A/N: Chapter 2 is here. I don't have an upload schedule, so don't expect new chapters this often.

Hope you enjoy.

I don't own One Piece.

Chapter 2

Smoker had just been strolling through the bustling streets, towards the town square, when he saw a crowd gathered around the gallows. Pushing through the crowd, he saw the few soldiers stationed around threatening the offender to come down.

He scowled, looking up at the teenager – sixteen, maybe seventeen years old – who kneeled at the exact same spot the Pirate King had been 19 years ago. Dark hair framed his freckled face, and on top sat a bright orange cowboy hat, a happy and sad smiley adorning its band.

Impertinent brat.

"Oi, brat!"

Then, he saw the boy's eyes.

An unsettling feeling spread through his mind, but he couldn't quite place a finger on what it was.

What was it in those eyes? Regret? Loneliness? Anger?

Smoker shook his unease away.

"Hey!"

The brat seemed to ignore him, but Smoker, for a second, could've sworn he saw a smile flicker across the boy's face.

The Marine sighed. He had had enough of this.

Outstretching his hand, he prepared to use his smoke to just get the offender down with force.

He blinked. There wasn't anything to get the offender down from. The execution platform was now in pieces.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ace could see Smokey's hand outstretched. He's about to use his Devil Fruit. After centuries of this endless loop, Ace's Observation Haki was well-trained to the point where he could see several minutes into the future.

Well then. Time to finish this up.

Covering his hand with Haki, Ace grinned as he stood up. He punched the execution platform. And it shattered.

The grin left Ace's face as soon as he was off the execution platform.

By the time the dust cleared, he was gone, running off into the streets.

It wasn't as if destroying the gallows was anything new.

Ever since he had first accidentally stumbled into Loguetown somewhere in the 100th something loop and destroyed the platform that Roger was executed on, he began coming here and doing that often.

A wave of lethargy washed over Ace.

Shit.

He collapsed face-forward.

Smoker inwardly groaned as he tried to remember all the events that had led up to a national monument being destroyed.

As he outstretched his hand, he had remembered the kid grinning.

That smile. The same cocky, carefree smile he'd seen on that man's face so many years ago.

But it wasn't the same. There had been something else in there. Tiredness. Pain. Maniacal? Hm. Perhaps this kid was mentally unhinged.

He had then, like the brat he was, proceeded to destroy the execution platform in one punch. By the time the dust had cleared, the offender – most likely a pirate – was gone. And the gallows in pieces.

How did you destroy all that in one punch anyways? When the kid had done it, Smoker could've sworn he saw his fist turn some sort of metal-like black. What was that called? Hoki?

"Mashikaku!"

"Yes, Smoker-san!"

"Tell the higher-ups that the brat can use Hoki."

"I think it's Haka, sir."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Or maybe it's chakra."

"You think that brat's a ninja?"

"Then that's all the more reason to capture him."

"..."

"We need to make him show us Oiroke no Jutsu."

"Just you."

Purupurupuru... purupurupuru...

Smoker's eyes fell on the small snail he was forced to carry around.

"Hello? Is this Captain Smoker?"

"Speaking," he barked into the Baby Den Den Mushi.

"We've apprehended the perpetrator."

"... what."

"We... uh... found him lying in the streets asleep."

Deuce died.

Skull died.

Mihar died.

They all died.

"Sorry... Captain."

Oyaji died.

Marco died.

Thatch died.

They all died.

"Forgive me... my sons."

Luffy died.

The Straw Hats died.

They all died.

"Ace. I'm dead."

And Portgas D. Ace was the only one standing.

He was alone in a field of crimson.

Ace woke up screaming, gasping for air.

Oyaji covered in wounds and a scalding hole in his chest, crimson blood dripping from his lips.

Thatch lying in a pool of blood, haltering breaths escaping his lips, betrayal and fear in his eyes as he realized he would never be able to prank his brothers again.

He pushed the fresh images to the back of his head, and swallowed, breathing in the smell of... sewage and corpses.

Oh. I'm in a prison. Of a Marine base. Great.

"Yo," Ace casually greeted one of the guards.

He was answered by a menacing glare.

The 17-year-old sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. He wasn't afraid, or nervous, or panicked. This had happened all too many times before.

His hands were chained together with seastone handcuffs. Did they think he had been using a Devil Fruit back when he destroyed the gallows?

"Ace! I'm here to save you!"

"Ace-kun!"

"I'll save you even if I die!"

"Was I a good father?"

"Oh shitty shit shit shit fucking shit."

The voice quickly snapped Ace out of it. As he turned to find the source of it, he would've laughed.

But he had forgotten how to laugh long ago.

Buggy. A no-name pirate who had once sailed with Red-Haired Shanks on the Oro Jackson.

Buggy D. Clown turned his head and glared at him. "What you lookin' at, huh?"

Memories of partying with a red-nosed clown on the Big Top flooded back to Ace, and he remembered the polite introduction he had first given.

"Ah. Apologies for disrupting your cursing session. My name is Ace," he said as he bowed his head, "please accept my apology."

"Oh, no need to be so formal. I should be apologizing too," Buggy replied cheerfully, "Wait. I asked what you were looking at! I don't care what your name is!"

"I was – "

"Huuuh? My nose? You say I have a big red nose? HUH?!"

"Quiet!" a voice gruffly snapped.

"Hey," Ace smirked, a fake smile plastered on his face, "Smokey."

Smoker simply glowered at him, "I'm here to interrogate you, brat,"

"'Course you are."

His interrogator bent down to meet the prisoner at eye level. "Who are you?"

"Gol D. Ace."

Ace didn't give a damn about his parentage anymore. Sure, he hated that bastard of a father, but he just didn't care at this point.

"W-wh-" Buggy sputtered, staring wide-eyed.

The Marine just raised an eyebrow at this, clearly not believing a word, "Is that why you destroyed the execution platform?"

"No. I just did that for fun."

Why did I destroy it, actually?

"Are you a pirate?"

"Nope," he replied nonchalantly, popping the p.

Smoker groaned, pressing his hands against his eyes, and simply turned on his heel and left.

"Huh. Ok."

"Y-you-" Ace turned to meet the gaze of a very dumbfounded red-nosed clown, "You're Captain's son?"

"Yeah?"

Buggy stared dumbfounded at the self-proclaimed "Gol D. Ace."

There was no way. His Captain had a son and didn't bother telling anyone about it?

Then he remembered Baterilla. The Marines had been looking for a child back then. Roger's child.

But Captain was a monster. Hell, everybody on that ship was a monster...

"How did you get caught?"

"I fell asleep."

Buggy blinked, "...what?"

"I fell asleep. I do that sometimes."

"...I see."

The guards outside suddenly started chatting.

"Gol D. Ace," one smirked, "You shouldn't have lied about your parentage."

The kid simply raised an eyebrow.

"Your execution is in a week."

Everybody but Buggy and the kid collapsed to the floor, foam collecting at their mouths.

Conqueror's Haki. Of course he has it.

"So," Ace said airily, "Time to get out of here."

Buggy stared. The kid stood there flexing his wrists, his seastone handcuffs on the floor.

A/N:

Oiroke no Jutsu = ...sexy no jutsu.

If anyone's wondering how Ace got out of his handcuffs, I'm going with "he dislocated his thumb." I'm not even sure if you can do that without fucking up your hand, but let's pretend it's possible.

Remember that Smoker is 3 years younger than canon, so won't be as experienced.

Also, if you're curious about what Buggy is doing here: it's because he is the legendary Buggy D. Clown. He was just hiding his strength all along. And yes, I am going to make that actually happen.