AN: ignore the time line, there is no time line, I still do not have any control over this story or have any clue what the hell it is trying to do. This is sort of Ace's perspective of parts of Sabo's chapter and takes place straight after chapter one.

ASL

Ace stared at the body sprawled on the ground in front of him, looked at his new little brother for help without finding any, and decided he would just have to wing it. It wasn't like they were completely inexperienced with people suddenly falling asleep for no good reason, but Ace was normally the one sleeping and Luffy had only met them that day.

First things first, they couldn't leave him here. Grey Terminal might be where Sabo lived, but that didn't mean it was safe, or that Ace hadn't intended to move him out soon anyway even if he had counted on the other boy being conscious when he did. It would take a bit of manoeuvring, and they would have to come back for his stuff, but Ace thought a few days in the forest (or Bandits hut if the weather got nasty before Sabo woke up) would probably do his friend some good.

Eventually he had Sabo on his back and Luffy with his arm somehow wriggled around his to make sure the rubber idiot did not get lost, and they started the casual trek back into the forest they had just left. Luffy was being surprisingly quiet, but then he had just seen a person he had just met collapse after saying his name when there was no possible way he could have known it.

Wait …

That was something he needed to remember and think about because that did not make sense, even to him and he had woken up as a child version of himself as soon as he had died. He suspected that his meeting with Sabo would have been a little bit different if Sabo had gone through the same thing.

Well, that was something that would have to wait for later. For now, Ace had to concentrate on getting Sabo somewhere both safe and comfortable and feeding the little black whole on legs that had not had a very big lunch. He should also wonder about just how he was going to keep the boy in sight while he was busy looking after Sabo since this was rather unusual and he didn't know how long until the other boy woke up.

Or what he was going to do if he Sabo failed to wake up in what he considered a reasonable time fame. Ace was thirty years old (in mind at least) and, unfortunately, he did actually need to think ahead in regard to somethings so that he could manage to protect the two people that were most precious to him.

By the time they had arrived at the clearing around the sight of their original tree house, which Ace had been preparing for when he finally got Sabo out of the dump, Luffy's stomach was making a lot of noise and Ace's wasn't much better. Sabo had also developed a fever during the walk, something Ace noticed when he put the boy down on a clear bit of ground so that he could actually do something.

Ace sat back for a second in thought, being careful to keep an eye on Luffy in case the younger boy decided to wonder off. His plans had not taken into account Sabo getting a fever, but in the end, he decided it didn't matter much.

'Luffy,' he called as the boy finally seemed to get distracted, Ace was honestly surprised it had taken so long. 'I need you to stick with Sabo, that's the blond boy, and keep an eye on him while I go get some things from my room at the bandits. After that I'll get us some food. You think you can manage that for a few minutes?'

His answer was a very enthusiastic nodding of Luffy's head and watching the other boy settle next to their soon to be brother, but that wouldn't come until after Ace had gotten some answers.

Unfortunately, he had to re-listen to the bandits talking about losing Luffy on the first day (as if the boy would die that easy!) and them commenting about him being the son of a demon. Knowing what he did now of Luffy's parentage he had to wonder if they were really talking about him like he had assumed the first-time round. He would just have to add it to the growing list of things he would need to think about while he waited for Sabo to wake.

Once he had escaped the bandits hide out with his loot in arms, it was easy to set up a camp with Sabo rolled up in blankets, a cheery fire going, and Luffy keeping an eye on Sabo's temperature with strict instructions on what to do if he got too hot. Luffy might be a little slow and a slight air head most of the time, but he could be surprisingly focused when he wanted and it was possible to get him to repeat simple motions. As soon as he had Luffy and Sabo settled he set out to get food.

And that was the pattern for the next two days while he waited for Sabo to wake up. Luffy would stay behind at the camp and look after Sabo with dedication and Ace would go out and bring back a meal. At night, Luffy seemed more than happy to curl up with Ace after they had eaten their fill and go to sleep and Ace wasn't going to discourage him. Luffy was his little brother and he had missed him for the last ten years, the fact that his last memory of Luffy was the boy collapsed in the middle of a battle field with the threat of magma trying to burn him to ash did not help.

And while he waited for Sabo to wake up, Ace tried to get his thoughts in order. This had not happened in the original timeline, it had occurred as soon as he had introduced Luffy, who Sabo had been able to name without being told. The only conclusion Ace could come to from this was Sabo did, in fact, remember living this life the same as Ace had, and for some reason he had only remembered once he saw Luffy and him together and the shock of remembering had knocked him out.

Or something like that, Ace wasn't that smart and it sounded ridiculous but Luffy was involved so it was probably correct.

Speaking of Luffy, Ace wondered if his youngest brother would also remember, he also wondered if that would be a good thing or not. Ace had decided that just having Luffy around was a good thing, it was always would be, but he would never understand just how his little brother worked, or be able to predict just what outcome Luffy's actions would have. There were too many things about him that just didn't make sense, so Ace was resolved to just taking him as he was and rolling with the punches.

ASLASLASLASLASLASLALSALSALSALSASL

Sabo and Ace stared down at their sleeping little brother, some would call it creepy, some would suggest that the way their brother dribbled was gross, these people didn't have a clue what they were talking about. Luffy was adorable, and considering the last time either of them had seen him in their past lives, they needed the visual confirmation that the one they considered the ray of sunshine in their lives was still whole and healthy.

'So, let me get this straight,' Ace muttered after Sabo had finished explaining himself at long last. 'You had amnesia for the ten years between when you "died" and when I did, and you only remembered your past after you saw the article in the paper. During this time, you were, and then continued to be, a revolutionary, second in command after Luffy's father, running around trying to save the world.

'After you remembered you had to wait two years before Luffy finished training and came out of hiding, ran into him and helped him out at an island you coincidently happened to be at, and ate my fruit while you were at it.

'You then returned to the revolutionaries where you were attacked by Black Beard, the same bastard that got me killed, and all of you were driven into hiding to recover. You then spent the next ten years running around picking fights with the world government, saving Luffy, and generally causing Luffy grade chaos until you eventually died of battle wounds, with Luffy, after the two of you had killed Blackbeard, Akainu, and quite a few other heavy hitters, during a war that dragged on for days and involved more or less everyone that was still alive of those I know and quite a few I don't.'

Sabo nodded, 'that about sums it up.'

Ace gave him a look. 'And you only just remembered all this now, but had the nerve to call be a bastard for not telling you five years ago that I had already met you and that you were going to die in five years' time.'

Sabo winced, 'okay, so that may have been a little unfair, but I didn't have any control over my memory loss, or apparent gain.' There was quite for a moment, then, 'forgiven?'

'Yeah, forgiven,' Silence again, this time more relaxed and longer lasting.

But it couldn't last forever, and they obviously didn't want it to.

'So, what were you going to do?' Sabo eventually asked, and sighed when he saw Ace's confused look. 'You have had ten years to plan while knowing exactly what was going to happen in the future, please tell be you didn't waste it freaking out bandits and the people of grey terminal with your ability to hand their arses to them and be polite while doing so.'

'Of course not,' Ace snorted, 'I may not be as smart as you but I'm not like Luffy either, I did actually think about it.' Silence again until Sabo got frustrated.

'And, what did you decided to do?'

Ace smirked, 'Nothing.'

Very, very, heavy and pointed silence descended. Sabo was looking at his brother as if he was waiting for him to tell him he was joking, and actually asked out loud when said comment was not forth coming when he wanted it to be.

Ace just laughed, Sabo wondered if it was within his rights to hit him.

'I intend to get stronger, hopefully strong enough that I can protect what I want, but other than that I don't have any plans. Well, I did more or less decide that after watching my little brother nearly die in front of me and then not being able to see him for the next ten years that there is no way in hell that I am letting him out of my sight again, but nothing too specific.

'Think about it, Sabo, what does it really matter? I've lived this life, I fought against my blood and became a Pirate thinking that it was what I had to do to get out from under my father shadow, where did it get me? Executed as I watched as everyone I loved was put in danger and then chucked back right to day one. Nothing I do matters, so I may as well do what I want.'

Ace was silent for a while, collecting his thoughts, before he continued in an attempt to make his other brother understand.

'Luffy always says that pirates are free, and that he wanted to be the Pirate King because he was the freest of all, but even when I was a pirate I never really understood what that meant and I certainly didn't manage it. I was so busy letting what other said about my father twist me, too busy trying to not be him that I never quite became myself, and I ended up spending my whole life in a cage of my own creation. We promised a life with no regrets? About the only thing I don't regret is becoming brothers with you and Luffy, your my most treasured things, so this time I think I'll just stick with him and do whatever the hell else I want. All that really matters is that I'm strong enough to protect him, and you, if I need to.'

Sabo thought about it, and realised that what Ace said made sense in a way, he just had a few things he needed to clear up.

'The Whitebeard Pirates?'

Ace just shrugged. 'I love them, they were my family, and hopefully I'll be able to go and do something about Teach before he becomes too much a problem, but Luffy was the first person to give me unconditional love without knowing anything about me. For years after you were gone he was practically my reason for getting up in morning some days. Besides, they're strong, and Luffy is my weakling younger brother, be needs me more.'

Sabo couldn't help chuckling, 'a weakling younger brother who became the pirate king.'

Ace just smiled, 'should prove one hell of an adventure.'

It was later that night, when both of them had finally managed to curl up and go to sleep, (maybe a little close to Luffy but oh well) that Sabo was left to think about Ace's words, and consider what he was going to do now that he remembered his past (future).

Because, unfortunately, Ace was right. Sabo had originally wanted to be a pirate to be free of his parents, and while being a revolutionary had been good and he had helped so many people earn the freedom all of them had craved, he wasn't so sure he would want to go through it all again if the last time he had just ended up back at the beginning.

This could be seen as a second chance, a chance to go back and do everything again only better, fixing the little mistakes and saving more lives. It could be a do over where he once again fought and freed the world only much more successfully.

But he had been selflessly fighting for other's nearly all of his past life, given it all to the revolutionaries, maybe this wasn't so much a second chance as it was, as Ace had decided, a chance to be selfish.

Besides, Ace was also right about another thing, Luffy got into way too much trouble when left unsupervised.

ASLASLASLASLASLASLALSALSALSALSASL

The next day he had been officially introduced to his little brother, and the look on Luffy's face as they more or less promised that he wouldn't be alone again was something Sabo would treasure until his dying days. Between that smile and the fact that they had been hunting for breakfast for approximately five minutes when Luffy fell in water and needed rescuing it was enough to have Sabo swearing right alongside Ace that this time he was more than happy to stick around and become part of his brother's crew. He'd done the "fight the good fight" last life, this time he just wanted to look after his little brother and not worry about anyone else.

Good, Sabo thought to himself, now that that was decided they just had to survive his parents in such close proximity and the Grey terminal fire and everything would be fantastic.

… he really needed to talk to Ace again, because he bloody well hoped the freckled idiot had a plan for at least that.