Sabo did indeed come, late at night the day of the fight. It had only been one day. A very, very long day it was. Luffy was snuggled in Zoro's embrace. "I wish I saw your fight with Pica. Everyone said it was awesome and I didn't even get to see," he pouted. Well, there was nothing they could do about it.

There was a knock on the front door, and everyone tensed, not knowing who it was. But Luffy and Ace did. Ace opened the door, and let the blonde in. Luffy stood up and hugged him tightly. "Why don't we go outside?" Ace said, and the three went into the flower field and sat down. Luffy was sobbing into Sabo's shirt, and Sabo rubbed his back.

"You've gotten so strong, Luffy," Sabo praised. "Not the weak cry baby anymore." Even though he was crying. Luffy pulled back and asked Sabo why he had never come to see them. "I only just got my memories back. I had amnesia," he said patiently, and then explained what had happened and how he'd forgotten them. It was painful, knowing he'd forgotten all about his brother. Even if it wasn't Sabo's fault, it still hurt.

Ace was smiling with his arms resting on his knees. "I'm sorry, both of you. I… I left you guys alone. And in the war… if I had known, I woulda' been there for you both. And now," Sabo trailed off, holding Luffy's numb arm. "I'm so sorry," he said in shame.

"Luffy saved me, Sabo. I'm not dead, and neither is he. He could have his arm fixed if he wants. It's his choice now. Yeah, he wants to keep it this way so it reminds him he's not invincible. A pretty mature thing, I was surprised," Ace said happily. "If this fruit were mine to give away, I'd offer it to you. Can you imagine how dangerous everyone would see you with this fruit?"

Sabo smiled and said he wouldn't want that fruit. "I'd probably accidentally end the world," he said conversationally. He turned back to Luffy and asked him all about his crew, and he explained everything they'd been through and how accepting and accommodating they all were. And how Zoro had been there for him since the start.

"I can't believe that old man apologized to you about everything. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, too. To help with your issues. I really wish I had stayed. I'm happy with my life right now, but it doesn't change the fact that I wish I could have been with you guys longer. I have a lot of regrets about it. Even though I only just regained my memories, all the guilt and shame flooded through me and I just wish I could go back to change that day."

"You are happy with your life, now. It's fine to want to change things, but at least you're happy and have good friends. With your lady friend," Ace teased.

"Koala's just a friend."

"I'm sure," Ace said in amusement. Sabo was flustered and glared at him, making the eldest laugh. It was probably weird for Sabo. The last time he remembered seeing Ace, he was a snotty and antisocial kid with a terrible temper. Here he was just generally happy and open. Well, life changed. It had been over ten years since they "lost" Sabo.

Luffy did wish he'd never set off. Losing Sabo had been incredibly painful. He had cried a lot, and had never told Ace, but he'd heard when he was sobbing all alone about Sabo's death. He'd never mentioned it, as he felt bad. Like he was intruding on him, spying on a very private moment.

Ace had cried in front of him before, though, after that. A lot of times, and Luffy always did his best to support him. He really was his support emotionally. Their childhood was hard for both of them. Luffy knowing he was a freak, that his grandpa had never wanted him to leave, wanted him hidden from everybody. Knowing he wasn't normal and not knowing why.

And Ace grew up hating himself because of his father's blood. Both had moved on from the problems, which was all that mattered now. The three spent time sharing stories, joking, and Luffy snuggling Sabo, who didn't complain. When it was time for Sabo to leave, he grinned and said he hoped they had fun taking down an yonko together.

"Jealous you can't come, too?" Ace asked.

"A little. Fighting with you two for a common goal sounds fun. But unlike the Whitebeards, I would never be given permission to do that."

"Mr prim and proper, jealous of the freedom of being pirates?" Sabo smacked his head, but didn't reply. Both gave Sabo one last hug, and a vivre card from him to both brothers. Luffy did what he did for Ace's and Rayleigh's, and tucked it inside the ribbon around his hat. Ace took and put his in the pendant of his hat that actually had a little space he put vivre cards in. He had one to the ship, the one shared with Luffy still, and now one from Sabo.

Ace pat his arm around his shorter brother's shoulder. "Let's go back and get somethin' to eat." Luffy nodded, and both were smiling widely.

They spent a few days there to recuperate. They knew marines were looking for them. It was on the third day, when all of them were rested and healed, but didn't know how the hell to get to Zou with no ship available, Luffy and Law both heard somebody coming towards the house, and then Bartolomeo banged in.

"Ace-san, Zoro-senpai, Robin-senpai! Luffy-senpai!" He looked and saw Luffy in Zoro's lap, both looking questioning. The green haired weirdo looked at them both and his face turned bright red. "How can I see something so precious?!"

"Shut up! Why are you here?" Zoro asked, flustered.

The man loudly exclaimed that some big guns from the marines had arrived. And that they needed to leave soon. The marines were also going to go after the many criminals still on the island. Luffy was stuffing all of the food they had into his mouth so they didn't waste any while the others were quickly getting their things and ready to leave. Only, they didn't have a ship to escape with.

"We have no way off the island, Rooster-hair!" Luffy said.

"Ah! I got a nickname from Luffy-senpai! But I'll take you to the eastern port! We've all been waiting, your comrades!" Luffy cocked his head. Did he mean all of the people that were found on the king's mountain? Argued with about killing Doflmanigo? And then they were all really grateful for Luffy and Usopp turning them back into humans.

They could all hear marines coming as they fled the house, following Bartolomeo. They were being chased and shot at, but as long as they weren't caught by Fujitora, they could get through it just fine. They ran as fast as they could, following the very loud barrier man as he led them through almost-checkpoints. Each had some of the coliseum allies.

Ace thanked each of them familiarly. Most didn't really like him, but they had a debt to return to Luffy and Usopp, even though Luffy didn't feel they had to. But it was appreciated. Ace had the gura gura fruit in his bag that he had pressed to his chest so as not to risk dropping it. "How many times have we run away from marines, now?" Robin asked pleasantly. Luffy laughed in agreement even as they were shot at and pursued.

Law looked at the two in annoyance, how nonchalant the Straw Hats could be about serious topics. Zoro complained about not having enough booze at the house. "Oi, there any alcohol wherever we're going?" he asked.

"Yes, Z-Z-Zoro-senpai!" Bartolomeo said, face red and eyes sparkling about just speaking to the Straw Hats. He sure was a big fan. Ace thought it was hilarious. Apparently after finding Ace there, as he was in the coliseum competition, too, he wanted to meet Luffy, and tagged along and did whatever Ace asked on the promise to meet the Straw Hats. Well, he did what he promised, so all was good.

They were all taken out of their focus on running when the rubble and broken stone of the buildings and sliced up ground rose in the air above them. "Crap! It's Fujitora!" Usopp said in fear.

"At least they aren't meteors!" Luffy said. Law silently nodded to that point. When Furjitora raised even more, until the sky seemed almost blocked out, they couldn't pass him. He was directly in their way. He grit his teeth, and Ace was scowling, too. Luffy didn't care if he was an admiral. He didn't care if he couldn't beat him right now. He was done running from them.

He said, "Hey, gambling man! Remember me?! I'm gonna sock you in the face!" he shouted, rushing forward, and blowing up a hand and covering it in haki to punch him. His crew told him to stop, before Luffy bellowed, "Get going! Now! Make it to the eastern port!"

"Right!"

"Be careful, Lu!"

His crew and allies ran past Fujitora, who was guarding against Luffy's punch. He knew they could all die at an instant with the rubble, but they'd been through way too much in the last few days to let a bunch of rubble get in their ways. "I can't defeat you, like I always do because you're an admiral. But I'm done running from the likes of you marines, no matter who you are or how strong! If I give in to you assholes, if I am too weak to take on all four yonkos, then I'll never be Pirate King!" he raged, growing angry at the admirals that were always standing in their ways.

Even when they did good things, they were still punished by the marines just for being there, no matter what they'd done. It was annoying how black and white the world was sometimes. But at the same time, he was glad life was simple. But one thing was very simple: Luffy was not afraid of the marines anymore.

He had been two years ago. Painfully scared on that battlefield that gave him PTSD and health problems. He defeated them all last time, even if he was nearly dead as well. He wasn't afraid of them at all anymore. Not like he had been.

Luffy didn't say the attacks on him even if he was blind. "You have quite the confidence."

"Who said it's confidence!? It's my dream and I'll fulfill it no matter what it takes!" he shot a jet stamp at him, but the sword blocked it. Then Luffy was grabbed by the giant, one of the colosseum allies.

"Let's go goin', giant! He ain't gonna stop anyways!"

"Zoro, you jerk! I was in the middle of a fight!" Luffy raged, trying to get out of the giant hand holding him. But they ran off. The rubble followed them until Luffy heard a loud mob coming, shouting at them to not take away the treasure. "Hey, did we steal anything?" Luffy asked, hanging upside down in the giant's huge hand.

"Get back here!"

"That treasure isn't yours, Straw Hat!"

"Stop him! Thieving pirates!"

"Get 'em, don't let them escape!"

But all of the citizens were smiling as they said such things, getting in the way of Fujitora. With any other marine, Luffy would not be surprised if all the citizens were killed along with the pirates, just to kill the bad ones. Fujitora didn't do that, and it was the perfect way to escape. Luffy grinned upside down, waving his arms to everyone following them to "get back treasure".

When they made it down the long docks, they were introduced to a massive, massive ship that dwarfed even the giant. "Whoa! This is way bigger than the original Moby Dick had been!" Ace said, referencing the old Whitebeard ship.

They all got on, and found that almost every single coliseum fighter involved with the Straw Hats had actually agreed to ally with them. Luffy was shocked, and confused. Why would they ally with Luffy? They all didn't seem like they'd ever be subordinates in the first place. All together with all of these warriors and criminals offering their men under their wing, it came out with almost 5,600 people.

The Straw Hats present all were shocked, Zoro looking slightly suspicious. Law, too. Luffy wasn't too interested, and showed it clearly. "This many people would be too cramped! And I don't wanna be a boss of all of you," Luffy said. He gave the sake cup to Zoro to drink. He didn't like alcohol and never shared sake cups after he did when he was little.

"What?! Are you not happy with the numbers?"

Everyone else was getting offended and angry. Ace stepped in to keep the peace. "How about you all become subordinate crews? Then he's not your real boss, but you all can still all be connected in some way without Luffy being your true boss?" he offered. Luffy crossed his arms and nodded with that.

"I guess that would be fine…" Zoro thanked Ace for being the peacekeeper and knowing what he talked about.

"Of course. Subordinate crews are very important allies. You can repay Luffy and his crew by being there to help at a moment's notice," Ace said jovially, truly enjoying himself with everything with the Straw Hats so far.

Luffy stood on the railing. "If we're ever in trouble, we'll call you all as loud as we can! So just come then. And if you guys ever need help, we'll come running for you! We all fought Mingo together, and we won't forget that!" Luffy said loudly, honestly. "Until then, just go on your own adventures!"

Enemies interrupted them, all people who were allied or used Doflmaingo's service. They were pissed at Luffy greatly, and wanted to kill him and get his bounty. "Heh, things sure are getting exciting, now. When can we go to Zou anyways?" Luffy asked as his crew drank from the huge sake cup.

The majority of those on the ship weren't worried over the enemy attack, and just focused on making the deal. Tensions had eased and everyone was agreeing with the terms. The seven leaders of this agreement put out their sake cups, and pledged to be their subordinate crew. "Hey, this goes both ways! I might be the supposed leader, but we're allies now! Don't act so stiff!"

Bartolomeo started crying about how amazing Luffy was. Ace was smiling at him like a fond and proud older brother. Then rubble started to fall, but only on the enemy ships. It was clearly not an accident. Luffy turned around and squinted his eyes, and saw a lone figure standing. Fujitora was doing this on purpose, and wore a small smile on his face.

This admiral was weird, but he preferred him over the others.

Then the feast began, and it seemed the nightmare on Dressrosa was over. He did wonder how they'd fix the island now that it had taken such an intense beating. They'd visit again someday to see the little people and Kyros. He wondered if they'd fish out Doflamingo's remains. He hoped nobody saw them. For his sake and theirs.

"C'mon, it's a feast," Zoro said, taking Luffy's hand with a smile. "We deserve a party." Luffy smiled and nodded, turning away from Fujitora and the people who helped them to not be crushed by the rubble. It fell around them, but not on them as they sailed away from the island. Where Luffy was turned into a toy. He would never forget that feeling. But the marines had collected the Mingo family and they were now in custody. It was the easiest sentence they could get.

While booze was all over the ship, Luffy just had a mug of juice. "To the defeat of the Mingo family!" he toasted, thrusting his mug in the air.

"Yeah!" the others cheered, and the drinks were flowing and good food served. Luffy was savoring the taste of the fighting fish meat, knowing he'd never have it again. It was delicious! He couldn't wait to see Sanji and them again. He was sure they would be very angry with what happened to everyone, and he wondered if they'd feel guilt, knowing they had forgotten about Luffy as well. Everybody had, and it wasn't their fault.

After the loud and rambunctious party, with Law being a grumpy grump again and not taking part in any of the festivities, despite Ace continuously trying to get him to lighten up, they ended up switching to another ship that would gladly take them to Zou.

He sat down with his boyfriend and brother for a bit, and told them about his issue with gear fourth. "You mean you fought Doflamingo and won with a form that you'd never used before?" Ace asked in awe, though Zoro just had a proud smirk on.

"Well, yeah. But I'm worried that will never work, now. And I worked really hard to make that technique!" he pouted, taking another bite out of a sea king dish.

Zoro said, "Well, you could practice just using that original form, seeing if it would come out at all." Ace nodded in agreement.

Luffy admitted, "I was lucky. That I didn't panic too long, and I had Ace find me when I needed to recharge. I can't believe that all happened in one day! Our adventures always seem so long, but they usually happen in one day," he pointed out.

The Straw Hats around who heard agreed with that. Bartolomeo timidly asked from around the corner if he could hear about some of their undocumented adventures. Usopp gladly talked about his fight with Perona on Thriller Bark. And all about their time there, how annoying it was, how Luffy first started having to let out those blasts of air or power.

He wondered if he'd be labeled as having a second devil fruit, considering how many times he used that move on Dressrosa. Unexplained move. Or maybe the marines would hide it. After all, they'd seen that and his rabid behavior at Marineford, so they would probably still keep it under wraps, like they tended to do.

Luffy snuggled with Zoro much of the ride to Zou. They followed the vivre card as Bartolomeo gladly took them to their next destination in his ship which was almost uncomfortably stylized after Luffy. He really was obsessed.

There were spare rooms for the Straw Hats, and of course Luffy had been given his own, as he was Luffy-senpai. Zoro was annoyed with Bartolomeo's behavior and clinginess to Luffy, even if he understood why he was amazed by the strong captain.

Zoro slept in the same bed as Luffy, same room. Before bed on the second night on their way to Zou, Zoro managed to get Luffy to agree to making love on a ship that wasn't the Sunny. He made sure to stay quieter than he usually was, clawing at Zoro's back as he kissed his lover and moved above him. Luffy really missed Zoro. Still, it had only been less than two months since they reunited. "I missed you so much," Zoro said, as if reading Luffy's mind after they cleaned up meticulously. Both were sleepy and sated.

Luffy rolled over and clung to Zoro, and nodded against his chest in agreement. Zoro kissed his forehead, holding onto him as well, arms circled around him to keep him close. They fell asleep then.