Chapter: 14: Luffy's Goodbye to the Spades
Warnings: memories of imprisonment, past character death, panic attacks
It's been five years since the Spade Pirates formed, and three years since they got the group from Cozia Island.
Luffy was watching Ducky Bree and Saber sparred with each other, while Mihar and Aggie were shooting blank bullets out in the surrounding sea, practicing their sharpshooting. Even though Aggie wasn't a sniper, he still used pistols as a weapon. Finamore was with Sabo at navigation, Deuce was with Ace, looking over everyone and talking to each other about something.
Speaking of weapons, Ace took back his pipe from Sabo a year ago. Ace had said that Sabo would be better with just his own pipe, and that he needed a weapon he could control.
"Luffy." Ace called out to his youngest brother.
Luffy turned his head toward Ace's voice and smiled at the older teen. Ace and Sabo had turned 16 a few months ago, and Luffy had turned 12 but he was almost 13.
"Yeah, Ace?" Luffy asked.
"Come with me, Sabo-" Ace whistled to get his other brother's attention. The blonde teen looked over at his two dark haired brothers. "-with me! Aggie, Finamore get us to the Gecko Islands!"
Sabo and Luffy followed Ace toward the Captain's quarters, not knowing why their older brother needed to talk to them. Luffy had some idea, but he wasn't too sure.
The older D-Bearer started speaking immediately as Sabo closed the door. "We are going to drop you off at the Gecko Islands where Dadan and Makino are, Lu. In the next few months the Spades are going to be making a round trip throughout East Blue to make sure there's nothing we need to take care off before we head to Loguetown."
"So…this is goodbye?" Luffy asked in a small voice.
Ace and Sabo crouched and pulled their baby brother into a hug. "Not for long. Don't worry, Lu, you'll be on the Grand Line before you know it! But first you gotta get a crew, yeah?" Sabo said, smiling at his younger brother.
Luffy nodded with a large smile on his face. "Yep!" Then the 13 year old boy tilted his head to the side and stared at Ace. "You're going to challenge the Yonko, aren't you?"
Ace chuckled, "Yeah, I am. But not now, I need to make sure my crew can handle themselves against the Commanders of the Yonko, first."
"You-What?!" Sabo choked. "Why the fuck would you want to face the Yonko?! That's suicide! Do you want to kill us?"
The Son of the late Pirate King frowned at his blonde brother. "No, 'Bo. I don't want to get any of you killed, but once we start making a name for ourselves and get bounties…well, the Yonko will be bound to notice the Spade Pirates." Ace grinned.
"Why, though, Ace? Why do you want to attract the attention of those Monsters?!" Sabo waved his arms around frantically.
Ace's hair shadowed his face, a dark look in his grey eyes. "We're going to show them that their time has come to an end. The Old Generation will not rule for long. We will take them down, one way or another!" Ace declared, his grey eyes burned fiercely with determination and anger.
"We carry the Will of D in our blood. The Family of D will one day rule the Seas once again and the World Government won't be able to hunt us down and kill us." Luffy said sternly.
He was angry at the Government about what they were forcing Gramps to do, to choose between his Duty and his Family.
But….Garp did say that he would choose Family, always.
Luffy hoped that was the case, he needed that. If Gramps…if Gramps betrayed them, then they were all dead. The Government would kill them and probably his dad as well, if they used him as a hostage. Maybe even Shanks…
Luffy shuddered; he didn't want Shanks to get hurt because of him! That was the worst case if they were captured by the Marines.
"Luffy…?" Sabo stammered, never hearing his little brother talk like that.
"Don't do anything stupid when you get to the Grand Line, got it, Lu?" Ace said, making sure the younger D-Bearer knew not to cause too much trouble.
Not like last time.
"Like what?" Luffy was grinning, and both he and Ace knew he wouldn't keep to his promise of not getting into trouble.
"Don't go to Marineford. Do you understand, never go there!" Ace growled out, the memories of Impel Down and the war fresh in his mind.
Luffy frowned, not understanding but obeying his older brother. "I won't."
"I mean it, Luffy! You can't go-" Ace was hyperventilating and shifting into a panic attack.
"Ace, snap out of it!" Luffy yelled, slapping Ace and putting Shanks' straw hat on his brother's head.
That was the only thing that could snap him out if his thoughts whenever he got like this. Luffy didn't want to know what would happen if this happened and he wasn't here to help his brother or what Ace might do in this state.
"I…I'm okay now. Thanks, Lu." Ace whispered, teary-eyed and scared.
"No you're not! Ace, please, tell us what's wrong!" Sabo exclaimed. "I can't keep seeing you like this, one bad day from breaking completely. Please." Sabo pleaded with his brother.
"You know I love you two, right?" Ace said suddenly, grabbing both of his younger brothers into a tight hug. Both nod, not wanting to interrupt him.
"…I died and met Roger. I met my Dad, the Pirate King." Ace was smiling, tears trailed down his cheeks as he told his brothers part of what happened to him.
"…what…how…" Sabo breathed, not believing that Ace had died, or that he actually met Pirate King Gol D. Roger.
"Akainu." Luffy's face shown of murder. He wanted to find this Akainu and kill him for what he did to his brother.
"He…he ki-killed you?" Sabo whispered, horrified and crying as well.
Ace didn't answer.
"Marineford…what is it?" Luffy asks, his voice low.
"It's the main headquarters of the Marines." Ace answered easily. He knew that Luffy would commit murder to anyone who hurt those he loves.
"Wh-why did he kill you?" Sabo needed to know.
Ace grinned a D-grin. "Why else?"
Luffy and Sabo choked on their breath, "NO!" they yelled, Luffy's King's Haki pulsed around him, and Sabo's Armament Haki covered his arms to tighten around his brothers.
"Gol D. Roger…." Luffy hissed the name of Ace's father, but not in anger, in sadness.
"They…he-the Marines killed you just because of who your father was." Sabo felt sick, how could people do this?
"Yeah," he admitted.
Luffy's King's Haki grew sharper and clearer, his little brother was livid. Not that Ace could blame him; he was pretty pissed off when he found out what Teach had planned for Luffy.
"I'll kill them! No one will hurt you. Either of you, I won't let them." Luffy growled into Ace's chest, squeezing him even tighter.
Haki pulsed around the three brothers; the Will of the Kings was fierce and protective for anyone that a King or a Queen decided to take under them.
Ace and Luffy were two such people that could be considered Kings, since they both had King's Haki. But it was more than that for them, the title of King or Queen, especially for a member of the Family of D, was something instinctual, it was ingrained into them since they were the rightful rulers of the seas…
…or at least that was what Ace believed from what Roger and Lady Toki had told him when he was with them before he came back to this new timeline.
"Alright, I get that both of you are angry and would like nothing more than to kill those who hurt me, but we can't do that until we are stronger, more than that, we need to get to the New World before we even stand a chance against any of the Marine Admirals, Fleet Admiral, or any of the Yonko. Got it?" Ace asked his brothers.
All Ace got was silence.
The two younger teens knew that they weren't strong enough, not right now, but that didn't seem to matter, not when Ace was hurting and looked to be in constant pain by what happened to him.
And now they knew. Sabo and Luffy now knew that he died and came back.
"Wait…was that why you didn't remember us when we became brothers?" Sabo asked suddenly, remembering how scared Ace looked and the screams of his older brother that day.
Ace nods and closes his eyes. "We've got about a week or two before we get to the Gecko Islands, let's spend that time with Luffy before he leaves, alright Sabo?" Ace said, changing the subject.
"What are you going to do about your nightmares, Ace?" Luffy asks, wanting to know his brother will be alright without him or the straw hat that Shanks gave Luffy.
"I'll be fine, Lu. 'Bo is here and I've got a plan to make sure I don't accidently burn anything when I get like that. Don't worry so much." The dark haired teen ruffled his little brother's head.
"How old are you supposed to be? If you…if you wouldn't have…died, how old would you be?" Sabo wondered.
"I died when I was 20, I would be 26 if I would have lived."
Ace looked out the porthole window, thinking about the Whitebeards, of Thatch, Izo, and Marco. He missed them and is really excited to meet back up with them once they go into the New World, but that wouldn't be for a few more years.
At least not until Luffy starts his own journey through the Grand Line. More than that, he needs to find Shanks in the second half of the Grand Line, as well as somehow make it to Wano and keep his promise to Otama and Yamato.
Ace was right; it only took a little over a week to get to the Gecko Islands. Luffy, Sabo, and Ace were in a small group hug on the Piece of Spadille before Ace and Luffy went to the village on the island to drop Luffy off, as well as see Makino and Dadan.
"Do you have everything?" Sabo asks his little brother. He knows that Makino and Dadan will protect Luffy, but still, he will always worry for his brothers. That will never change.
"Yeah, we packed everything two days ago, Sabo. You were the one who helped me." Luffy said, pouting a bit.
His older brothers laughed and ruffled his hair. "Ready, Lu?" Ace asks, looking down at him with a sad smile.
Luffy gazed around the deck, the other Spade Pirates, Aggie, Saber, Mihar, Finamore, Ducky Bree, and Deuce were all there to bid him farewell for the time being.
The Spades knew that they would see Little Luffy again, next time on the Grand Line, but for the next few years, he'll be in East Blue.
"Goodbye Luffy! We'll see you soon!" Aggie said with a wave and a smile.
"Take care of yourself and don't drive poor Makino and Dadan crazy!" Deuce said with a smirk, knowing that the young teen would do just that if he didn't have an outlet for his boundless energy.
"Be safe!" the others called out, waving to the boy who they had met and taken too three years ago.
Sabo crouched down in front of Luffy and pulled him into another hug. "I love you, Lu. You have our Den-Den number if anything happens or if you just want to talk to us. We'll try and answer, but sometimes we'll be busy, alright."
Luffy nods and lets Sabo continue, this time whispering so the only one capable of overhearing them is Ace who is standing near them.
"Never forget who you are…Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy, son of the Revolutionary Monkey D. Dragon, grandson of Monkey D. Garp the Fist."
Luffy's eyes well up with tears as he launches himself at his blonde brother, causing them both to fall hard onto the deck. Sabo anticipated that, so he covered part of his back in Armament Haki so he wouldn't bruise, since Luffy still didn't have full control over his Devil Fruit, even though the brothers have been training together for the past five years.
"I love you, Sabo." Luffy cried. "I'll miss you and Ace a lot, and the other Spades."
"We'll miss you too, Luffy. And remember; call us if you need anything or if you just want to talk." Sabo reminds him, to which the younger teen smiles again.
"Are you ready?" Ace called from above them.
Ace had gotten tall; he was now a few inches taller than Sabo without his top hat on. Sabo pouted when he found that out one morning in the galley when they were all eating with each other.
"Yeah." Luffy grips Ace's hand and the two turn into fire.
Even after all these years of seeing Ace use his Devil Fruit, it still felt odd to be turned into fire, but Luffy figured it would be odd to turn into any element if he was able to. He liked the Gomu Gomu Devil Fruit that he had, he was glad he had found and ate it when he was younger.
They reappeared and changed back into their human forms on the beach, the sand underneath them hardening into glass, something that made Ace smirk for some reason, but Luffy didn't comment on it. If it was important, Ace would tell him.
It was a nice island, calm and didn't have any Marine presence, which was a big plus for them since all three of the brothers were technically being hunted by the Marines and the World Government, according to Ace.
"Come on, let's go find the town or the village on this island, then we'll find Makino and Dadan. Are you excited to see them again?" Ace asks as they walk away from the beach and into the woods that surround the beach.
"Yeah, I missed them. I'm really happy I get to see them."
Luffy looked up at Ace before speaking once again. "Do…do you think you can stay? Just for a day?"
The older D-Bearer sighs but shakes his head, knowing that Luffy would be alone, but having no choice but to continue onward toward the Grand Line.
"I can't stay Luffy, not even for tonight. We can't have any Marine force here, if they find out about Makino or Dadan, or…or you, Luffy you will be in so much danger." He stresses.
"Marineford?" Luffy questions, already knowing the answer his brother will give him by seeing him tense and have a scowl on his face, grey eyes dark with hate.
"Worse." The older dark haired teen hisses.
Luffy remains silent and doesn't ask any more on the topic of Ace staying with him.
They find the village that was on the island: Syrup Village, where Ace asked about where they could find some food.
The villager gave them directions to the small restaurant in the village: Meshi.
When they walked into the building, the waitress started speaking before she stopped and stared at them. "Hello, welcome to Meshi's-"
It was Makino.
"Lu…Luffy? Ace?" She dropped the menus that were in her hands and covered her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs. "Boys…what are you doing here? Where is Sabo?" She asked as she hugged them tightly.
"Bo is on Spadille, I'm not staying." Ace began. "I'm dropping off Luffy and then we'll be onto the Grand Line."
Makino frowns but nods, understanding Ace's need to get out to the Grand Line, but also his need to keep his family safe, which includes both her and Dadan, to which she is grateful for.
"Alright then. It seems you'll be staying with Dadan and I for the next few years before you join your brothers, Luffy." She smiles at the little boy she views as her little brother, same with the other two boys.
Though, she knows that Ace is different than his brothers, something's…haunting him. Makino didn't know what that something was, but whatever it was…it had changed him.
"Come on, let's find you a table. I'm pretty sure that Usopp and his friends are coming soon so you'll be able to meet them and have some friends while Dadan and I are working throughout the day." Makino guides the two brothers toward the back of the restaurant, probably a reserved table for Usopp and his friends.
"Usopp…like Yasopp?" Luffy asks the woman who was an adopted sister to him and his brothers.
"Yes, Usopp is Yasopp's son. But you can't tell people, many people here don't like pirates and are afraid of them." She puts a finger on her lips to show Luffy to stay quiet about that fact.
"I get it." Luffy says seriously, as the two brothers exchange a look.
"Makino!" a boy a bit older than Luffy himself calls out to the waitress in happiness.
"Tamanegi, what a surprise. Where are the others?" Makino asks, smiling at the slightly older teen.
The three Usopp Pirates: Ninjin, Piiman, and Tamanegi are all 14, while Usopp and Kaya are Luffy's age, 13.
"They're coming; Usopp wants to surprise Kaya for her birthday." Tamanegi says.
"Oh? Does he now?" Makino asks with a sly smile.
She knew that Usopp had feelings for Kaya from watching the two interact with each other. However, the long-nosed teen never wanted to pursue those feelings for fear of ruining the friendship that they had, as well as being run out of town since his father is a pirate on a famous and very dangerous Pirate Crew and he himself wishes to be a pirate when he finds the right crew to join.
"Who are you?" Tamanegi asked when Makino left to get them menus and a few more chairs since Ace and Luffy were her guests for today.
"I'm Luffy! This is my-" He stumbled for only a second, but the older boy didn't catch it. "-this is my friend. I'm going to be living with Makino and Dadan. Do you know them?"
"Yeah! My friends, Piiman and Ninjin are apprenticing under Dadan. Ninjin wants to open up a bar when he's older, maybe on the island, maybe somewhere else, we don't know if we'll set sail when we're a bit older. Piiman wants to be a carpenter, that's also what Dadan does in town."
"What about you?" Luffy asks, stretching his body slightly so he could get closer to Tamanegi.
The blonde boy leaned back a bit, before answering the eager soon-to-be pirate. "I want to be an author." He told Luffy.
Luffy, all the while grinned and declared, "I want to be friends with you!"
Usopp, Kaya, and the two other members of the Usopp Pirates, stared at Luffy like he was crazy.
Ace just sighed at his brother's antics but didn't stop him. As long as he doesn't mention who he and Sabo were, or the fact that he wants to be a pirate with just Usopp, Yasopp's son, it should be fine.
Hopefully.
Luffy has a habit of getting into trouble even with Sabo and Ace looking out for him, but he hopes somewhere that doesn't have any Nobles or a Marine base, he would be safe until he sails out and gathers his crew.
Ace knows that Usopp will join Luffy's crew in the future, maybe the other Usopp Pirates and Kaya as well, hell; just having them as allies would be helpful should anyone try and get a big head, trying to conquer East Blue.
For being the weakest of the Four Blues, East Blue has had some monsters come out of it. More than that, multiple D-Bearers: Gol D. Roger, Monkey D. Garp, Monkey D. Dragon, and Monkey D. Luffy.
"Hello, I'm Kaya. These are my friends, Usopp, Piiman, and Ninjin." The pretty blonde girl introduced.
"I'm Luffy, this is Ace." Luffy grinned at the other teens, happy that he had people his age around him. Not that he was complaining about being with his brothers and the Spade Pirates these past five years, but…it would be good for him to have people his own age to hang out and have fun with.
"Hi Luffy, Ace." Usopp said, before narrowing his eyes and staring at the two D-Bearers.
Ace raised an eyebrow at younger teen, but didn't say anything. "Are you…the Luffy that Makino talks about all of the time?"
"Makino talks about me?" Luffy points to himself, not believing the boy.
"Yeah! She tells us stories about you and that you want to be a pirate!" Usopp says loudly, which causes the other patrons in the restaurant to glare at the group of teenagers.
"Ace, are you staying for lunch?" Makino asks the 16 year old teenager.
The grey-eyed teen shakes his head. "No, I'm just here to drop Lu off and say 'hi' to you and Dadan. Where is she?"
"She-"
"Ace, Luffy? Is that you?" Dadan calls out from the entrance of the Meshi's. Staring at the two boys she had raised. "Where's Sabo? Is he with you?" She asks, while walking towards the group.
"Just me and Lu. But don't worry, we'll come back and visit properly, I'm just here to say some 'hellos' and then leave. We'll be back before we go to Reverse Mountain." Ace tells his adopted mother.
The ginger woman nods, the cigarette in her mouth ground in between her teeth. "Well, you'll need this for the journey." Makino comes back with a large bag of freshly made food.
Ace grabs the bag and pulls the Belly necessary to pay for the large meal that he had just received. "Oh no you don't, Ace! You aren't paying for that. It's on the house." The green haired woman tells him with a gentle smile.
"Thanks, Makino. It was good to see you and Dadan." Ace smiles a big D-smile before getting up, making sure Luffy didn't steal any of the food meant for him and Sabo.
"Want me to pass on a message?" Ace asks the two women who were responsible for raising him and making him into the man who the Whitebeards knew in the previous timeline.
Makino leans over to whisper in Ace's ear. "Tell Shanks and Garp that we're safe, and to not worry about Luffy. Shanks will see his chosen King soon."
Ace grins even more. "You got it, Makino!"
He waves to his little brother and his new friends. "Be good Lu, and don't go getting into trouble. I'll see you on the Grand Line in a few years!"
"You bet you will!" Luffy calls out to his oldest brother, grinning as well.
After Ace left Syrup Village and the Gecko Islands as a whole, Luffy went home with Makino and Dadan. He said goodbye to his new friends and was really excited to get to know Usopp more from the stories that Yasopp had told him about his son who was around Luffy's age.
The group had celebrated Kaya's birthday, giving her one of the best days she's had in a while since she fell ill.
Luffy immediately worried about Ace in that moment, remembering the illness that Ace had told him and Sabo about. The same one that Roger had, and that Ace and Buggy didn't know if it was hereditary or not.
"Welcome home, Luffy!"
Luffy grinned, tears in his eyes as he looks up at his adopted older sister and his adopted mother.
"I'm home!"
Characters: Straw Hat Monkey D Luffy, Ducky Bree, Saber, Mihar, Aggie 68, Finamore, Sabo, Masked Deuce, Gol D. Ace/Vulcan, Dadan, Makino, Gol D. Roger/Pirate King, Red Hair Shanks, Monkey D. Garp/the Fist, Akainu/Sakazuki, Amatsuki-Kozuki Toki, Thatch, Izo, Marco the Phoenix, Otama, Yamato, Chaser Yasopp, Tamanegi, Ninjin, Piiman, Kaya