Warning!!! This story is not for the faint of heart. Rated M for violence, major character death, extreme gore, mental breakdowns, abuse, slavery, and brainwashing. Vivid descriptions of torture will also be present. You have been warned.

More warnings may be added as the book progresses. If you decide to read, I hope you enjoy! The book is extremely dark, so be prepared. But there will be nice moments too.

Cross-Posted on Archive of Our Own

I don't own One Piece


It was a sunny day when it happened.

Nothing bad was supposed to happen on sunny days. The sky stretched out as far as the eye could see, an eternal ocean untouchable to all except the most daring. The believers. The Pirates. Blemishless indigo easing into a deeper cerulean blue, coating the stars in its limitless perfection. Blinding yellow gazing down upon Dawn Island with critical eyes, spreading out its many limbs to touch the souls of the people, warming their hearts and minds to remind them they can live on. That they can make through another day of dust and decay. Lush green echoed the sounds of crisp winds, giggling at jokes and precious secrets in languages that elude our native tongues. Flowers standing out like sore thumbs among the varying hues of jaded emerald, blushing yellow as bees pollinate them and their brethren.

Nothing bad happens on days like these.

Black hair caked in mud and soot was gently tugged on by invisible fingers, weaving in and out of the child's dreadful locks. Strands had been fused together by the hell-born fire that rose up from Gray Terminal a few days prior, creating unwanted lumps to keep the branches and bugs ensnared in the owner's scalp. They didn't seem to mind, however, and kept watching the ruins from the cliff they were perched on. Streaks of harsh reds, mischievous violets, and infectious yellows encircled the child's torso and forearms, slightly faded from the few days of rest. Scabs cracked and peeled away due to the brat's bloodied fingernails scraping away at the layers of their body's hard work.

Being tied up to a tree for three days had quite the effect on Ace. All the screaming and flailing he had done caused severe rope burns as well as harsh bruises to bloom underneath the now sensitive skin. His fingers bled from trying to rip the thick bindings apart with his bare hands, and a few of his baby teeth had been ripped out from his brilliant idea of chewing his way free. Ace couldn't speak too loud either, just barely able to speak at a normal volume for the time being. He had shreiked bloody murder until his face had gone purple and his lungs were torn to bits. He was just so furious, and no one could've blamed him. That Celestial Dragon was going to pay by his hand, and his alone.

He dreamt of beating the snotty bastard's head in with his pipe until he heard a satisfying crunch. Cracking the glass of his stupid helmet and spitting into his mouth. Grabbing him by the collar and slamming his screaming body into the dirt he despised so much. Slitting his arms with a rusty knife for every time he made Luffy wail for his brother to come home, refusing to believe he was dead.

Ace didn't want to just kill him. Oh no, Ace would never let him off that easily. He wanted to slowly torture him, taking revenge not only for his brother, but for all the pain and suffering that that one man caused for everyone throughout the world. Death was too lenient on that monster, and Ace was going to make sure that he knew that. A smile split the boy's face in an unnatural, and deeply unsettling way as he thought about torturing the Celestial Dragon. His teeth stained red from the crimson liquid lingering in his mouth.

It had been a few hours since Ace had made his promise with Luffy, and he hadn't noticed when his snot-nosed little brother had even slipped away from their spot at the edge of the forest. Peculiar, since the boy couldn't sneak around for the life of him. Ace just brushed it off as him falling asleep again and Luffy getting bored, not that he was worried or anything. It didn't matter too much either way, Luffy had his metal pipe. He would be fine. At least, that's how Ace kept convincing himself to stay and watch the cleanup of Gray Terminal. Watching the seldom survivors get filled with lead kept him in a limbo of fury and revenge.

It was a nice day. Ace was worried for nothing.

That didn't stop Ace's guts from tying themselves into a plethora of knots. Something was off, it was quiet. Way too quiet. Luffy always said being alone was worse than getting hurt, or even dying, and that meant Luffy was always stuck to Ace and Sabo's side like glue. Or glitter one could never quite get out of their eye. Luffy had been gone too long, he would've bothered Ace by now for sure. Running up to him to tell him about some wild animal they could eat or a hercules beetle he found in the underbrush. A stupid, estatic grin on his dirt-ridden face as he dragged Ace by the arm to force him to come and see.

Ace knew he couldn't keep using the weather to put off something important, no matter how truly gorgeous it was out today. How foolish that would be. What if some of Bluejam's crew survived, and found out about Ace cracking their Captian's skull open? What if he was attacked by the Bear King? Eaten by The Lord of The Coast? Or worse, what if Garp came back early?!

Ace grabbed his dented pipe out of instinct, clutching it until his cracked knuckles turned white. No way in hell was anyone gonna hurt his idiotic baby brother, not without going through him first. The child got up and took off running, his coal eyes burning like a rampaging wildfire with every step he took. His bones creaked in protest, but Ace ignored his whimpering body. His body can heal after he smacks his brother's stupid noggin for being gone so long.

This forest was home, he knew it down to every gnarled root, broken branch, and blades of grass planted beneath his feet. Pungent scents from the sea plunged into Ace's bloodied nostrils as he leapt gracefully from tree to tree, searching the areas Luffy was bound to be.

The river,

Nothing.

The clearing,

No one.

Their treehouse,

Empty.

Every inch of the forest,

Not even a shred of red ribbon or a single piece of straw could be found in those woods.

No one was there.

Luffy was gone.

Not even a whisper remained of his brother's presence, like he had been wiped out of existence in the blink of an eye. Not even the slightest smear of Luffy had been left behind, no matter how closely Ace looked. Luffy wasn't anywhere to be seen. None of this added up. He would have heard that loudmouth scream, cry, thrash about, anything at all. Blood thrummed in Ace's ears as he booked it to the coast, coarse earth turning into pebbled sand underneath Ace's battered feet. His vocal cords were split to ribbons screeching out his brother's name, threatening to peel the skin off his rubbery face and feed it to the wolves. Ace hardly noticed, or cared, about the appalled looks he received. He was used to being looked at like a wild animal. Ace barely even registered the looks of bewilderment on the townsfolk's faces. They didn't matter. Luffy was gone.

Water smeared his vision, making everything distorted as he raced around Goa for who knows how long. Everything mixed and swirled together, creating a conglomeration of colours and noise which held no meaning.

Red.

Everything turned a smoldering, hate-filled red that would put Satan's fire to shame. From head to toe, burning loathing consumed all sanity from Ace's mind, body, and perishing soul. Agonizing hellfire gnawed at his numbed skin, boiling his beaten flesh down to nothing but ash as Ace let out the roars from the underworld held deep within his guts. He spat out copper from his bruised lungs as the ground shook and his skull cracked and crumbled away, leaving a hollow shell. An empty husk.

Nothing bad happened on sunny days.

Sabo said that once.

Ace believed him until that very day.

When Ace found Luffy's hat caked in blood on the beach.


This was boring.

That was the conclusion Luffy made as he hopped onto his feet, and peered down at his unconscious brother. Ace had a tendency to temporarily die, as Luffy liked to put it, for a little bit every once and a while. It was sporadic. It was inconvenient. It was Ace.

It was hard to tell when Ace would wake up again, usually the narcolepsy attacks lasted only a few minutes, but sometimes they would last for a few hours. Luffy rolled the dice, and seized an opportunity to look at his brother a little bit closer. From what he could tell, Ace was still badly injured, even if he never openly expressed his pain. Men didn't cry, and Ace was the manliest man the little raven had ever known.

The rope burns on Ace's body looked infected. Pus was dribbling out of the open wounds, and a slight hissing noise made itself known when the opaque liquids trailed down his brother's body. Luffy wrinkled his nose, turning away, but suddenly relaxed his face when he saw what was supposedly called hair. It was covered in mud, dirt, twigs, and… was that a bird? The paramica didn't want to know. But it gave him an amazing idea.

Luffy had a hat.

Sabo had a hat.

Ace had a bird's nest for hair.

He could get Ace a hat too!

Luffy grinned at his amazing idea. It wouldn't be just any old gift, either. It would be bought with money, not stolen! Well, the money was stolen, but Luffy Logic told him that it was saintly to actually pay for something. He was bursting with excitement thinking about what kind of hat he would get Ace. What colour? What kind?

A few hundred Beli were crammed into Luffy's pockets as he charged down the graveled dirt trail which led him away from Dadan's. Once barely out of sight, the rubber boy heard furious screams, smashing bottles, and promises of getting his neck wrung out for what he did fading into the distance. It made him smile all the wider. Dadan would have cooled down by the time he was back anyways. Why did she even have money under her pillow in the first place?

Money was pretty worthless to Luffy. When he saw the pieces of paper, he just saw pieces of paper. Nothing more, nothing less. But apparently, this stuff could get him anything in the whole wide world if he had enough of it.

If it could do that, it could get Ace a hat.

It didn't take long for the raven-haired kid to tumble into Gray Terminal. He could find his way back to the trash heap blindfolded while being chased by Garp's Fist of 'Love.' It was engraved into his brain like the ASL pirate flag that forever soared in his spirit.

He remained on the outskirts of the melting heap, looking at the smoldering garbage with an idiocratic look in his eyes. The doors had been sealed off to all people inside and out, with officers shooting at anything that dared move. Sure, trying to get into Goa at a time like this was risky and reckless, but that might as well be Luffy's middle name. The only reason he even stopped to look over the wreckage was because the place looked like a whole different world.

Thick, gray smog billowed up from the devastation, sluggishly descending towards the heavily polluted sky. The burnt garbage was still oozing, fusing against one another, leaking into the compact earth below, and destroying what was already broken to begin with. The suffocating heat produced by the fire was thick and made Luffy choke, gasping for untainted air. All the officers were wearing hazmat suits, while the child was completely exposed to the dangerous chemicals that were birthed. The waste was being scraped away by machinery, revealing the 'perfection' the Nobles' traded countless innocent lives for.

Luffy wiped away stray tears, and the congealed blood that came with it. Scrubbing at them with his forearm until his skin went raw. 'Real men don't cry' the child sniffled, and pushed away the foreboding melancholy from his mind. He could do this. For Ace, he would do anything. He would go to war for him if it came to it. Luffy wouldn't lose another brother, and he would make sure of it.

The brim of his hat came down over his brown eyes, casting shadows on the boy's face. He took a deep breath, suffocating smoke strangling his lungs as he took off running. No one noticed Luffy until he made it a quarter way over the devastation. Blood seeping from his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. He couldn't see through the red liquid, or the endless gray that trapped him in a perpetual void of nothing. The raven stumbled, tripped, and fell on multiple occasions. He ended up scrambling on the heap like a wild animal, not caring about the cuts, burns, or gashes he received. There was only one thing on his mind, and that was getting Ace his hat

"Look, a child survived the fire!" One of the officers called to his peers, his voice eerily sadistic. Luffy didn't hear him though, he was too preoccupied with getting to the gates to listen. They all gave chase to the Straw Boy, yelling to commence fire at the child.

"Quick, seize them!"

"They must've been hiding in the forest!"

"Check for others in the mountains!"

Cramped muscles tore apart, splitting at the seams, lungs constricting until they burst, heart beating immeasurably fast, until it flatlines. Luffy kept running even as gunfire whizzed past his deaf ears. Even as he stumbled and fell, cutting his bloodied hands and knees on pieces of crisp glass. Even as the shouting got too loud, as sirens wailed, breaking down his walls of silence. Even when a bullet struck his back…

This was it. This was how he died. Scampering across a wasteland like a mangy dog, looking around for any scraps he could come across. Luffy screwed his eyes shut, waiting to feel the lead pierce his corrupted lung, and feel blood burst out from the wound.

But it never came. Just a slight sting, like when someone pokes you a bit too hard. Where was the pain? Fear pricked at the nape of the boy's neck, making him hesitate. Was he dead? Was that what dying felt like? Carefully, he got back up, and looked around at his surroundings. He was… alive? Luffy could've sworn he saw the bullet, but didn't have time to dodge.

'If that was what dying felt like, people are wimps.' That was the conclusion the paramica came to. Once he recovered from the shock, it took him a moment to grasp his surroundings, eyeing the infinite emptiness with confusion. Wasn't there supposed to be a field of flowers or something? Luffy didn't expect the afterlife to be so bleak. Where was the meat?

It took him another few moments to realize there were officers surrounding him, with guns, tasers, and trapping gear. They were all gaping at him, their eyes bursting from their sockets. Shock etched onto their faces while they stood there utterly dumbfounded by the boy standing a few feet away from them. That was when Luffy noticed a bullet hole where his lung was, and a long stretch of skin leading to where the bullet tried to break free of its flesh prison.

As soon as Luffy noticed his stretching skin, he was instantly flung back, into the brick wall he had been heading towards. The bullet popped back out of his chest, and struck one of the subordinates who was standing closest to him. Amidst the rubble, Luffy was lost in the ash and dust rising into the corroding air. He chose this moment to stretch his arms up, groping around for the top of the wall. Latching onto the ledge the barrier provided.

"Gomu Gomu no… rocket!" With no one there to stop him, the rubber boy shot over the brick that stood between him and Ace's hat. A wicked face-splitting grin spread across his face. Yells sounded in alarm, as the defenders of the gate watched helplessly as the child flew through the sky. A loud 'Shishishi!' fading away with him.

Of course, the landing Wasn't so graceful.


Quiet murmurs, piercing glares, and harsh comments fell upon oblivious ears as Luffy skipped through Edge Town. There was a big smile on his face, despite the glass sticking out of his dirt-ridden, bloodsoaked skin. The boy was leaving behind a trail of soot and red as he skipped past, making others shy away in either fear or disgust, and sometimes a combination of the two.

Luffy barely even noticed all the blood he was losing, or the weird objects burrowing into his body. All he could really feel was a weird numbness, that made him blissfully ignorant to the state he was in. He was always ignorant to anyone other than his family, unless someone forced the interaction onto him, they had food, or they looked fun. Sabo always told Luffy that it was dangerous to talk to people, and could get them all in trouble.

But it was different that day.

In Luffy's eyes, nothing bad could possibly happen.

Because it was such a nice day.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

Luffy's sandals slapped against the smooth stones which were coated along the entrance of the market. This market was here a few days every year, Ace told him to stay away since it was dangerous, especially if he went alone. But of course, that slipped Luffy's mind as he entered the place, his brown orbs glistening with stars at the splendiferous view.

Bright tents lined the makeshift aisles. Reds, oranges, greens, purples, and a few colours Luffy didn't even know the names of filled his eyes with vibrant wonders. The majority of the stands were built with simple oaks and bleached spruces, but some were made of dark metals. The ones made of metal had slight lips trailing down the bars, as though they would collapse in on themselves if you gave them a hard enough push.

These stands were stacked high with strange pelts, exotic fruits, various meats, and even peculiar weapons Ace would love to get his hands on. The colours rendered Luffy's retinas hostage as he gawked at the fantastical land laid out before him. Laughter chimed inside Luffy's skull like a golden bell, and he couldn't help but smile at the infectious sound.

Murmurs of what to buy, children screaming while playing tag, gasps of surprise as people went from one stall to the next. All the noises blended and meshed into an unidentifiable tone that made the raven-haired boy's skin tingle. It was as if the place itself had its own voice, strung together by the people's ebullience.

Sour berries, candied tangerines, and the purest of cacao filled the place with pungent, yet mouth-watering scents. Cattle, donkeys, and even purebred horses were being dragged through the swarms of self-absorbed masses who were struggling to reach the next euphoric wonder in the aisle.

It was so bright. So alive. So human.

Luffy decided he liked this place.

It didn't take the rubber boy's nose too long to track down the nearest stand of meat, which was the third stand on the left side. It was one with a tatty black piece of cloth as the canopy, and a crudely made stand. It was made out of faded red wood which was blackened from being heavily burnt. The scents of tender meats were almost completely overpowered by ash, grit, and another smell Luffy couldn't place; yet they were uncannily familiar all the same.

There was a lanky young adult sitting at the meat stand. He had scruffy brown hair, sallow cheeks, and lifeless, gray eyes. Eyes that told the tale of a dead man. His clothes were rumpled and scorched, with many holes exposing severe burns and dried blood. He reeked of soot, copper, and burnt flesh. This man was an empty shell of what he once was. Whatever that may be.

Despite his sketchy appearance, Luffy didn't seem to mind getting food from the man. He slammed his small, rubbery fingers onto the stall and pushed his small, beaten body halfway up the counter to look the man in his empty eyes. "Yo, Mr. Meat Man! You got any meat?" Luffy's eyes sparkled as fountains of drool slipped past his lips and dribbled onto the counter he was leaning on.

The man, dubbed Mr. Meat Man by Luffy, barely registered what the child was saying. But he spared a glance at the young boy, and when he did, Luffy started to grow weary. His glassy eyes widened, rage replenishing the emptiness they had harboured for what seemed like an eternity. A trembling, scorched hand, reached for the small child in front of them. "We don't sell meat." the man croaked, his bleeding lips twisting into a vile grin.

Luffy looked at him, uncomfortable and confused. Then why did he smell meat? He couldn't be mistaken, this stall wafted out the juicy meat smell for sure. Before the devil's fruit eater could question his impeccable nose further, Mr. Meat Man cut in. "You're one of the brats… aren't you." It was more of a statement than a question, and it caused Luffy to peer up at him with a quizzical look on his face. All this thinking and running had made him tired, he just wanted meat, Ace's hat, and maybe a nap.

After a moment, perplexion contorted into recognition, then downright terror. Luffy stumbled back, splinters catching in his rubbery skin as he fell. Despite this, he got up off the ground, and ran into the crowd. He didn't like the look on the elder's face, it unsettled him to his very core. The rubber boy couldn't've responded even if he wanted to. His windpipe was constricting in on itself, making pink tears sprout at the edges of his blurring vision.

It was all going way too fast when the whole world suddenly stepped on the brakes. Luffy's eyes locked onto a single piece of ash on the congested walkway. It shouldn't have been noticeable, and pretty common with everything outside. But the boy latched onto it, burning the image into his head until he went even more numb. He stared at the cold ember, not noticing the colour slowly spread, leaching the warmth out of everything around him, until it was all he could think of.

Gray. Gray coated the sky like thick, gritty oil. It caked the perfection that was the sky with hideous, grotesque pollution. It slithered into Luffy's throat, slathering its pungent, poisonous, miasma along the inside of his lungs. It made his chest heave and darkness eat away at the ends of his vision, making it all fade like an old photograph.Red. Red dragged its corrupted tongue across the dusted scrap metal and heaps of waste the Nobles' deemed unworthy of their royal presence. It ate away at the tattered homes of those who could barely afford to feed themselves. Taking, consuming, devouring the lives of the unfortunate, the mistreated, the damned souls who had no reasons to live other than spite, and sheer determination.It made him sick. That he had helped cause this desvestation, even if he was just following in his brother's footsteps. It left a rotten taste in his mouth, and uneasiness to wriggle around in the pit of his stomach.Luffy. Luffy didn't understand. No matter how hard he thought about it. Until his face was flushed and his brain ached. He couldn't wrap his head around why. Why were they burning everything? He liked it here. It was how he and his brothers made their treehouse, found cool stuff, and beat up bad guys while stealing their money. Were they just hungry? He was sure they all just needed some meat. The paramica always felt better after he crammed down pounds upon pounds of gater down his greedy gullet. There wasn't a need to fight. Was there?Ace. Ace was slamming his metal pipe repeatedly against Bluejam's already battered skull. The sickening squelch and crunch after every swing. His rusted pipe dripped with blood, and lumps of battered organs. He slammed down his weapon again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and yet again.With every hit he screeched strings of curses and slurs which even the most revolting of men steered clear from. Luffy couldn't blame Ace, though. Bluejam took their brother, pulled their strings, made them puppets, and threw away lives as though they were nothing but dirt under his boot. All of that relentless agony placed upon the shoulders of others, all for some meaningless title and the money that came with it.Ace looming over Bluejam's lifeless corpse was the last Luffy saw before he was swallowed up by the merciless flames. Half of his vision was replaced with darkness, caused by the blood gushing down the side of his face. The rubber child reached out, hoping to reach his brother, to help fight, help seek revenge. To help.Weakness was all Luffy could feel as he cried for his brothers, Dadan, and for himself. For not being able to help any of them.

The crowd pushed and pulled, squirmed back and forth, tugged to and fro so often Luffy found it impossible to not trip over his own feet. He had no time to gather himself, the world pressed play so suddenly, he wasn't ready for reality yet. But he also was happy the nightmare was over. It left the child in a cold sweat, with his body trembling violently, and a wild look in his dark eyes. He looked too pale, and was losing too much blood, but Luffy didn't seem to notice, with numbness the only thing he could really feel.

The crowd was like an ocean, untamable, rabid, and stretched out as far as the eye could see. He was drowning, suffocating in the currents, waves crashing over his head as rain poured down from above. This made it hard to breathe as he struggled to fight the powerful current of people trying to sweep him away. 'Bluejam..' that was the only name which came to mind when he saw that crooked man. 'Red wood… Black cloth…'

Knots were forming in his gut, making him less ravenous than usual, yet the straw hatted child still had the appetite to consume all of Dawn Island in one bite. Something just wasn't sitting right, it made Luffy's head pound as he kept thinking about the brunette. He looked like he might've dropped dead at any moment, or worse, already was dead! Maybe… nearly almost dead but not quite? Luffy wasn't sure, he wasn't sure about a lot of things. All he really knew was that his head was throbbing, he was tired, and that he had to get Ace a hat.

Luffy wiped the shell-man from his memory, deciding that it was better to get in and out as fast as possible. This place was dangerous, and Ace told him not to come here in the first place. If he took too long, Ace would want to question him, and Luffy knew lying was not one of his strong points. The child shivered, his face turning a pale blue at the thought of Ace finding out what he was doing. Not needing any more self-convincing, Luffy made his way around the market, gawking at all the mesmerizing lights and fascinating trinkets.

Due to his small stature, Luffy was able to slip through the crowd with ease once he got used to the haphazard nature of the market. Luffy's nimble reflexes from dwelling in the mountains for the past few months did help quite a bit with dodging the jerks who tried to trip or kick him. Which happened more often that he'd like to admit.

'Hats.. hats.. mea- wait, no, hats..' Luffy scoured the market with pure ecstasy apparent in his eyes. Almost everything there was forgien to the raven-haired boy's pure eyes. From marble statues, vibrant cloth, interesting - yet bad smelling - fruits, to exotic animals, pungent soaps, and varieties of mouth-watering meats. It took all of the will power the child had to not eat and steal everything in sight. His face contorting into mournful looks and exasperated sighs as he wiped rivers of saliva from his lips and over-dramatic tears from his eyes.

It felt like an eternity of restraining urges and getting hopelessly sidetracked until Luffy found what he was looking for. The most amazing hat in all existence! (other than his own, of course). It was better than what the young Devil's Fruit user could have ever hoped for. Perched on a hand-carved maple-wood stand was a hat. It was a cowboy hat, made with vibrant orange cloth with intricate red stitching around the rim to match. Sitting on the brim of the hat, was a string of crimson beads, with two blue smileys on them. While one of the smileys was grinning, the other was frowning, creating a look which resembled that of iconic theatre masks. Dangling from the bottom of the hat, was a thin piece of leather, with a circular skull emblem at the bottom, along with what Luffy thought was a fun little poof.

Once Luffy's eyes locked onto the accessory, he knew that that hat was the one. It was almost too perfect. His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, stars dancing around inside comically large brown orbs. No matter what, the rubber boy vowed right then and there that he would seize that smiley hat.

With no time to waste, Luffy ran up to the stall, and grinned up at the man towering over him. "Hi, Mr. Hat Man! How much is the hat?" The child questioned, pointing at the orange hat.

The man, who gave Luffy a perplexed look, picked up a slip of paper before answering, "That's 4507 belis." in an uninterested tone. After a few seconds, he leaned on the counter, looking intently at the child's hat, and scar. "Say, what's your name?"

"Monkey D. Luffy!" The older man stiffened slightly at the name, but relaxed back into his former position Without the child taking any notice. Gears turned inside his skull, and he leaned further over the counter - now perched on his seat - to get a good look at this 'Luffy,' then smirked.

"D, huh?" Shadows covered the adult's eyes, making him look like one of the thugs he, Ace, and Sabo used to take out on a daily basis in Edge Town. Luffy didn't see this as a warning, though. The devil's fruit eater was exhausted after his last encounter, and episode from earlier. He just wanted the hat and get the hell out of there. Without question, the child just pulled the few belis he stole from Dadan's pillow and plopped them on the wooden stall.

"Is this enough?" The look on Luffy's face was so hopeful, that any person with a heart would've given him the hat even if he was short on money. As he looked at the child before him, he gave the kid a sweet smile, and nodded, handing Luffy the hat without a word.

A gasp escaped the rubber boy's lips as he snatched up the hat with eager hands. He rubbed the edge of the cloth with his small, elastic fingers, an unknown emotion coming across his face. He handled the hat gingerly, and though it may break if so much as a gust of wind brushed past it. It was very out of character, but Luffy didn't really seem to notice. The boy carefully placed the hat on his back, making sure the piece of leather was secure around his neck. He couldn't help the warm feeling entering his body when he looked at the string. He finally found Ace's hat!

After a moment of listening to the bustling of the crowd all around them, Luffy smiled, the grin threatening to tear his face in half. "Thank you, Mr. Hat Guy! I bet Ace'll really like the hat. I thought for sure that I was short on belis, and that I would have to steal it!" The relief and excitement that flowed through Luffy was short-lived, though, as the adult sneered, making him more confused than anything else.

"Oh, don't worry about the money." The man's soulless smile grew even wider, "You'll be paying in more ways than one." Before Luffy could question the man about the meaning behind his words, he got up from his chair and, with startling speed, made a grab for Luffy. The child barely had any time to dodge the first attack, but managed to pull away before the adult's slimy fingers could grasp his shirt. Luffy lost his footing, slipping in some muck, and tripped over a young woman's feet before landing in the middle of the bustling crowd.

People stepped on him as though he wasn't there, their only thoughts being on what kind of fur coat they should purchase next. The constant pushing and shoving of legs trapped Luffy in the aisle, the variety of appendages moving about restricted his movements. They kicked at his bloodied sides, stepped on his face, and pressed down on his open wounds. Whenever he attempted to get back up, another wave of feet kept him in the dirt.

He spat humus from his mouth before gripping the ground with his hands. If he wasn't made of rubber, and mystery numbness in body, he would've lost consciousness a long time ago. Luffy tried to get up, but had a boot strike him in the gut, sending him crashing into a nearby stand. Wood, fabric, and merchandise was sent flying every which way as the tedious shuffling turned into frantic running for escape. Dust and grit wriggled into Luffy's eyes making them water, the world was bleary and the only thing he could make out was masses of colours fleeing the area. The child had no time to recollect his thoughts before two burnt hands grasped his shoulders, and lifted him off the ground.

Nails dug into his elastic flesh, drawing blood. Luffy let out a muffled yelp as another figure clamped a grimy hand on his mouth. The raven-haired kid tried to bite the hand, but failed, as a needle plunged deep into his jugular. Everything blurred for a moment as screams sounded and guns fired. People were running away, when Luffy was dropped back onto the ground, and he stumbled about, trying desperately to grasp onto reality.

Things went in and out of focus, tinnitus burrowed into Luffy's ears, his limbs went numb as his body gave out, he barely even registered the red seeping from his gut. Luffy reached for the crimson substance, staining his hand with the dark liquid. Unfocused eyes stared at the substance, he stared and stared with a blank face, not noticing anything around him but the red on his hand. More and more poured from his stomach, and took a while to realise that it was his stomach. His blood. It was red. So very red. Just as red as the malicious fires from that day. The day everything turned to dust.

The tears fell before he knew he was crying. The bile crawled out of his throat before he knew he was sick. The world was swaying and changing before he knew he was being taken. The crisp, salty air entered his lungs before he knew he was at the harbour. Luffy's body was unresponsive, all he could feel was pain, and an unbearable guilt. He let Ace down. He broke the rules. He got tricked.

All because it was a sunny day.

They reached the shoreline before he knew it. His white eyes, glassy and lifeless, as muffled conversations buzzed past his deaf ears. It was all going too fast, he couldn't speak, couldn't fight, couldn't call for help. As Luffy tried to scream, blood and acid dribbled down his chin. He was weak. He was helpless. He was nothing.

Denial fell short when Luffy was thrown into an unmarked room on an unmarked ship. Luffy's drugged brain was sluggish, only able to keep his eyes open, let alone think at a time like this. Cold, empty, metal sucked the remaining life out of Luffy's eyes, biting into his wrists like rabid dogs.

The last bit of consciousness Luffy was gripping onto disappeared, rendering him helpless to the foreboding darkness that swallowed him whole. The last thing his brain could think about, was

Ace…


"SHUT UP!" Everything froze, almost too petrified to move. Ace's voice caused tremors in the Earth, making birds fly away, and wild beasts run off from the terrifying sound. Dadan had a pained expression on her face, as she looked between Ace, and the bloodied straw hat he was gripping in his hands. Everyone was angry, furious, and shocked by the events that had occured. But their rage paled in comparison to Ace's bloodlust.

"I've made up my mind, so don't you dare try and talk me out of it." The boy spat, his raging eyes cold, merciless. He was standing on the edge of a small cliff, with a long, thin overhang reaching over the shore. The grass was blackened from the fire, slick tar making the blades stiff, still, and lifeless. The seldom trees that once stood proud at the outskirts of the forest, were scorched beyond recognition, a meager shadow of what they once were. Soot laced the air, making a pale fog of hopeless gray coating the once spotless sky. The sea around Dawn Island was filled with dead sea life, and coated in black from the ash which decided to settle there. Where Ace stood, perched on dying rock, there was a small oak dingy on the shore below him, with rations that would last a normal person a few weeks.

For some reason, it seemed so much brighter before Luffy was gone. The endless gray was a little brighter, the death and decay was barely noticeable. It was as if Ace was on some sort of drug which made the world look perfect in his eyes. But now that he's gone, taken away, sold. The freckled boy could see all the flaws, all the wrongs, all the death, lies, and greed that had soaked into the ground of his home; which he was so blind to before.

Three days. It had been three days.

No one could talk him out of it now, even if they threatened to lob off his arm. Ace had spent three days scouring every inch of Dawn Island, and found nothing but Luffy's bloodstained treasure. When he had found it, the blood was warm, fresh, and his brother's. It didn't take Ace long to find out about the incident either. He threatened civilians with their lives, families, and all that they cherished most for even a drop of information. He bled Goa dry in just twelve hours.

He had heard about it all. The slavers. The market. The hat. To think that Luffy was buying him a hat to cover up his atrocity of what might be called hair, was more than enough to cause Ace to spiral into a pit of guilt and regret. The weight crushed him, weighing him down until he collapsed from the pressure of self-loathing and denial. It made him feel insignificant and worthless, like the demon the world thought he was. How, how could he break his promise?! To Sabo, and to Luffy. Ace couldn't keep his promise for even a couple of hours, what kind of big brother was he? He let them both down. The freckled kid had to make things right, before he was destroyed inside and out.

Makino and The Mayor were standing at the shore as well, their faces grave, tears running down the sides of their raw cheeks. "We know…" The woman whispered, barely heard by the others. "But please, Ace, stay safe." She gave the child a sad smile, and a warm hug, wishing him the best.

Dadan's voice was thick with emotion when she spoke, "Ace.." she began, her eyes welling up with tears, "bring that dumb brat home safe, you hear me?" she wiped a stream of not from her nose before continuing. "And don't you dare get hurt, or I'll have hell to pay from Garp."

Ace nodded, wanting to stay quiet before he started to cry as well. It was all too much. First Sabo, then Luffy.. 'But with Luffy, I have a chance to get him back..' the boy looked between the people who actually cared for him one last time. Knowing this might even be a final farewell, but he dared not say goodbye. Because he knew the others couldn't take any more loss than they already have. Even if he thought of himself as worthless, they didn't seem to think so.

"I swear, I'll get him back!" The freckled child declared, his voice booming and filled with hatred. "You hear me, Celestial Dragons? I'll get it all back!" Ace punched the air, almost expecting an answer from them. But he'd get one soon enough, when they were broken, bloody, and begging for mercy at his feet.

The dingy set off, bobbing along the calm waves. Ace didn't look back at Goa, not even once. He couldn't face the land that had taken so much, yet given him everything at the same time. The world had turned its back on Ace, and he had turned his back on the world. For in the world's eyes, Ace should've never been born, along with his little brother. Once the Government finds out the truth, they'll both be hunted down, pirate or not. It was only a matter of time.

Ace turned to the sky, his gaze piercing the clouds with his determination. "Sabo, I hope you don't mind…" a crooked smile appeared on his lips. The first smile he'd shown in days. "That we all set out a little early as well?"


I hope you enjoyed the very first chapter of my story! This is going to be a loooong story, so buckle in if you're ready! The next chapter won't be as dark as this one, but there will still be a lot of triggering content in this story. Please be warned, I don't want anyone to not be prepared for what's coming. Please give me feeback! It's greatly appreciated, and welcomed. I want to know how I'm doing, and of there are any mistakes in my work. I really, really hope to see you all in a bit, when I post the next chapter!