"He wasn't below deck." Usopp announced, coming above deck.
"Not in the galley either!" Nami declared.
"Not the crows nest." Brook added.
"Not in the Su~per bathroom!" Franky proclaimed.
"Not in the infirmary!" Chopper said.
"I don't see him anywhere else." Robin murmured, uncrossing her arms and opening her eyes, a slight frown on her face.
"And now Zoro and Sanji are missing too." Nami added in worry.
"Do you think someone's on the ship and taking them?!" Usopp asked in worry.
"Ack! Don't say that!" Chopper spluttered in fear.
"If that were the case Zoro-San or Sanji-San would have sensed them with haki." Brook soothed.
"Unless they are good at suppressing it." Robin countered, thinking.
"Who would take them though? Marines?" Franky asked.
"It's possible, we are near an island, they might be taking them there." Nami informed.
"How long would it take to get to the island from here?" Chopper asked.
"An hour at most, we were already heading there. For now we should all stay together." Nami said sternly, her mouth pinched into a tight frown. Everyone nodded in agreement and headed to the galley where they ate the food Sanji had prepared before they realized Luffy was gone. It was silent and noticeably devoid of a certain rubber mans stretchy arms going to grab their food.
"Zoro?" Other Luffy called softly.
"Yeah?" Other Zoro asked, peaking his good eye open. He sat behind other Luffy, against Merry's figure head, dutifully watching his Captains back. Other Luffy was sitting tall on Merry's figure head, watching the ocean peacefully, no doubt a lot running through his mind with everything going on.
"Should we tell them anything?" Other Luffy asked, referring to their past selves. Other Zoro was silent for a minute.
"As long as we don't change anything we should be fine." He replied, having heard one too many stories about time travelers changing the past and having horrible repercussions.
"I guess... Its just... all I would have to do was say, don't go after Blackbeard and Ace wouldn't... he wouldn't... die..." Other Luffy said, his voice softening even more. Other Zoro nodded, his heart clenching at the memory of reading the newspaper that day, reading that his Captain's brother had died in his arms.
"But... then we wouldn't have trained, Sabo wouldn't remember us- man, Ace didn't even know Sabo was still alive, and- I got it!" Other Luffy suddenly exclaimed, surprising other Zoro at the suddenly loud voice.
Over the time they had been sitting there everyone besides the two Sanji's had come back on deck and at the sound of other Luffy's shout they all looked over.
"Got what?" Other Zoro asked, sitting up straighter. Other Luffy had a determined look on his face as he stood from the figure head, walking quickly over to Luffy and Ace of the past. Other Zoro followed, both Sanji's coming out to see what was happening.
"I know how to know if you guys are using a devil fruit!" Other Luffy announced, gaining everyone's attention.
"How? Wouldn't that just prove that we aren't, when we knew we weren't, and that you still might be?" Nami asked skeptically. Other Luffy shook his head.
"No, because you'll know." He said, addressing past Luffy and Ace.
"How?" Ace asked. Other Luffy stayed silent, looking them both in the eyes.
"How many brothers do I have?" He asked, causing the past crew to look on in confusion. That was too easy a question when Ace was standing right there, what would it prove?
Future Zoro and Sanji understood though and watched with interest, wondering what the answer would be.
Ace and Luffy of the past frowned deeply at him, causing the past crew to falter. Maybe there was more to this.
"Two." Past Luffy said steely, verging on anger. The past crew was shocked, but the future merely nodded.
"What's his name." Ace asked through gritted teeth back to future Luffy.
"Sabo." Future Luffy said, watching as the two's eyes widened.
"What just happened?" Usopp asked.
"This just proved that we are from the future and you are our past selves." Other Zoro replied, the past crew turning confused stares onto him, including Ace and Luffy's.
"My crew, in the future, find out about Sabo." Other Luffy said simply, having noticed past Luffy and Aces confused stares, but not wanting them to know too much.
"W-why?" Ace asks. He and past Luffy were equally confused, knowing there was no reason they would bring up their deceased brother.
"In the future it becomes relevant, but not for a long time." Other Luffy says with a distant voice. Past Luffy's frowning face quickly lit up.
"So you are me! That's so cool! Hey, I'm probably really strong then, huh?!" He asked. Other Luffy beamed.
"Sure am! I beat up a whole ton of guys!" Other Luffy boasts happily. Nami sighs, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
"Of course you do, I bet you also get us into tons of trouble." She said, causing other Luffy to laugh sheepishly.
"Well, in the mean time, lunch is ready, come eat up." Future Sanji announces. Both Luffy's cheer, rushing to the galley. Soon the members found themselves noticing that the galley was too small and they opted to eat on deck.
"Well, everyone's going to have a lot of questions, but first, what should we call you? Seeing as we have two Zoro's, Sanji's, and Luffy's we can't call you by your names, it would be too confusing." Vivi said. Everyone glanced at the doubles.
"Oh! We could call Zoro Roronoa!" Chopper said happily. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Then Luffy would be Monkey!" Usopp said, everyone smiling at how the name so obviously fit Luffy.
"What would we call Sanji then?" Ace asked.
"Just call me Black Leg." Future Sanji said, everyone nodding in agreement.
"Next, seeing as you proved your not marines, do you have any idea how you might be able to get back?" Nami asked. The three looked at each other before shrugging.
"No idea." Roronoa said. Nami groaned.
"Of course." She mumbled.
"Oh, but Robin might already know! She's really smart!" Monkey said, beaming as he ate, stealing from everyone's plates, Luffy and Ace included. Haki definitely helped in dodging their forks.
"Oh Robin-Chwan~! How I miss her radiant beauty! Im sure she's working diligently to get us home!" Black Leg cooed, swooning at the thought of Robin. Roronoa rolled his eye.
"Stupid ero cook." He mumbled, causing Black Leg to glare at him.
"What was that you shitty swordsman?!" Black Leg asked. Nami was fuming.
"Knock it off!" She shouted, punching the two. Monkey and Luffy both began laughing, even Ace was smiling, while the others cringed at how hard Nami had hit.
"Man, its exhausting enough to deal with one Zoro and Sanji, now there're two!" She cried, Sanji swooning beside her, promising to 'keep the marimo under control.'
"Damn witch." Roronoa growled quietly. Zoro nodded in agreement.
"Couldn't agree more." He said, causing Nami to glare at the both of them.
"Zoro, Roronoa, Im inclined to raise your debts by 50%." She said, a sly smile on her face.
"What?! You can't do that!" Roronoa shouted.
"Oh, did you say 100%? Alright, if you insist." Nami said, shrugging. Usopp shook his head.
"Stop while your ahead." He pleaded to both Zoro and Roronoa who merely seethed in anger.
"Shishishi~, you guys are the best!" Monkey and Luffy laughed, echoing each other. The crew, past and future, looked at them, their faces of different emotions all becoming smiles, no matter how big or small.
"Well... now that were done fighting, who's Robin?" Vivi asked. Monkey, Roronoa and Black Leg hesitated at that, glancing at each other.
"Uh, she's uh... you know... a future person! Right Roronoa?!" Monkey asked. Roronoa nodded, though he sighed at the bad acting of his Captain. The crew raised an eyebrow at them.
"A future person?" Usopp asked, hoping Monkey would elaborate.
"Yeah, a future person." Roronoa reiterated. It was silent again until Chopper broke it.
"So... um... what are you going to do now?" He asked. The doubles shrugged.
"Look for a way to get home I guess." Black Leg said, lighting a cigarette.
"Your welcome to come with us till then! It'll be so much fun!" Luffy said cheerfully.
"Luffy, they've already experienced all of this, it would just be the same adventure over again." Sanji said. Luffy frowned.
"Well... it wont! Because they're with us this time!" He announced. Everyone was silent, realizing that, of course, Luffy was right.
"I've got a question." Ace said, his serious voice a harsh contrast to Luffy's happy one. It unnerved Monkey, knowing what his brother was probably going to ask.
"W-what is it?" Monkey asked, a slight stutter in his voice that didn't go unnoticed by anyone on board. Roronoa shifted, also having a feeling he knew what Ace was going to ask, Black Leg having the same thought as he took a long drag of the cigarette, twisting it nervously in his fingers.
"If you are Luffy, why did you react the way you did when you saw me?" Ace questioned, the thought having bugged him since Monkey appeared. Everyone was silent, watching as Monkey immediately stopped eating, frozen in place, Roronoa and Black Leg glancing between Monkey and Ace. Monkey slowly swallowed the bite in his mouth, retracting his arms to his sides as he stared at the food in front of him.
When Luffy, past or future, wasn't eating all members knew something was wrong.
"N-no reason, j-just... haven't seen you in... in a long time..." Monkey stuttered, the sentence not being a whole lie, but not the whole truth either, though it was still utterly obvious he wasn't telling the whole story.
"But even when you didn't see me until Alabasta you didn't react like that at all." Ace said, narrowing his eyes. This may be Luffy from the future but it was still his brother. Luffy watched the interaction with interest, also confused why his future self would react so strongly to Ace, it was almost like when... Sabo died.
Monkey stayed silent, along with everyone else as they waited with bated breaths to hear what he would say. Roronoa and Black Leg shared a look, ready to bail their Captain out, make an excuse, but it wasn't necessary as a noise that the past crew was becoming all too familiar with occurred beside the group.
A crash.
"AAA!" Three voices screamed simultaneously, shocking them as they turned.
"Guard point!" A familiar voice shouted and suddenly a ball of fluff landed beside them, two objects falling safely into the fluff.
"Chopper!" Monkey said, happy for the distraction. Ace looked at Monkey for a minute before turning to the new arrivals.
"Chopper?!" The past crew said in shock. Monkey grinned, running over to Chopper along with Roronoa and Black Leg. Suddenly the fluff was gone, leaving three people they knew well.
"Nami-Swan~! I missed your beauty, though I was filled with nostalgia when I saw you from so long ago!" Black Leg cooed, noodling around other Nami who was pulling her hair behind her, shock still on her face from the fall.
"How was your fall Usopp?" Roronoa asked, a smirk on his face. Other Usopp glared at him.
"Not pleasant thank you very much!" Other Usopp shouted, adrenaline still coursing through his veins.
"Luffy! I thought you were gone! Are you hurt?! I need to do a check-up!" Other Chopper demanded, worry clouding his previous fright. Monkey laughed.
"Shishishi, Im fine Chopper, promise!" He said, patting other Choppers hat. Other Chopper looked at him skeptically.
"Last time you said that you had three broken ribs." He said. Monkey pouted.
"Did not, I felt fine." He said. Other Chopper shook his head, almost screaming when he looked behind his Captain.
"Uh, Luffy... who are they?" Other Chopper asked, gaining future Nami and Usopp's attention.
"I-Isn't that... us?!" Other Usopp asked in shock.
"And-" Other Nami covered her mouth in shock, the three turning pale as they spied Ace watching them.
"G-Ghost!" Other Chopper and Usopp shouted, clinging to each other. Monkey frowned, also paling slightly.
"Usopp, Chopper, Nami, there aren't any ghosts here, right?" Roronoa asked in a deathly calm voice, looking at his Captain, then back to the three. They looked at Roronoa, then Ace, then Monkey, realization slowly kicking in.
"Y-yeah, I mean... Uh, what ghost? Right Chopper?" Other Usopp asked, though his voice was still shaky. Other Chopper slowly climbed off other Usopp.
"R-right..." He said.
"What's going on?" Other Nami asked, her voice quiet.
"This is our past selves, when we were in Alabasta." Black Leg said simply. The three looked at him in shock.
"Past?! We're in the past?!" Other Usopp asked in shock. They nodded.
"Luffy, what did you get us into now?!" Other Nami asked, groaning. Monkey pouted.
"Nothing, I swear, I woke up here!" He said. Other Nami sighed, shaking her head.
"So you had lunch?" She asked. He shrugged.
"I've been here a while, and I didn't get breakfast!" He complained. She shook her head, looking to their past selves.
"This is just too weird. How do we know they're actually our past selves?" She asked. Luffy sobered.
"They are." He replied simply. She watched him a moment, understanding that that was all she was getting out of him, especially when she looked to Roronoa and Black Leg and they nodded. She closed her eyes.
"Alright, lets get back to your lunch." She said as everyone slowly returned to their meals.
"Well, now that there are... more of us, we need more names. It would be confusing to call the doubles by their names so Luffy is Monkey, Zoro's Roronoa, and Sanji's Black Leg." Vivi explained once more.
"I guess I could be Cat Burglar." Other Nami said.
"Call me God Usopp!" Other Usopp declared, though everyone glared at him.
"Fine, fine, just call me Sniper then." He said grumpily.
"Tony's fine." Other Chopper said with a small smile, still a little timid. Everyone nodded.
"We look so much cooler in the future." Usopp said, admiring the muscle his future self had gained.
"I grew my hair out." Nami said, causing Cat Burglar to nod.
"You look beautiful with or without long hair Nami-San~!" Sanji cooed.
"So..." Ace said, causing everyone to remember the conversation they had been having before they were interrupted. Cat Burglar, Sniper, and Tony looked at everyone in confusion, not understanding why everyone was suddenly silent or why everything was tense.
"Why did you freak out when you saw me?" Ace asked Monkey, and suddenly, everything clicked to the three as they paled, watching Monkey.
"U-uh, hey, what if I told you guys about the time we went to an island in the sky?!" Sniper asked, understanding that this was one topic that should not be discussed. The past members looked at him in confusion but Ace and Luffy continued to stare at Monkey.
"Yeah, Usopp, remember when we saw God?!" Cat Burglar tried, urging the crew to listen to the story rather then wait for the explanation they wanted.
"O-Oh and the white water!" Tony also added, worry etched into his features. The past members knew the future ones were trying to deter them from the answer but they didn't know why. Was it that bad? Ace had a feeling that he knew the answer to his question, especially when sniper and Tony saw him, but he had to know. He continued to stare his little brother down, knowing he would eventually break and either tell him or revert to ignoring him completely.
"Guys, stop." Monkey said softly, causing the ones once known as the weakling trio to quiet down, watching their Captain with sadness in their eyes.
"Luffy." Ace said, deciding it was better to not to call him Monkey in this situation. Monkey looked him in the eyes, the pain and sadness clear as day, and it made his heart break to know that something in his brothers future happened to make him feel this way.
"A-Ace... you..." He couldn't finish. He glanced at Luffy, at his crew from the past, his crew from the future, Vivi, but ended where he started, himself. He knew how he would react, he was himself, and he didn't want him to know. Roronoa nudged his shoulder with his and he looked at his first mate. The silent conversation between them passed and he heard the words as if Roronoa had said them himself.
'You don't need to tell them if you don't want to.'
Monkey closed his eyes, taking a breath before opening them and staring Ace straight in the eyes, tears welling up.
"Ace... you died."