A/N: Wow! I didn't really think that anyone would actually read this :D Those reviews made my day, even though some were crying... Oh, well. I made Chapter 2 for you guys, and those who wants answers... Please wait patiently, all questions will be answered when we get further into the story ;) Thanks a lot, btw, people who had time to review and favorite and follow this story. A million thanks from me to you! XD

Without further ado, enjoy chapter 2!

xX:Forgive and Forget:Xx

The wind flowed gently, making the pirate flag sway on it's pole. Light snores can be heard in the crow's nest, and when Thatch heard it, he smiled. It seems like his brother is sleeping soundly. Though this kind of sunny morning was not quite the time to take a shut eye, the cook reminded himself that this was their very own second commander he's talking about. It must be one of his narcoleptic attacks striking again.

Thatch walked towards the stairs, climbing up to the crow's nest as he held in his laughter. Just one plan spiked in his mind, demanding to be used. Ace is sleeping; Make him pink. The prank was flawless. After all, the fire user is asleep, yes? It should be easy.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean it!"

Thatch frowned. Was that Ace's voice? A painful gasp soon followed after his thought, causing the cook to climb faster in haste, his eyes wide. 'Ace?! '

As soon as he reached the aforementioned place, he stared at the fire flickering about on Ace's body violently and Thatch did not waste another minute when a raspy shout escaped the man's lips.

"LUFFY!"

He didn't know how all of this happened to him. One second, he was running with his brothers, getting away from some raging restaurant's manager, then another second, he was grabbed by the arm, a hand over his mouth and was dragged away before he could make a noise.

Ace struggled against the unknown man's grip, trying to free himself, but failed miserably as he was taken into the darker parts of Goa Kingdom's High Town. The man turned towards a dark alley, which hardly have any light penetrating through.

As soon as Ace was released, he jumped from the man's arm, who wore only a simple black cloak. The freckled boy immediately turned around with glaring eyes, his iron pipe held in front of him in defense.

Surprisingly, the cloaked man simply laughed at this action. "Rest assured, Portgas D. Ace. I'm not here to hurt you."

Though that was said, Ace didn't lower his weapon down, and if any, he only tensed and gripped his pipe tightly. "What the hell do you want? Who are you?" Ace growled, his coal black eyes narrowing dangerously.

A chuckle escaped the man's lips."Who I am is not a concern to you, Portgas. But I suppose I could tell you what exactly do I want from you. Sadly, only you have the... item that I want."

Item? What in the world is this man blabbering about? Ace raised an eyebrow but did not lower his guard. "What do you mean? And for goodness' sake, just who are you?!"

"Like I said, that is none of your concern." He sighed. "And what I meant by 'item' is... Well, it got something to do with your 'partner in crime', so to say."

Ace ignored the tone the cloaked man used when saying the word, and instead, his gaze hardened. "What does Luffy and Sabo have to do with all of this?"

"Oh? It seems that you are rather protective about this kind of subject. And Luffy? I did not hear of such a name before. Perhaps it have slipped from my mind?" He wondered, his dark face morphing into a thinking expression, before madly grinning like a feral beast. Ace shuddered when a sudden chill went down his spine. "...Or perhaps he is someone important to you?"

Ace widened his eyes. Curse him and his dumb mouth.

"Leave my little brother alone."

"Your little brother?"

Ace bit his tongue in annoyance. He should stop talking if this goes on long enough. But he knew he can't take his words back now. "Yeah, so what?" A bead of sweat rolled down his neck, anxiety coursing through him like a bullet train. 'So what?'; He was afraid to question the man that, but even more afraid of what will the answer be.

This man is strong. Strong enough for Ace to grip his pipe until his knuckles went white, the same colour as his pale face. The cloaked man let out another round of laughter. "Nothing, Portgas. Though I am quite surprised to find that you have a sibling, I will certainly not use that information against you... Maybe." He finished, causing Ace to growl at him. And the man enjoyed the look on the younger boy's face when he did that. So helpless and lost.

What a sadist.

"You dare to take one step towards my brother, I'll beat you up in a heartbeat." Ace threatened, before a reluctant smirk formed on his lips. "Then you'll know who's the boss here."

"Very funny, Portgas, but I have no intention in hurting your precious brother at all." The other shortly replied, before noises of someone shouting their heads off entered their ears, taking them by evident surprise.

Quickly, the freckled boy leaned against the wall and stepped into the shadows. "The police." He muttered, glancing to his left as he clicked his tongue in annoyance. "They're so troublesome. Aren't you gonna go away, though? You really look like someone shady enough to be caught-" His words were cut short when he turned his head back to the man, only to find a pile of bones and a torn cloaked in his place.

"What..."

"Ace!"

He didn't even have time to react when an arm made of rubber coiled around his waist and dragged him along together with a small raven haired boy and a young blonde noble.

"Where have you been?"

Ace gritted his teeth, rubbing the bruise on his head to ease the pain. "Do you have to hit me?" He growled, but winced when Sabo gave him a sharp glare. That glare always made him feel guilty; in fact, all of Sabo's glare made him feel guilty before. It's like those kind of gazes were telling him that he did something terribly bad and he can do nothing to repent for it. Now that he think of it, was it really guilt he felt? Was it not something else?

"You deserve it, Ace." Sabo sighed while Ace stared at the ground, suddenly finding it more interesting than looking at his brother's face. "Seriously, don't make us worry. We thought you were kidnapped or something."

Ace slightly flinched, but it went unnoticed by Sabo. 'Well, that's kinda true...' He thought, before mentally slapping himself senseless. He can't tell Luffy and Sabo the truth. It will only make them more anxious than needed. And in addition, there was no need in telling them about that mysterious cloaked man. After all, as mysterious as he is, the person have already died, yes? He had been reduced to nothing but bones, right? Somehow that statement doesn't seem true.

"Kidnapped? Why would anyone kidnap me?"

"You, of all people should know why, Ace."

The boy froze. It can't be about that, right? Ace knew specifically that his secret was hidden, and no one but his brothers and that old gramps knew about it. And besides, that man said that he wants Sabo, not him. But strangely enough, that man was already gone, and-

Dammit, this is so complicated.

Ace abruptly stood up and glared at Sabo, much to the other's surprise. "This is ridiculous." He spoke with an air of finality, before walking away from the blonde.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"...That's none of your business, Sabo. And..." He glanced behind him with eyes that dared the blonde to talk back to him. "...Don't search for me."

Sabo couldn't utter a single word as Ace sauntered into the thick forest.

The wind flowed gently, causing Ace's raven locks to slightly sway. The boy was sitting on a lone rock, eyes distant as he clutched his iron pipe.

-"Seriously don't make us worry. We thought you were kidnapped or something."-

Ace brought his knees to his chest, hugging himself. Does he really deserve those kind hearted words? He sighed. Maybe not. Maybe that was just Sabo being natural. The top hatted boy was always polite after all.

"Ace?"

Said boy immediately became startled, eyes wide as he turned around only to meet his little brother's eyes. His heartbeat slowly calmed, his features relaxed. "Luffy." He addressed the boy standing to his left, not far away. "What are you doing here? Aren't you with Sab-"

"You did this to me, right?"

The question was unexpected, it actually made Ace's figure jolt in surprise. He then shuddered when he realized the tone Luffy used and the stare the usually energetic boy gave him. Void of emotions. Lifeless. What the hell happened? "What are you talking about, Lu? Did what? What did I do?" The wind blew harsher this time, causing Ace to momentarily shut his eye. And he wished he had not opened them after that.

In place of Luffy now stood a teen wearing a red vest and blue shorts, a familiar straw hat resting on his raven hair. Black and blue bruises littered his pale skin along with numerous cuts and wounds, and despite all of that, the teen smiled a smile that was similar to his younger brother. Yet this one is pained and forced.

Weird enough, a collar was attached to his neck with a chain that disappeared in the darkness behind him. Wait, dark? How is that possible? Ace's eyes shifted from the chain to the symbol on the teen's shoulder.

"You did this to me, right?" Again, that question. Straight from the teen's mouth was the same question Luffy had ask before. Ace gazed the wounds on the other's body with wide eyes, before replying the teen's- Luffy's question.

"Since when did I ever hurt you? You know I won't do that, Lu!" His hand instantly shot up to his neck as soon as he was finished speaking. This voice... It was his, but somehow more mature. Ace then held out his hands, and saw that his arms were bigger than what he remembered. When the heck did he got muscles? Now that he realized it, he was much more taller than before...

"Liar."

Than one word made Ace stagger back in shock, shoulders stiff and body rigid. All in one moment, memories that he did not remember entered his mind, and his eyes widened more in horror.

-"Ace! Help me!"-

-"Thanks. For loving me. I couldn't ask for a better little brother."-

-"ACE!"-

"See? You hurt me, Ace. I thought you were my big brother."

Ace snapped his head up to the dark voice, and saw Luffy turning away from him and...

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean it!"

...slowly, he walked into the darkness, as if the chain was pulling him in, demanding him to enter.

"You know what, Ace? I don't want you as a brother anymore. Bye-bye."

Ace reached out a hand to Luffy, but he can't advance forward. The freckled man looked behind him and saw a new kind of darkness, and he too, was pulled in by multiple inky hands that grabbed his arms that dragged him in. Mocking laughter echoed in his ears, drowning him. Then, with a final raspy shout, he disappeared into nothingness.

"LUFFY!"

Slap.

Pain stinging in his cheek, the man stared at the person who slapped him with wide eyes. White clothes, bright orange hair put into a pompadour...

"...Th-Thatch..?"

"Oh my god, Ace. What the hell happened? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Ace sat up and looked around. This place is... Ah, the crow's nest. Ace stared at Thatch in the eyes. "I... fell asleep."

"No shit." The other retorted with a deadpanned tone, before changing the subject. "So, what the hell was that all about? You had a nightmare or something?"

It was then when Ace noticed his trembling hands and his ragged, out of breath breathing. "Yeah..." He answered, his voice slightly shaky. "Something like that."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"I'd rather not."

Thatch hummed in understanding, and he abruptly stood up. "Well, I better get going now. Gotta cook up something for hungry people." Ace raised an eyebrow and dumbly nodded at this, before a pink tube of paint entered his sights from Thatch's back pocket. Oh look, there's also glitters.

"Thatch... "

Uh oh. Ace is definitely mad now. "Were you thinking of making me pink when I was asleep?"

Without another word, Thatch quickly climbed down the stairs in panic.

"Dammit, Thatch!"

Not far away from the crow's nest, Marco was silently watching at Ace scrambling up to his feet to chase after Thatch, sighing when he saw Ace accidentally fell down the stairs, shouting a stream of profanities from his foul mouth.

Then, Marco chuckled when he saw a very much panicked Thatch trying to get away from a flaming Ace. A smile resting on his lips, he murmured. "Just a normal day, yoi... "

Meanwhile, a boy in his early teens sat inside of a dirty and rusty cage, a frown marring his face. The cage was placed in a small tent, along with other cages that occupied some of the strangest people. Some looked like they were nearly at death's doorstep, while others were just silent, not making a sound. That is, until someone came in the tent. Forced smiles and laughter immediately sounded the air around the 'someone', and in reply, a smile graced his lips as he held the whip in his hands.

"Well, isn't everyone so lively today?" He said, stepping forward. The men in the cage answered his question with the usual 'Yes, master', and then everyone became quiet when the whip strongly strikes the ground.

A glare from his green eyes told them all to shut up, and they all complied in obvious cowardice. Only one did not give in to his master's silent command, as he spoke up a second after. "Master, is it my turn?" It was the teen's voice that spoke, and despite his age, his question was laced with nothing but lifelessness. The master smiled once again, his legs moving towards the rusty cage, stopping only when he reached in front of it.

"Ah... I suppose it is. I've come here to remind you of that, actually, in case you did not remember. Apparently you do. What a good slave, you are."

The teen fought down the spark of urge to yell at the man for addressing him with the title 'slave', and instead forced a fake smile upon his features.

"How about I give you a little practice before you go up the stage? It will surely do you good."

"Thank you, Master."

The teen took a few breaths, clutching onto the cage's metal bars as he opened his mouth, melodic notes flowing out. He sung his song with every emotion left in him, tears brimming in his eyes in an instant.

"Singing it's silent song of misery, A monster lies trapped in it's own nightmare..."

A/N: Well... That ending doesn't make any sense. Kudos to anyone who figured out the who that teen in the cage was. And also, if you know the song, you might actually know the situation of the teen ;)

Thanks for reading/reviewing/favouriting/following this story! Honestly, I really didn't think anyone would read this. Lovely people, all of you.

Bye now, ciao!