One thing was left. His senses were gone. His face burnt into nothing. But the flame felt things, objects moving around. There was no mind anymore, also burned away. The flame couldn't think or feel emotions. All it felt was that there were things moving around it. It didn't know what the things were.

One was struggling, thrashing and writhing for some reason. One was in a ball, shaking heavily. Another was smaller, still besides smaller tremors than the bigger one near it. What were they? Well, it didn't matter. The flame didn't know. All it "knew" were the things. How many? It didn't matter, there were just things.

Suddenly the thing that was writhing became bigger and higher, no longer on its back. It was still shaking and holding itself tightly. The things off of its taller part were shaking, the smaller things at the end shaking even worse. The other bigger thing went fast forward, and collided with the other bigger thing. The little thing stayed away, shaking harder now.

Why was one smaller than the others? It didn't matter, they were only things. Moving things. The only thing the flame knew.

The bigger things moved around, one of them off of the thing the bottom of his lower things was flat on. It went after the other bigger thing that was shaking more harshly, forcing it to move around and fall flat. It got up, but the other bigger thing was going against it very hard. The big thing was moving a lot more than the other, pushing him back. It never stopped moving. The little thing was still not moving. But while the bigger thing was moving, it was also being yanked in different directions, like another thing was hitting it. But there was no moving thing there. Why was it jerking around? It didn't matter, though. It was only a thing.

Then more things came suddenly. The flame was tired. Too many things. They made it tired, so the things disappeared for it. It sort of fell asleep, but was still burning on it's own, now a mix of red and blue. Not just red.

-x-

Mirio stood with Eri in his arms, covered in wounds with his hair and outfit destroyed. Ace was gone, and he had so many tears on his face. He should have been able to protect himself. Ace shouldn't have jumped, shouldn't have risked it. And now he was gone. His body wasn't even there anymore.

Overhaul was still alive, stubborn though heavily injured. The heat waves from Ace's explosion took care of the extra, frying him until it was impossible to tell he was a human. Had been a human. Chisaki was strong, and Mirio had pretty much lost the will to fight. He'd only known Ace a couple months, but now he was gone because he helped Mirio.

His family would never get to say goodbye to him. They would never know what had happened, why Ace hadn't gone home. Eri was crying, but was silent. Mirio would protect her, but he couldn't bring himself to fight.

Until he saw something moving on the ground. It was little, but bright, right where Ace had disappeared. It was a tiny orange and blue flame. What was left of Ace. He put Eri down for only a second before he went underground and shot up, picking it up before dashing back to Eri. it didn't burn him, and he was able to rip off some of his cape and make a small bag for it, stuffing it into his shirt.

It didn't burn out, since he could feel its heat against his chest. Ace couldn't be dead, he was too strong. So he'd get his hopes up that Ace was still there. Still savable. He'd saved everyone time and time again. They needed to return the favor and do anything possible to save him.

Overhaul, still moaning in agony and burnt beyond recovery still had his hands, whether they were able to turn into fists at all, he still had his quirk. It had weakened but was still there and still dangerous. Mirio didn't know what to do. Ace would know. He would have saved Eri better. He should have been the one to stay. He was more capable, would never let his friends die.

So he was so relieved when back up came through the wall. Midoriya, Eraser Head, and Nighteye burst in, and Midoriya went straight for Overhaul, punching him in the cheek, into a burn on his face, him unable to stop himself from screaming. Even though he was still conscious and fighting, he was in agony and more clumsy. Ace could have taken care of him in an instant.

Mirio was unable to. He had for a couple minutes before he got back to Eri and picked up the flame.

The punch sent Chisaki crashing into the ground, tearing some of the fresh and bubbling burns, making him bleed and scream. Eraser Head erased his quirk. Nighteye landed next to Mirio, who was clearly out of action. His face blank and sad, holding Eri tightly.

"Where's Ace?" he asked.

Mirio looked down. He couldn't get their hopes up about the flame. "Ace... is gone. His own fire burnt him into nothing, protecting me. He was always the better one, I should have been the one to go."

Midoriya and Nighteye looked very upset, but unlike Mirio, they were still in the fight. "Even with burns, I was unable to fight him," Mirio said. Nighteye could tell he was unable to fight, and instead told him to get Eri far away from there. It was the only thing Mirio could do right now. He nodded and ran through the hole in the wall, getting away from Overhaul. He shouted that he wasn't going anywhere, but his quirk was not working, and Mirio got away.

At least they saved her. Ace had said they weren't going to beat Overhaul, they were going to save Eri. So at least they were able to do that. The tears were running down his face and dripping pink drops onto Eri's dress as they mixed with the blood splattered or dripping down his face.

When Eri tried to get down, Mirio held her tighter. When they made it to safety, out of the range where Overhaul could reach. Mirio put Eri down and tried his best not to be weak in front of her. Well, he had already shown it when he couldn't fight anymore. "I'm sorry I couldn't be your hero," he said.

Eri replied, "You saved me. Both you you. You… did that all for me… why?"

Mirio put his hand on her head. "Because every innocent person deserves saving. You needed saving, and we weren't going to let you slip away again. I'm sorry, for the first time. And Ace was, too," he answered. She had tears in her eyes.

"He died because of me. If you hadn't come here, he wouldn't have died. I'm sorry, I kill everyone. Chisaki is right, I am cursed," she lamented.

Mirio got on his knees. "Ace saved me in that last moment. He didn't sacrifice himself for you. And I don't think any of us thought that the drug would work on him. He didn't have a quirk." She pointed out that people lose their quirk, they don't do what Ace had. "I don't know. He told me that he burned off medicine. And this was a drug. Maybe… maybe it was too hard for his body to handle. And it tried burning it away. But it failed."

Mirio took the little pouch out and untied it to see the tiny flame. It hadn't gone out or caught the baggy on fire. "I don't know if this will do anything. I don't know if it will grow, but I will keep it safe. Maybe Ace isn't completely gone," he said with a watery smile. "He was so cool, Eri. The things he could do. He fought alongside All Might!"

Eri smiled a small one that probably wasn't sincere. "Why don't we go find everyone? I'm pretty beaten up," he said. They walked down the halls, trying to find everyone. But he wasn't Ace, he couldn't find his way back to everyone. They wandered around before they heard voices and hurried forwards.

"Lemillion, you got her! What about Chisaki?" Rock Lock asked. He replied that Deku, Nighteye and Eraser Head were fighting him, but he was severely weakened. "Where's Firefist?"

Mirio's face fell. "Ace is gone. He protected me from the drug that would have taken my quirk. It reacted badly for him and his fire burnt him into ash. There was nothing left afterwards. He did most of the work to find her. Even as he died, he severely wounded Chisaki." The heroes and police fell sad. Ace had done so much, so for him to die was a heavy blow. And not only because they lost someone who could have helped against the League of Villains more. Ace had been a good person. And it was sad that a good person died in what sounded like a painful way.

Ace was gone, but maybe this little flame was hope that it wouldn't stay that way.

-x-

Ace's flame was in a glass case with holes in it, trying to protect it from anything that could possibly harm or blow it out. It was in the vault in the back of the principal's office, kept there for safety. It had been two weeks and the flame had grown bigger. Not by much, but bigger and had more blue mixed in it now, though the blue parts looked a little different.

People came to visit it every day, mostly All Might and Mirio. Nobody else knew about what Nighteye had seen. Nobody else needed to get their hopes up. Ace had already defied Nighteye's power before.

What he saw was unclear, and barely anything helpful. All it was was a large chair with a blurry man and the sea behind them. The man was huge, and only All Might knew who or where that was. Nighteye had seen Ace's home. Two weeks had passed, making it almost a month since he last arrived.

But it was good to know that he somehow got back to his home.

When All Might had been told about Ace's last moments, he hadn't hidden the sorrow and grief on his face. He and Ace had connected, and for him to die from his own power burning him away was horrid. And he was screaming in agony while it happened. Everyone was glad they had not been Mirio in that situation.

He'd fallen into a depression and guilt and grief. Nighteye gave him time off to recuperate. He'd lost his partner that he spent so much time with, laughing and fighting together. It was a heavy loss for many people. None of the kids knew about the flame, they just knew that Ace had died in action, while helping a friend. A noble way to go, but terrible nonetheless

It was nearly the third week, fifth week since he came, that there was a big change. Nezu was in his office before he heard the sound of breaking glass and opened the door to see the flame had flared and was no longer small enough to remain in the glass case. It hadn't burnt the wood table it was on or emit any heat. But it was bigger.

The size of a basketball maybe, with more and more blue mixed into it. He smiled and left to tell All Might the good news, which he would then tell Mirio. When they came back, All Might smiled. He was fitter now, no longer looked like a skeleton, but he still had a long way to go. He followed Ace's cruel work out regime and diet. And it paid off.

All Might gasped, recognizing the flames finally. They were Marco's flames. Ace had told him he'd been given Marco's blood before leaving so that any wounds may be healed easier. Was that decision the reason the flame existed and got bigger?

They set up a motion detection camera that was linked to the teachers' phones. If there was large movement in the room from the flame, they would know. They also let Nighteye have that. Not Mirio, or he'd be checking his phone obsessively.

He blamed himself fully. Hopefully Ace returning in any form would burn away that guilt. Surely Ace didn't blame him. He had sacrificed his health for All Might in their big battle. His body was tired and battered yet he continued until he had zero strength left. Not even enough to make it back on his own.

He would save his friend in a moment. But they wondered how long it had been for his family. They must be so worried and scared.

Only a day later, the flame burst to three times its size, wider than before. More like a line of flame. Nighteye was the first to notice the alarm on his phone, and sent it to Mirio, since it was his off period. He rushed over and saw the blue and red flames bigger and flatter. He grit his teeth, not wanting to hope, and went to Ace's room to get his shorts and hat. He set them on the table next to him.

He sat there for a bit, but nothing was changing and class was starting again.

So, Ace had reformed and woken up alone. He could barely move, and felt cold. He saw his hat, and reached for it. He was able to sit up just barely, and drape the shorts over him, unable to move enough to put them on fully.

He closed his eyes, and suddenly remembered what had happened. His own power killed him. He lit his finger on fire and grew pale. He let it go out quickly, breathing heavily. It had been agonizing. His body was being burnt into nothing. Why had it happened? And why was he here? Surely he'd have stayed dead permanently.

As if his body knew what he was thinking, and a blue flame licked up his arm. It didn't scare him like his own had. It was Marco who saved him. If Marco hadn't had the idea of giving him blood, Ace had no doubt he'd be gone for forever.

He started to tear up, desperately wanting to go home. He didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to leave and never come back. He'd enjoyed his time, had accepted that he might stay, either by force or choice, but those feelings were gone. Fully, he never wanted to come back. The last things he remembered thinking in the pain was his family's faces. What they would think if he just never came home to them.

If Ace was going to die, he wanted it to happen with his family. He didn't want to come back ever again. He'd miss Mirio, but not enough to warrant choosing him over his family. But he wanted to let Mirio know he didn't blame him. He'd been crying his name in the end. Ace wondered if the mission failed because he had been gone. He just hoped his blunder hadn't hurt anybody else and ruined the mission.

But, he saved Mirio from being quirkless, losing all that hard work. Losing his future as a hero. He'd already seen what it did to All Might, but he was prepared. He finally got up and dressed himself before someone came running over. His haki still worked perfectly fine. He'd lost nothing but confidence from dying.

It was Mirio, who ran up to him and hugged him, apologizing profusely. That he'd gotten in his way, and that he should have been the one to die. Ace would have been able to finish the mission himself. Ace let him cry and lament until he knew he was done. He was hugging him back.

"I don't blame you. I didn't expect… that, but I couldn't let you become quirkless. The mission was a success?" he asked. Mirio nodded, saying that Chisaki had died from his injuries, a major amount of them being the burns he got from Ace in his last moments.

Ace then looked distant, backing up and sitting back down on the table. "I'm… I'm not gonna come back. I'll do everything I can to never come back here."

Mirio asked, "W-Why? We know now that it won't happen again! You don't have to feel guilty about it and leave-" he said in worry, clearly panicking.

"I don't want to leave because of guilt," Ace said quietly. He clenched his shorts in his shaking hands. "The pain I was in physically was nothing compared to knowing my family would never see me again. I didn't get to say goodbye. They wouldn't know what happened, just that I was gone. I saw their happy faces and it made the death so much worse." He had tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't risk that again. I… I want to go home," he said, crying. He put his face in his hands.

"You have other friends, you don't need me. But I don't have another family. I'll miss you a lot. But I can't live here in peace for any amount of time knowing I could die and leave them hanging for forever. I'm selfish as a person, but I could never put my family in such pain," Ace explained quietly. "There are plenty of pro-heroes, I'm not needed. I'm sorry, Mirio."

Mirio walked up to him and touched his shoulder, smiling a watery smile, but a true smile nonetheless. "What kind of hero would I be if I made my friend stay in a place he doesn't want to?" he said kindly. "What kind of person would I be if I made my friend go through pain, emotional or physical?"

Ace sniffled and smiled. "I'll always treasure my memories of fighting with you. And we saved Eri and more. How long have I been asleep?"

Mirio answered, "Three weeks. You've been here for five." Ace frowned. His family was no doubt worried about him. He felt a strange feeling, and had a feeling he'd be going back. "I will come back to say goodbye. I promise," and he was gone, landing on his bed. He stood up and ran out onto deck, hugging the nearest brother, Thatch and bursting into sobs, gripping the back of his shirt tightly.

"Ace! Where were you? It's been way over an hour!" Thatch hugged him back. Others gathered, glad Ace was safe but not knowing what happened to make him like this. Had something bad happened again? Thatch sat down with Ace, who continued to cry in his shoulder, unable to stop the tears of relief.

Marco came over and Ace cried even more at seeing him, who saved his life. He would have died if he hadn't had any of Marco's blood in him. "I died. I died there. I burnt to death in my own flames. It was so painful, but all I thought was that I'd never see any of you again."

Shock erupted on deck, and worry and horror as well. They demanded to know the story, so Ace told them everything. How he felt, his talk with All Might, his time at Nighteyes, the patrol he went on and met Chisaki, the missions he and Mirio went on, and the raid to save Eri. It was a wild story full of twists and turns, but it all ended with one lingering feeling in everyone.

Ace will never go back. Well, to say goodbye, but that was it. After that, he didn't want to ever return. They would tear the world apart to find a solution to keep him there. Marco was the only one who asked, "Is that really what you want Ace? You seemed to like that world, finally."

Ace nodded firmly. "I will always choose you guys first. I love Miriro, he's a wonderful person and friend, but nobody will ever eclipse my family. I will never leave you and risk dying. Dying without any of you there to be with me. I love my life here, I choose this one. I choose this world to be my home."

Marco nodded. "Then welcome back. We're gonna get this figured out. Only three weeks left. Then we'll have the first and best chance to end this. You can't have any regrets, Ace," he said emphatically. Ace nodded, said he would have none. The option of choosing to share his time was gone. Burnt away like his whole body had been. He wouldn't be invincible anymore, he wouldn't be able to swim, would be injured by other devil fruit users and haki.

But it wouldn't be that hard to adjust back to. He'd fall back into step easily. Once he put that all behind him, he would carry on. This choice wasn't just a choice he wanted to stay. It was a vow that he would stay with his family and never put their relationship at risk. Ace hadn't really thought about the fact that if he died he might not get to say goodbye to them.

After all, there seemed to be nothing there to kill him. But when it happened, Ace realized the hard truth of the matter. This was not a small decision made in haste. It was in his heart. It was all his being that was choosing this. There would be no regrets. He would be sad about Mirio and All Might. Never seeing them again.

He felt cruel to think of it this way, but they were a little price to pay. He knew them for a couple months. Sure, he clicked and had adventures there with Mirio and All Might, but being a Whitebeard was more than working for a school or agency. Being a Whitebeard was a way of life, one that Ace swore to when he got his tattoo he was so proud of.

Like a couple of times when he came back, he stuck to his brothers and father like glue. Only this time was different. Every time he looked at them, he held onto them as if they were going to die and he'd never see them again. Like what he did and how they almost never saw him again. Would his body have stayed there? If it was a body and not the small flame? He could remember some of what happened when he was a flame. He remembered Mirio crying over the small flame, and even after it started to grow.

He would miss him. But Mirio had other good friends, and Ace had his brothers to fight and have adventures with. Thinking of staying here for good, doing everything they could to keep him in that world permanently, was changing him again.

When they came across an enemy pirate ship, he didn't even notice the smirks and witty banter and purposeful annoyance. He didn't feel the need to keep them alive to get arrested, he didn't think it was wrong to hurt anybody, he didn't think it was wrong to steal from the pirates and leave them stranded.

More than that, he didn't feel conflicted anymore. He'd made his choice, finally, and it seemed to have changed. He hadn't even realized how conflicted and worried he was all this time. How worried he'd been about the future. Even when he was happy, that worry had always been there, undetected until it was gone.

He smiled more with his brothers, goofed off, battled, and drank with them. Not to mention adapting his vular mouth again, saying things that would get him in trouble at work or in front of students. He was a pirate, he had no reason to be proper. He didn't need to watch himself for acting in a criminal way.

All this time he'd been trapped, locked in uncertainty. He knew that they'd do anything to get him back, and though he didn't want to go back, maybe it would be easier, to know what the plan was. What his ultimate choice was.

The others thought it was weird when Ace was happy he fell into the ocean and had to get saved. Being nearly invincible… it wasn't a good thing, he realized that now. It was reckless to believe you were invincible. He had been thinking that the whole time. Here, he had a chance at death and being defeated. And it was thrilling because the risk was always there.

He had bad mouthed this world and blamed it for the bad things he did, but this was still his home world. When he was there, it didn't bother him. This was how it was and always would be. The world would never be organized or fair as long as the world government was in power, but that wasn't his problem.

As pirates, they would bend to no government, so it wasn't their problem. They went against it no matter what. He was also happy to have his responsibilities back. Being a commander and all, knowing that would always be his job. He didn't work for anyone but Pops. It was just how it was and should be. All of his experience here had been life saving there.

He was happy. That he'd made his choice and nothing and nobody could change it. He finally came to peace with who he was. He was a pirate, not a hero under some organization. He knew the heroes could deal with the nomus, even if it wasn't instant for them like it was with Ace's haki. They would lose a lot of help when Ace left. But he didn't need to worry about it.

It wasn't his problem. The League of Villains, well, he hated them, but not just because they were bad. They were annoyingly persistent. How the hell had they been moving with all of those burns? That bugged him, but he felt a little detached now. It didn't concern him anymore. Well, it wouldn't soon.

Marco had told him he aged half the pace normal people did in the amount of time he'd been there, so he didn't lose too much time with all of this.

Things weren't normal this time. He'd stayed in that world for five weeks last time. Not with his knowing, but he spent too much time there. So, he stayed with his crew the whole three weeks on their way to the island, helping out with the storms, enemies, and everything thrown at them on that wild, exciting sea.

He would not be living away from the sea anymore. The vast sea would always be where he spent his time. He wouldn't look out the window and see the same scenery every night and day. It was exciting, knowing they were going around the world and not in a fixed location.

They made it to the island on time. But Ace didn't let them go on it until he said goodbye. He was sitting in his room, wishing things would hurry up already, that he could go and come back. Say goodbye like he promised he would. It would be easier to just leave, but Ace wasn't a liar and he wasn't going to leave Mirio and All Might hanging. It would be a concise goodbye.

So, while he was thinking of that, he disappeared again, only this time it was where he'd woken up after being a flame for three weeks. His brothers helped him be unafraid of his powers again. But, he'd always fear black flames, the flames that ripped him apart completely. He didn't like to think about it.

He left the safe to go find All Might first. He had everything he'd come with so long ago. His clothes, his dagger and his hat. On his way to where he knew All Might was, he stopped by his room. He looked around, seeing the piles of fan mail. It made him smile. It was so silly. His brothers thought it was just so funny, and so did he.

The little figures he'd been sent that were on his dresser. He picked up the one made of him and All Might fighting together, and stuck it in his pocket. He continued his way to All Might, finding him in his office. He didn't know what time it was, but he knocked on the door and found him in there. "Ace-san!"

"Hey, you've been doing my work outs!" All Might grinned and nodded. "I came to say goodbye. I've made my choice and I know it won't be changing," he said with a soft smile, so happy with just how sure he was. He didn't feel an ounce of hesitation, even seeing him and the stuff in the room here.

All Might nodded. "Young Mirio told me. That was a week ago, I'm sure he's worried that you wouldn't come say goodbye." Ace was surprised it had been a week-long absence. He asked how Eri was doing. "You can go see her, she's here." Ace declined. He didn't want to talk to anybody but All Might and Mirio. "Well, it will take years for her to ever overcome the trauma she's been through and to master her quirk, but she seems happier, even if she hasn't smiled. Especially with young Mirio and Midoriya."

Ace was glad that their kindness had done something for her other than just free her. "And what happened to Chisaki?" he wondered.

"He's dead. The burns and injuries he sustained killed him," All Might replied. He looked at Ace closely and said, "We will be fine without you. Don't have an ounce of regret."

Ace nodded. "Thanks, but I won't have regrets, I've done this before. When I said goodbye to my life on my home island, knowing I would probably not return or see any of the people there. But, it was the best choice I could have made, and this one is, too. My family and my time with them matters more than any incredible adventure."

All Might nodded, summing up, "Family is first." Ace nodded in agreement and asked where Mirio was. "In class right now. It should be out soon." Ace thanked him and cleaned out his room, along with the fan mail in storage. He burnt all of the letters, not feeling guilty. He wasn't the hero, after all. He ran from the law and had fun while doing it.

But, he kept that small figurine. Once he was done, his room looked like it was new. It was sweeped and dusted, the sheets folded nicely. It looked like he'd never been there. That was what he was hoping for. That people would move on from him quickly. He didn't want anyone to depend on him anymore. Besides his crew, of course.

He found Mirio with Freckles. Well, he'd say goodbye to Freckles as well, if needed. He walked up to them and smiled. "Hey. Sorry it took so long, I guess the last visits are kinda wonky," he said. Mirio stood up and grinned, saying he thought he had left and wouldn't be able to come say goodbye. "I wouldn't do that.

"I enjoyed our time together a lot. A different slice of life. But I've made up my mind. We found the island again, we haven't stepped foot on it yet. But I am sure that things will go back to normal. It's my hunch, and we know that stands for something now, I guess," he said cheerily.

Freckles looked sad. "You're really going for good?" Ace nodded. "Thanks for helping me all those times. I really appreciate it." The eldest smiled and said he was welcome. He shook his hand, and hugged Mirio. He was glad the blonde wasn't crying. It would be a sad ending.

"Have a good adventure causing trouble, pirate," Mirio said with a grin.

"You too, capable marshmallow," Ace replied. He saw Mirio's lip waver just slightly, but he laughed. "Don't forget me."

"I don't think anyone will be able to forget you. Goodbye, Ace," Mirio said with finality.

"Goodbye, Mirio." And he was gone. He didn't see anything after he left, landing back on his bed. He took a deep breath and touched his pocket. The figure wasn't there. He still had the tiny chef and bird keychain. But he would remember everything, so that figurine would only be something to look at fondly, not to remember.

He went out on deck, and everyone had their weapons ready. They rolled cannons through the woods that had been cleared by swords. They all stood in the forest in front of the cave. "Are you sure he shouldn't walk through it again, like, to undo it?" Haruta asked warily.

Ace said, "I'm not walking through that again. Who knows where I'd be sent this time." He took a deep breath. This had to work or his resolve would end up hurting him, that he'd come to his choice with finality only for it to not have meant anything. It would have to go back after that. "Okay. One, two, three," and everyone fired their weapons and devi fruits at the cave, shattering the cliff it was in, crumbling the ceiling from the inside and with rocks counseling the entrance as it collapsed.

All that was left was a huge pile of rock and dust in the air. They all felt a slicing sensation go through their heads, having splitting headaches. "What the… did we already dock here?" Izo asked.

"Why do we have cannons? Oh, I've got a bad headache," Thatch whined. Always whining. But it was weird. And they were all staring at the pile of rocks. None of them remembered why they came here or what the point was of destroying that cave.

It started to rain and everyone headed back to the ship in a hurry. Nobody remembered the last couple of months. Ace didn't either. All of it was gone. The adventures he had had left him completely. Nothing felt out of place. There was no key chain on his hat's string.

But every night after that, he had vivid dreams of a completely different world, where devil fruits were not devil fruits, but something called quirks, and everyone had them. Ace saw himself as some kind of superhero, fighting evil, which made everyone laugh when he said it. Of a school, which he'd never heard of before. And mainly two people popped up a lot. A blonde young man with a happy face. The face was always smiling or laughing. And the other was a buff man who also sometimes was skinny.

They were nice dreams, and Ace always woke up from them, smiling, and hoping the story they told wouldn't come and end anytime soon. For some reason, he felt like he could be close to those two faces. That he had actually had times with them.

Maybe it was a past life. Izo was the one to call it that. Or he hadn't known he'd been ingesting drugs. Ace wanted to keep it a mystery. A pleasant and exciting mystery that he looked forward to seeing more of every night. But he couldn't see himself being a hero much. He stole and fought too much.

Well, in dreams you weren't always yourself. He would always be a pirate with his brothers. But an adventure like the ones in his dreams wouldn't be too bad to go through. He had started writing them down in a journal, remembering the dreams vividly. He had no doubt the final story would be a fun one. Seemed interesting! But one thing was for sure, they made him happy.

I ended it with nobody remembering because it was the only way Ace would ever fully move on. He won't miss anybody there, and the stress he went under disappeared. He won't have any sort of lingering trauma from being burned alive by his own flames. But he has fun dreams about it. At least some of his happy times there lasted. There will be no sequel. Imagine what you want about what happened to the other world. Lol at least the whole thing wasn't just a dream. Thanks for reading. If anyone wants to read any of my future crossovers, they'll be posted on ao3 some day.

If you are disappointed with the ending, then that's unfortunate, but please don't complain about it. Nothing will be changed, the story is over and done with.