last people he thought about were his younger brothers, Ace and Sabo. The faces of his friends and parents flashed through his mind and made more tears fall, but theirs were the last ones he saw, the ones that made him choke on a sob. He wished he could see their grinning faces again but was happy they could still smile. Words from their younger years, before everything turned to hell, echoed through his head.

"Luffy, you're the best!"

"Thanks, Luffy!"

"I love you, Luffy!"

His hand closed around the larger one and was held in a tight grip. His eyes glazed over with tears and death as all oxygen left his lungs. Then, Luffy's arm fell with a dull thud as he took his last breath, a laughing sob, smiling as his eyes closed on the world and his body was eaten by the flames.

(4) It was late at night, hours after the fire. Only Rouge and Roger were home. Sabo and Ace were sleeping at a friends house and Luffy was…they didn't know where he was. Rouge knocked softly on Luffy's door but when she heard no answer, she quietly opened it. She thought Luffy was asleep but her heart sunk a little when he wasn't in bed. Sabo had called, saying their plans had fallen through and that he was likely out God-only-knows-where and that he didn't know if he would be back for his cake that night. He said that both of them probably wouldn't return that night too. Not having her sons home with such a bad atmosphere made her wonder where things began to go wrong.

She stepped in further and felt that something was off. She looked around at the room and noticed it was clean, for some reason. No clothes were on the floor, it looked like he had vacuumed and dusted, and his desk and bureau were clean. His closet was also closed and nothing stuck out from under the crack of the door as was normally the case.

It sent an instant panic straight to her stomach.

"Is he in here?" She turned around and shook her head solemnly at her husband. Roger sighed and stepped in, taking in the change and feeling the same panic Rouge felt.

The two of them had grown worried over their oldest son over the past few years, but it had increased during the past few months. He had been acting strange – canceling plans last minute, disappearing for hours, even locking himself in his room and claiming he didn't want to talk to anyone which was very un-Luffy like. He always wanted to talk or play with someone.

Now neither knew where he was and they could only hope he was safe.

"I wish we knew what was happening," Rouge said sadly. Roger made no sound but walked over and hugged her. She hugged him back as the two stood in his room.

"What's that?" Roger asked. The two released each other and walked over to Luffy's desk, where there was a small stack of papers sitting under his straw hat. That immediately struck a cord in them, since Luffy never left the house without it. It was all in Luffy's sloppy handwriting and was addressed to the two of them – it seemed he knew they would be the first to find it.

They both read the letter with growing horror as he described what was happening – Bellamy's sick obsession with him, the rape and the fights, the threats, how he couldn't fight guns with fists and, the last part, that today he would end the fight no matter what, followed by his words of thanks and that he could never love anyone as much as he loved his family and friends, saying that Roger and Rouge would always be his mother and father.

And then when they found Garp's letter too, the pits in their stomachs deepened.

Rouge began to cry as Roger stared at the letter as his hands shook, pale, fearing for what his most reckless child would do.

Suddenly, their doorbell rang. It sent a bad feeling down both of their spines.

Roger helped Rouge stand and slowly, the two made their way downstairs. Through the glass panels on the doors and the windows, they could see the red and blue lights of a police car.

Despite his fear, Roger opened the door. There stood two police officers, a man with gray hair and two cigars in his mouth next to a woman with short blue hair and glasses. Both had looks of sorrow on their faces.

"Mister and Missus Gol?" The man said, and Roger nodded. "I'm very sorry to interrupt, but we have bad news."

Not many minutes later, Rouge had collapsed to her knees crying while Roger stood silently in the doorway, his hand over his eyes. Neither officer said anything as the parents took everything in.

Drops of rain began to fall from the sky and soon it pounded against the earth relentlessly, as though the skies were crying. It drowned out the distraught mother's wails while, not many miles away, two body bags were being loaded into ambulances while the surrounding crowd stared in a stunned silence.

"He really said that?" Marco asked while flipping through the channels on Law's TV. They were in the basement while Robin had her friends upstairs. Ace and Sabo were sitting on the couch next to him while everyone else sat on the floor or chairs in the living room. Ace's phone was off on the table in front of him, dead from playing games like Temple Run and Angrybirds, while Sabo's was in his pocket, nearing it's last bar.

"Yeah. It's like he doesn't trust us anymore," Ace mumbled, taking a large sip of his soda while staring at the passing channels.

"I don't think so."

They all looked at Thatch, who was always surprisingly perceptive with these manners, to see him staring at Ace and Sabo.

"He doesn't want to tell you now right? But he said he would tell you later, after everything is over. It sounds like what he's gotten in to is just something he feels like he can't protect you from and he will when he has finally kicked the crap out of whoever put him into such a dangerous situation."

"Nami's been complaining about how he hasn't talked to any of them about it either. You guys aren't the only ones left in the dark," Kidd grumbled as he stuck his hand into the bowl of buttery popcorn, taking a handful and shoving it into his mouth.

Ace was about to reply when he got a horrible sinking feeling in his gut. He looked at Sabo to see him looking much the same way.

"Are you guys all right?" Law asked. It was rare for the brothers to make such a face and for both of them to make it at once…needless to say all four of them were concerned.

"I have a really bad feeling…"

"…something happened that can't be fixed."

They heard a loud commotion upstairs before a bunch of people ran downstairs. They all looked at the doorway and both Ace and Sabo felt their heart's drop. Nami, Usopp and Robin were crying while Zoro and Sanji were abnormally pale. Nami grabbed the clicker out of Marco's hand and turned it to the news.

All hearts stopped upon seeing Luffy's face on TV along with Bellamy's.

"-neighbor called 911 upon seeing the house burst into flames. According to the neighbor's, it had sounded like a fight had been happening and there were several gunshots. The last two people seen walking into the house were Gol D. Luffy and Donquixote Bellamy. The fire was quickly put out and two bodies have been found, but they are currently unidentifiable. However, it is presumed they belong to the two young teens -"

Nami shakily muted the TV while everyone took in what they had just heard. They all looked over at Ace and Sabo, who were both staring blankly at the TV. One of their phones rang and it snapped Sabo out of his shock. With trembling hands, he pulled it out of his pocket while he tried to remember how to answer the phone.

When he did he was met with sobbing.

"…Mom…it's not true, right?"

They heard more sobbing on the other side of the phone and after more words were spoken, that was when Sabo began to sob. Ace just stared blankly as his friends tried to get him to snap back to reality.

The four family members were all at the police station, quiet and solemn. Rouge sat on one of the chairs, her face buried in her hands as she let her thoughts roll around in her head at a fast pace. Roger was walking back and forth across the floor, pacing, unnerved and anxious, angered and horribly depressed all at once. Sabo sat in a chair next to his mother, his arms crossed over his chest tightly as he gulped harshly, trying not to cry again. Ace stood silently by the large window, staring out at the wet lands as the rain pounded on the ground in an uneven rhythm. His eyes were blank as he stared out. The desk attendant was looking between them all nervously, understanding why they acted in such a way but unsure of how to help them.

A door down the hall suddenly opened and from it, the officer named Smoker walked out, with the blue haired woman named Tashigi at his side. He kept his expression blank as he walked up to the family.

"We have gotten word from the DNA tests," He ventured cautiously. Roger stopped his pacing, Rouge looked up, and Sabo stared hesitantly at them, his arms relaxing but his form trembling from wound up nerves. Ace merely turned his head a little to glance at them. Smoker took a deep breath. "The DNA results matched. I'm very sorry, but your son perished in the fire."

"No," Sabo glanced over at Ace worriedly, being the only one who heard the whisper. His mother was sobbing again and so was Roger. Sabo's own tears trailed his cheeks, but he was more worried about Ace. He hadn't shed a single tear yet. "I won't believe that!" He shouted before sprinting and running out the door.

"Ace!" Sabo shouted as he got to his feet and quickly darted after his brother. Roger stared after them, moving to go and follow them, when Smoker placed a hand on his shoulder and gestured to his wife. Roger got the message and hugged her once more as Smoker went after the brothers, leaving Tashigi and the desk attendant standing there without a clue as what to do.

Ace wasn't looking where he was running - he was just running. His heart was breaking, shattering. He couldn't believe he was dead - not his big brother, not Luffy.

He tripped over something that was hidden by the rain and gave a yelp as he fell into a puddle, now covered in it's water. He laid there for a moment before sitting up, his body finally beginning to shake. He turned around when he heard footsteps and saw Sabo standing there with an anguished look on his face, biting his lip.

"Ace," He said with a shaky voice, trying to hold back his own tears so the other could cry. But then Ace stood and stormed over to the other and pulled him into a tight hug. Sabo's eyes finally let his tears out once more as he clutched back onto his brother, sobbing into his shoulder. Ace allowed his own tears to fall silently, under the cover of the rain, as both he and his brother shook in place. He looked up when he heard more footsteps and saw Smoker standing there, but the man just stepped under an overhanging and lit two cigars, putting them in his mouth and staring up at the sky, allowing the brothers to have their moment.

Ace just held his brother tighter and buried his face into the blonds shoulder, trying not to scream.

AN: I cried while writing this. And then while looking for good music and rereading it. UGH! I know you guys were expecting sadness, but I think I went a little too extremely sad with this one... So, I bet none of you were expecting Luffy and Bellamy's relationship. Bellamy was conceived before Luffy while Dragon was on an undercover mission, but Luffy was born prematurely (a few months, actually). The only reason Doflamingo tortured Bellamy so much was because of his blood.

The story is not over yet though. We still have maybe around 3 chapters to go, so who knows what may happen?

jam klaoo: I'm happy you liked those scenes. I wanted to put in lots of fluff before...this...

02FireRains: I'm very glad you liked the fluff! I love writing fluff, and even this which broke my heart.

Aslightlybadasshuman: Thank you :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter too...can I say that about such a sad chapter though?...hmm...

FlightWulf: Haha, thank you very much! It's strange realizing that its nearing the end now... I hope there was enough angst for you. It's not over yet though! Have a good trip (if that's what you're doing) and I hope you enjoy this when you get to read it! :)

shadowmarialove: Last chapter was basically all of Luffy's happy moments. I wanted him to have some happy times before all of this happened.

I feel like I'm forgetting something important to say...I'll just say it next chapter. Thank you for reading and please leave a review!