A/N: Sorry it's been so long! I'll explain more at the bottom, but first I wanted to say that this starts off with the first flashback! Yay! The start of the next chapter might get a little confusing, but I promise that I am putting them in order! Hope you like it!

There was chaos all around, carnage like you couldn't believe. But he had done it! Luffy had managed to save Ace! I felt a grin spread across my face as I stared at the boys emerging from the fire. I placed a hand on my broken ribs, savoring the pain that Luffy had caused when I stood in his way. I softly touched the arms around me and looked up at the man who had caught me. He was grinning just as widely as me, his eyes hidden behind his purple sunglasses. I gave Doflamingo's hand a small squeeze and took a step towards my brothers.

They were fighting beautifully together, like they had only been separated for three minutes rather than years. They had grown so strong, and I knew that they would continue to get stronger as soon as they made it out of Marine Ford. And then it happened. That bastard Sakazuki started talking shit about Whitebeard and I felt the smile fall from my face. No, not that...

"Kitty, what's wrong?" Doffy asked, slight concern coloring his tone even as his smile stayed in place. I ignored him as I watched Ace stop moving.

Sakazuki had made a gamble that Ace was like his father and wouldn't just stand by and let those close to him get insulted. And he had won. Ace turned and went after Sakazuki, but his attack fell short under the Admiral's Magma-Magma Fruit. Sakazuki then did the unthinkable; he went after the weakened Luffy. I ran towards them, ignoring my injuries, the stabbing pain in my side. I had to get there! I had to save my brothers! No... No...!

"NO!"

The scream made my throat raw, but I kept it up. It couldn't be possible. I felt tears well up in my eyes. That was... Sakazuki's hand... peaking out of my little brother's chest. The sound of his arm being removed from Ace's body seemed to echo in my ears. I was aware of strong arms wrapping around me as I watched Ace fall onto Luffy. This couldn't be happening! We couldn't lose Ace too! Ace, you bastard! You promised not to die! You still have to protect Luffy! DON'T LEAVE US!

His words cut across the sound of death and misery, across the large distance between us. I shouldn't have been able to hear them, but they echoed in my ears even as he fell to the ground. He was smiling too.

"Thank you for loving me..."

Empty. I felt empty, nothing. All I could see was Ace laying on the ground and all I could hear was the sound of Luffy's screams. But I still felt nothing, could not bring myself to help my baby brother. Ace—was gone. Ace left us behind, too. Why did he have to die? Because he was Roger's son? That is no reason for death. Ace had managed to stay alive for twenty years, despite being the Pirate King's son. Why did he die? Why did my brother die?!

A scent caught my attention and I slowly pulled my gaze away from my brother's body. Him. He was the one who caused Ace's death. It was all Teach's fault that Ace died. I felt more than heard the growl bubbling in my chest. That man had to die. I elbowed whoever was holding me in the face and used Shave. Teach had just blocked a blow from Sengoku, but not Garp. Those old men better get out of my way; I was going to kill that fucking pirate.

With a snarl, I kicked his face, sending Teach flying. He rolled around on the ground, moaning in pain, for a long moment before he stood up. Wiping the blood from his mouth, Teach turned and grinned at me. "Well, well," he said, "if it isn't my old friend Benineko Elle. It's been awhile; enjoying the show?"

I snarled and took a step in Teach's direction. "It's your fault," I growled, "it's your fault my brother died!"

Teach gave me a confused look. "Brother?" he asked. "I ain't killed no brother of yours."

"Ace!" I screamed, my voice raw. "You killed my little brother Ace!"

Another scent distracted me from whatever bullshit Teach was spouting. I turned my head and gazed down at the battlefield. Coby was shouting and Sakazuki was glowering down at the boy. But that is not what caught my attention. No, it was the pirate that appeared behind Coby and blocked Sakazuki's killing blow.

The Red-Haired Emperor was frowning for once, his dark eyes intense even this far away. He was speaking to Coby when movement behind him caught my eye. Two Marines were sneaking up behind him, weapons drawn. They were going to try and kill Red-Hair Shanks. I had lost Ace. I probably just lost Luffy. I was not going to lose him to. I snapped.

Before I knew what I was doing, both Marines were dead. More than that, they were in pieces all around me. I snarled down at their remains and flung their guts off of my hands. I glanced at Shanks, but felt none of the joy I had expected upon our reunion. He had abandoned me, but that had lead me to finding my brothers. But this man, this simple pirate with the ability to stop a full-on war, was late. It he had been here just a bit earlier, I would still have both of my brothers. I turned away from him in disgust and walked back over to Garp. The Vice-Admiral gave me a pitying glance and said my name, but I snarled at him. Yes, Garp had lost Ace too. But he had the position and influence to have prevented this from the start. If I did not get away from either of these infuriating men, I was likely to tear them both asunder.

Instead, I walked over to the Warlord, Doflamingo. He frowned down at me when I approached him, but said nothing. I grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled the tall man down so that our faces were even. The kiss was small, but he knew what it meant. Doffy gave me a small smile and stood up straight once I released his shirt. "I have something I need to do first, Kitty," he said quietly. "After that, we can go home."

I gave him a short nod and headed towards the remains of Marine Ford. Maybe if I took a shower, I could feel something. Maybe if I lost all sense of myself in Doflamingo I wouldn't feel so empty.

I doubted it.

I heard the sound of footsteps in the sand and quickly shoved Red-Hair away from me. I rubbed my face quickly before turning to smile at—two blurs. Frowning, I turned around to see Red-Hair in the same position as Ben had just been in. I cautiously walked over and observed as my boys threatened some very important pieces of Red-Hair's anatomy. I didn't bother to ask them where they had learned these threats; they probably picked it up while training with Helmeppo. Instead, I picked up each boy by the collar of their shirts and held them up to my eye level.

"What are you two doing?"

Sora and Eli both looked at me with equally furious dark eyes. "This old man made Mama cry!" they shouted in unison. "He needs to be punished!"

I felt tears of pride well in my eyes even as I heard Red-Hair grumble about being called an 'old man'. I quickly set my boys down and crouched in front of them. I pinched each of their cheeks and scolded, "He is going to be doing that a lot, guys," I said sharply before letting go of their cheeks. I brushed their hair from their faces and added, softer, "You just can't go attacking Old Man Shanks every time."

"Why will he—," Sora started and Eli finished, "—be making Mama cry?"

"Because Mama has unfinished business with the Captain," Yasop cut in, swooping down to grab a boy under each arm. "Business that they can hopefully work out during our mission." He gave me a pointed glare, switching his gaze between the boys and Red-Hair.

"You guys are joining up on our mission?!" Sora exclaimed, stars in his eyes. He had always loved pirates, loved shouting that he was going to be just like Papa (much to the chagrin of one Vice-Admiral Garp). Eli, however, kept his dark gaze on me. "Are you going to be okay, Mama?" he asked quietly, pushing his crimson hair out of his face. "Or is it going to be like when you drink with Uncle Buggy?"

I felt all the blood rush to my face and felt Red-Hair's gaze burning holes in the back of my head. "No!" I said, sharper than I intended. "No," I added softer, "Because Mama doesn't have Buggy here with me, nor Richie to annoy afterwards. I guess the Old Man will have to be his replacement."

Finally, Eli grinned just as wide as his brother. "Can we help?!"

I grinned back at him. "Of course!" I said, proudly placing my hands on my hips. "It's been over ten years since I last sailed with the Old Man! He's sure to have grown rusty in my absence. You're gonna hafta fix that!"

I couldn't help but to laugh joyfully as my boys gave me identical devilish grins. Yasop said something to them about packing and started walking back towards the town, most of the crew following him. When Red-Hair walked up next to me, I, again, didn't turn to look at him. But I did acknowledge him with a small hum.

"I'm not sure what I should comment on first."

I raised an eyebrow and turned slightly. "I would suggest 'Old Man', as that will probably be the only thing I'll answer," I stated simply.

"Okay, then, Kitten," Red-Hair said with a small, wry smile. "Why are you three calling me that? I'm not exactly old, y'know."

"You're eleven years older than I am, and over twenty-five years older than Sora and Eli," I replied simply. "To them, you are old."

Red-Hair furrowed his brow at me. "They're ten?" he asked slowly. "They don't look it. How old were you when you had them, anyway?"

"They're both small for their age; they don't turn ten for a few more months." I felt my cheeks start to burn. "And I turned seventeen about three and a half months after they were born."

Shanks stared at me for a long moment before he started counting on his fingers. "Does this mean that their real 'Papa' is someone in my crew?" he asked after several minutes, glowering down at me. "Why was I not made aware of this?"

I was dumbstruck, falling to my hands and knees as his words fully sank in. "You're an idiot," I said at the same time as Ben, who had walked up in time to hear the tail end of our conversation.

Ben helped me up, completely ignoring his Captain's protests and shouts. As the Vice-Captain was pulling me to my feet, he murmured, "You really should tell him, Elle. Our Captain is a smart man, yes, but this is something that would have to be pointed out to him."

I quickly pulled my gaze away from the older man and focused on brushing the sand off of me. I forced levity into my voice as I said, "and what? Give away my final trump card? I might still need it."

"Elle—," Ben started to say before his Captain cut him off. "Well, since you two don't seem to have any intention on telling me what you're whispering about, why don't we see if Kitten's 'device' still fits her?"

A/N: I know this chapter is kinda short, and long overdue. I had continued writing past the little flashback (several chapters) but I wanted to watch the War of the Best in order to write the flashback right. When I watched it, it still hadn't come out dubbed, so I watched it subtitled. And I was unable to stop watching until I literally could not watch any more episodes. And watching 300 episodes distracted me. Now that I am all caught up in both Dubbed and Subbed One Piece, I decided that it was time to continue. So, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I will be posting another some time today.

~Shini