The Keeper of Worlds: oh it gets much stranger lol.

sousie: Idk, he might get sympathy from others for being so damn obvious that they just leave them alone. They pity him lol.

I'm so late! It's almost 10 pm! I've been so focused on my other story that I didn't even post the one that needs to be posted today. So, sorry it's late. My other fanfiction is the longest I've written so far at 170,000 words. And no end in sight lol. Anyways, much shorter chapter because idk why. Enjoy~

Once the table was no longer focused on him and commanders started to leave, Ace's expression fell as he looked at his clasped hands. He sighed and stood up, taking his stuff to the kitchen and then heading to his room to be alone, maybe go to bed. And hopefully to sleep and not do midnight cartography.

He knew he didn't do that before. He slept deeply, didn't remember ever sleepwalking back at Dawn Island. He was concerned, and a bit scared. He went under his blankets, wishing he was normal. He put his pillow over his ear and scrunched his eyes closed.

He wanted to remember his missing two years. He wanted to remember his crew. Why did he know about the dog? Why did he know about things he didn't care about? He eventually fell asleep, and came to standing in the hall near the galley. He blinked twice and then started to freak out, not knowing where he was for a moment.

Ace rubbed his hands down his face with a grumble as he walked back to his room. He was shirtless and in his pajama pants, so luckily he wasn't wandering around in his underwear. That would be very embarrassing, to wake up to find people laughing at him for wandering around in his underwear.

He found Marco at his door, knocking. Of course, no one was answering. "Marco?" he asked tiredly.

"'Hey, where are you?"

"Probably the navigation room. I just woke up in the hallway," Ace muttered. "I don't remember this ever happening before." Marco pointed out that things could have changed over the two blank years. "That's true. What did you need? It's really late."

Marco smiled, and said, "I noticed you're having a hard time today. No one is in the library, so I wondered if you wanted to talk about something with me. I won't tell anyone else anything." Ace was touched by his kindness, but didn't know what he would say.

"I don't know what I would say," Ace replied honestly. "But we can go to my storage room instead of the library." Marco nodded, and both of them went into the makeshift room. Ace wondered when he'd be moved, as it was put on hold for now. He didn't care much, as long as he wasn't in the same room as Aioba.

They both sat on the bed, and Marco frowned. "This mattress is a piece of shit," he said. Ace laughed.

"I slept on a thin mat for as long as I can remember. It doesn't bother me. I didn't even notice," he replied honestly. Marco chuckled.

He asked Ace how he was holding up, about meeting his crew. "I know I'm not the most charismatic of us, but I'm good at keeping secrets for others. There are countless of my brothers who have come to me with problems. I'm not a therapist or anything, but I like to think I'm a good listener."

Ace looked at his hands. "I'm scared to meet them. To disappoint them," he said quietly. Marco gave him an encouraging look but said nothing. "I don't remember who they are or who I was. I'm afraid I'm completely different than how I was just weeks ago. I know it'll be hard for them. It is hard for them. I know I'd be very upset if my friends or crew forgot about me."

Marco put his arm around Ace's shoulders and rubbed his arm. "They care about you, I think you'll be friends again, even if the relationships aren't the same as they were. You're very likable, Ace. Disregarding Aioba, that is."

"Thanks. Today was embarrassing. About the maps. I don't know if I'd even be any good at map making when I'm awake," he grumbled. Marco nodded.

"I can understand why that would have been uncomfortable. Having everyone focused on you, even if it's positive attention," he agreed. "I think it shows you definitely have inherent skill, even if you haven't unlocked it while awake. No one will force you to do anything you don't want to, you know? Well, unless it's something real important."

Ace quickly said he did like the mapmaking, from the one time he'd done it, so that didn't bother him. He was just scared he wouldn't live up to the new expectations everyone had of him. What if his maps weren't good when he was actively trying to do well?

"We have plenty of great mapmakers. Even if you're not always good at it, losing you won't hinder us. Having you would be helpful, but you won't be harming us if you aren't always good at it," Marco replied easily. "If you can do that in your sleep, then you do have the talent to do so. Even if you're not there yet, you can be there someday." Ace nodded, knowing that was true.

He yawned. He was tired, and hopefully would stay asleep for good. "If you want, we can get you some pills that will keep you asleep at night, not sleep walking," Marco offered when it was clear Ace was ready to sleep.

"Hmm, maybe," Ace muttered. "Thanks, Marco." Marco smiled and said it was no problem before quietly leaving the room, turning off the light on his way out. Ace dozed off, feeling happy and light. Marco was really nice. He wondered if he'd know the answer why Ace knew the things he did. Maybe he'd tell him some day.

-x-

Ace sat it the crowsnest two days later, in a sad mood. His crew was going to arrive that day, and he didn't feel remotely ready. He was scared, worried, nervous. He wanted his crew to like him. No, not his crew. His friends. Well, hopefully friends. He would be meeting them all for the first time. At least, to Ace, it was the first time.

And they'd be meeting this version of him for the first time, too. He hoped they accepted the changes. Ace didn't want to see disappointment in their eyes. That he wasn't what they expected or wanted. He was feeling extremely insecure, the feelings of little self-worth from his childhood permeating his senses.

He pulled his knees to his chest, and then Thatch was there, pulling himself over the side. He said nothing, and opened a plastic box, showing a chocolate lava cake. "Better eat it fast or it'll get cold," Thatch said, and put his hand on Ace's head before leaving.

The freckled teen smiled, and got to work eating the cake, glad Thatch hadn't stuck around. He may be Ace's closest friend/brother, but he wanted alone time. He didn't want to have to talk to anyone or pretend to pay attention.

He licked the plate clean and then put it back in its box. He brought his knees back up to his chest, glad no one else came up. It was an hour later than Marco called him down. Ace looked over the side of the crowsnest but didn't see any other ship there. With people he didn't recognize, the photos he had of his crew were grainy at best.

He dropped down, and Marco told him they had found a good place for Ace to meet his old crew. "It's not on the ship?"

"God, no. You'd have zero privacy. I found a park area earlier that is secluded and private. Nobody will see you guys there," Marco said kindly. Ace asked if they went looking. "I went flying off this morning and found it pretty easily," he explained simply.

Ace smiled, and thanked him. "And thanks for last night. It was nice of you to do." Marco ruffled his hair. "You're my little brother, what were you expecting?" Ace chuckled. It was still weird being the little brother. "I had - have - a little brother. His name is Luffy. He's an idiot, but I love him," Ace said fondly.

"An idiot like Thatch?"

"No way, so much worse."

"Oh, wow. I'm sorry."

Ace laughed loudly. "He definitely kept me on my toes. But he has a very pure heart, I don't want anyone to ever hurt him."

You promised me you wouldn't die!

Ace froze, and Marco stopped next to him. But then it disappeared from his mind completely. "You okay?" Ace looked up, nodded, and kept walking like nothing had happened. "So, you were telling me about Luffy?" Marco prompted, and Ace went back to bragging and lamenting about his baby brother. Bragging about how sweet he was and lamenting about how much stress he had put Ace under for all the years, taking care of him when he was no good at it. He didn't admit the horrifying fact that Ace had tried to kill Luffy many times. He was still ashamed of those days, and was glad that Luffy forgave him, never held those days and actions against him.

Ace was who he was today because of Luffy, for the better. They arrived at the secluded park that Marco had told Ace about, and it was perfect. It was surrounded by trees, which was nice and had a picnic table. "Now, I'll go wait for them at the docks. They should be here soon. The Moby 2 reported the island was in sight not long ago." Ace thanked him, and he was left alone.

He waited for a half an hour, head on the table, hat besides him. His heart was pounding rapidly in worry and fear. He tried breathing exercises, but his heart still beat alarmingly fast. He finally heard crunching, the sounds of many footsteps, and turned to see a group, recognizing many from photos, but not from seeing them in person.

He stood up, holding his hat in both hands. He didn't recognize any of them, and his heart fell. He had hoped seeing them would bring everything back, but it didn't. "Hey, Ace," the blue haired one said. Deuce. That one had blue hair.

"Hi, guys," Ace said quietly. They sat around the table on the grass. Ace sat down there, too, legs crossed and fingers worrying the string on his hat.

"Well, I guess we'll give you our names. I'm Deuce, this is Mihar, Saber, Ducky Bree, Aggie 68 and this is Finamore," Deuce explained. The others nodded or waved.

Ace nodded to them. Finamore asked, "Do you recognize any of us?" Ace replied that he'd seen them in some of the photos. "You read the logs, right? Is it easier knowing what we look like now?"

The former captain shrugged but then said, "Not really. It feels kinda cold. Knowing what happened without not really being there. I mean, I was there, but it feels like I wasn't. Like I'm an outsider looking at someone else's stories. I know we went on fun adventures, but I don't remember them," he explained sadly.

Deuce put his hand on Ace's shoulder. "Well, why don't we all tell you about our joining?" They all agreed, and told Ace about their first encounters, and they spent a couple hours there, Ace listening intently, trying to memorize it all, trying to see the memories through eyes that had been there.

But unlike real memories, these were dull. No images, just assumptions of what happened. He didn't know the colors of the sky on the day he and Deuce met. Didn't know anything about Kotatsu, the cat they once had that they all spoke so fondly of. Kotatsu had died, apparently, and Ace felt nothing when it was said to him. He felt no loss, and felt like a cold hearted bastard.

He didn't notice curling into a ball, and Deuce put his arm around Ace. "It'll get better. You may not remember our old memories, but we'll make new ones, you just won't be the captain this time." Ace nodded, feeling weak at the moment, but the looks of understanding and sympathy in his old crew member's faces, his friends, made him feel much better. Made him feel like they didn't hate him for forgetting.

Ace said, "I have some questions. Was I the navigator? On our ship?" He searched their expressions, assuming he had been one. Why else would he be so good at it? But he was shocked.

"Nah, you sucked at it!" Ace looked shocked. If he wasn't a navigator on his old crew, why was he so damn good at making maps!? It made no sense! He just wanted things to make sense. His expression fell, and his hands dropped to his lap. Aggie 68 seemed to have noticed he said something wrong. "What's the matter?"

Ace looked to the side. "I'm an expert cartographer when I sleep walk. I could tell when there was a cyclone and nobody else knew it was coming. I just assumed I was good at navigating before, but if I wasn't, then I just don't have any idea what's going on," he confessed, his words ending with a sigh. The others looked shocked and confused. They had no answer for him.

"That's strange," Deuce said honestly. Ace nodded in agreement.

Your training is over, Ace-kun. If I ever see you make a crappy map again, I'll bite my own tongue off.

Another thing going through his head that he didn't know the context of and just confused him more. Did someone he hadn't met teach him to make maps? When did that happen, if it didn't happen before he became a pirate, and Deuce had been with him from the beginning, then he would have been around for whoever that voice belonged to teaching him.

"Well, it's the New World. Strange things happening are a normal occurrence, right?" Ducky Bree said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I guess. But most of the things have some sort of explanation, right? I can just… suddenly draw maps? I thought maybe I had drawn those maps before, that I was remembering drawing them. How do I even have the measurements of those islands?"

Deuce spoke up. "I mean, you sucked at it pretty bad, but you did try. I remember when we first got the PoS - Piece of Spadile- you would steal maps from other ships. You would just record the measurements before you tried on your own. They were shit, though…"

Ace titled his head back. "Then how the hell can I make good maps?" he sighed. The former Spades had no answer for him. "Guys, I'm sorry about all of this happening. I know you'd much rather us just have kept going on all of our adventures."

"Well, you always did want to kill Whitebeard, so we were surprised you joined just like that!" Mihar said. Ace was shocked.

He looked down. "Why did I want to kill Whitebeard? I know I got in a fight, but I actively wanted to kill him?" The others shrugged while Deuce was the one to answer the question.

The former doctor/former first mate said, "You thought surpassing him would surpass your biological father. That was your plan from the start, right?" Ace was shocked. "Yeah, you told me when we met. Nobody else knows, I swear on my life." The former captain smiled at Deuce warmly. He's trusted Deuce enough to tell him his biggest secret. Or he was just stupid enough to do something liek that.

But Deuce hadn't turned him in or spilled the beans to anyone. He was a real friend. Ace could see them being close again. He looked to his old crew and new friends. "Thanks, for sticking around with me. I know I must have been a handful, just because it's me. So, thank you. And for not hating me for forgetting everything," the teen said, giving them warm smiles.

Ducky Bree said, "Well, it's not like you asked for this. It wouldn't be right to blame you. We'll just have to start from here and move on." Ace asked if that's what they wanted. That he would understand if they wanted to not join the Whitebeards.

Saber replied, "If the Whitebeards are nice enough for you to trust, then why shouldn't we?" The others nodded, and Ace grinned, laying back on the grass. They talked for another two hours before they all got hungry.

Ace led them back to the ship, but made a detour straight to the navigation room. He had to show them he was being serious about the maps. He could tell they didn't believe him. And he then found another map in the cubby that hadn't been there the day before. Meaning he'd made that one last night, before he'd woken up completely in the hallway.

At least he put this one away properly. "I made these while sleepwalking," Ace said, walking around the curious second division members, seeing the new group of people waiting outside of the room.

Deuce took the map in shock. "Are you sure?" Ace pointed to his signature. "Wow. I don't know what to say." Ace sighed, and put it back away. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. C'mon, lets go introduce you to Pops or Whitebeard. I kinda didn't notice I started calling him that," Ace said a little shyly.