Disclaimer: I can't own One Piece so I don't.

Tell me what you think about the first chapter! Pls! It'll help me so much. I was focusing on the adventure, plot and character building so much that i don't know if i should start pairing or not. you'll probably know later in the story anyways. Thanks to the readers. Enjoy ;)

The blinding light landed on the young girl's face as she began to slowly emerge from the trees and bushes. The grey fog cleared and revealed mountains and mountains of thrown away garbage, the trash that the nobles on the other side of the gigantic wall do not need, in which it also included humans. From pieces of broken machineries to toys thrown away by children, it was all there, hidden from sight of the 'cleaner' people.

'Ugh…' Luffy wrinkled her nose. Of course, not because of the smell or the crawling sick and injured people, not because of the dirtiness or anything like that. She felt disgusted because this was the most obvious proof to how rotten the people in the inner sections are. Luffy hated those kinds of people.

'I'm about to meet Sabo! I can't show a face like this!' Luffy said as she wiped away her annoyed and hateful look and slapped on her typical clumsy grin, the grin that only seem to fit her face. Sliding down the trash hill she was standing on, Luffy landed with a light 'thud' and started looking around, asking herself, now, how did I fund Ace and Sabo again? Climbing on the body of a broken crane, Luffy began skimming the area. Then, remembering something, she pointed to a tall tree which was poking out from the treetops in the forest in between Mt Corvo and the Terminal, 'They're there!'

Seeing Ace's figure also heading in the direction, Luffy jumped off and grabbed a long iron pipe along the way. Then she took off and followed Ace into the jungle. The young boy stopped in front of the tree and looked up, calling out to Sabo. Luffy had decided to hide behind one of the trees nearby to look for an appropriate time to appear.

'Oh, Ace!' Sabo replied, hiding under the leaves of the branch. Luffy, for the first time in three months, Ace smiled, 'Sorry I'm late.'

'You sure are.' Sabo leaned forward, looking down towards Ace. He wore a top hat that sat neatly on top of his curly blonde hair. Whenever the young boy talked, it would reveal his missing tooth. Seeing her older brother still the same, wearing his blue tailcoat and owning his fluffy smile, Luffy couldn't help grinning madly. Sabo continued, 'I've already done some work in the city.'

'Really? Truth is, I have too.' Ace said and the two young boys grinned at each other deviously. Sabo supported Ace onto the branch and they began to compare each other's loot, 'Here we go!' They showed their treasure.

Sabo gaped at Ace's treasure bag, 'Amazing! You've got more than me!' Ace grinned proudly. Sabo observed the bag more closely, 'This is a lot of treasure! How'd you get it?'

'I stole it from some hoodlums near the main gate.'

'Damn… you beat me again today!' Sabo said, slightly upset but still happy, as he began counting through the money.

'It doesn't matter who wins, does it? We're gonna spend he Pirate Fund together one day anyways. It must've been five years since we've started saving, huh?' Ace looked down at the treasure hidden in the hole in the branch.

'We've worked hard.' Ace smiled at Sabo. The blond boy smiled back, 'We sure have!'

'To leave East Blue and head into a world these islanders don't even know about…' Sabo said as he turned to the breath-taking scene of the sea, he smiled, 'I get excited just thinking about it!' Ace followed his gaze and gave an excited smirk. The sea, to them was like a road to freedom, a way to get away from the dark world that only they could see.

'Hurry and close the lid, we don't know who might be looking.' Ace warned Sabo, snapping the boy out of his thoughts.

Sabo stuffed the last load of money into the hole and asked, 'I wonder how much money we would need to buy a pirate ship?'

'Who know… hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions...' Ace answered, still looking at the deep, blue sea that stretched towards the skyline. He then turned to his brother, 'Whatever it is, we've still got a long way to go.'

Luffy smiled, walked out from the shadow of tree and decided that it's time she make her appearance, 'A pirate ship?' She said aloud excitedly. Sabo, startled, snapped the lid shut and turned to look at the source of the voice. Luffy waved her hand at Sabo, 'You guys want to be pirates? So will I!'

Luffy laughed aloud innocently, she had worn a black tank top that had a pirate jolly roger on it and wore a pair of maroon pants. She looked extremely similar to a boy which had caused both Ace and Sabo to mistake her for one. Ace and Sabo were shocked and scared to near death, their face losing its colour. The two brothers turned to Luffy, then each other; they nodded in unison and began climbing down the trunk of the tree. The landed in front of Luffy in a matter of seconds and with their fist, they knocked Luffy to the ground, 'Be quiet!'

Luffy landed on the ground with her butt and while rubbing her head said, 'That's a rude way to greet someone.' The two grabbed onto Luffy's arms before she could react.

'So this is where you go every day, Ace.' Luffy said, as carefree as ever even though she was secured to the tree and was unable to move.

'Shut up!' Ace intercepted the young girl (who he thinks is a boy).

'So this is the Luffy guy you've been talking about?' Sabo asked as he crossed his arms. The two brothers were both armed with pipes and gave off an intimidating air.

'So Ace talked about me, Tailcoat Boy?' Luffy asked excitedly.

'It's Sabo.' The blond boy fixed.

'Right.' Luffy answered with a nod.

Ace rested his hands on his hips and spoke in an annoyed voice, cutting the conversation between the two, 'Yeah, I've been complaining about how clingy you are…'

'And how you never think about what you're doing.' Sabo finished the sentence. The young girl only laughed happily and said with a smile, 'I see. You don't know much about me then. How about we get to know each other a little more?'

Sabo sighed and glared down at Luffy with confusing eyes, wondering if this kid has a few screws lose or not, 'Doesn't he realise that we're insulting him?'

'He finally made it all the way here.' Ace turned to Sabo and said, 'And I made sure to use the paths that ordinary people can travel…' The two troublemakers looked at each other with wary stares as cold sweat drip down their foreheads.

'Hey, Sabo, Ace, you two seem like close friends.' Luffy interrupted with a naïve grin. Sabo opened his mouth, then closed it, then said, 'How did you know my name?'

'You said it early.' Luffy said, looking above like she was trying to regain something on the top of her mind. Sabo clicked his tongue before rubbing his chin, 'I didn't mean to say it so soon. I just ended up doing it unconsciously because he called me Tailcoat Boy.' He mumbled under his breath.

'Hey, Sabo, be my friend too.' Luffy asked, straight forwardly with a smile.

'Wait… what do you mean 'too'?' Ace asked as he poked his pipe at Luffy's nose. The young girl grinned clumsily and replied, 'Aren't we already friends?' She asked Ace.

'WE'RE NOT!' Ace shouted angrily. The two brothers gave a 'tsk' and turned to each other with annoyed looks. Sabo spoke, 'This is why I said you should just live here. Taking that round trip and training in the mountains each day just caused us a lot of trouble! What are we gonna do?'

'Now that he knows our secret… I'm sure he'll tell everyone if we let him go.' Ace mumble, his eyes full of malice, 'Let's kill him.'

'Right, let's do that.' Sabo nodded after a moment of thought. Luffy dropped her grin and paled. She knew they weren't going to do anything to her but the looks in their eyes are creepy enough to send a bull running.

She calmed herself down and said with a serious voice, 'I won't tell anyone, I swear, so don't kill me. If you try, I'll scream!'

'Hmph. We're not going to believe you!' Ace said, though he wanted to believe the girl. The black haired boy turned to Sabo, 'You do it! Hurry!'

'Why do I have to?!' Sabo freaked out, 'You do it!'

'I can't! I've never killed someone before!' Ace shouted. Somehow, the two had gotten caught up in an argument. Sabo returned the shout, 'Neither have I! I don't know how to kill someone!'

'Haven't you heard what I said?' Luffy said as a warning, an unnoticeable smirk on her lips, 'I'm gonna scream.' She took in a deep breath and before the two could react, she let out an ear-deafening scream, 'HELP ME! MURDERERS! SOMEONE HELP ME!'

The shout echoed through the jungle, it was so loud, it could possibly be heard on the other side of Mt Corvo. Ace and Sabo were now freaking out and had ended in a state of absolute panic. They grabbed at Luffy's mouth and shouted in unison, 'Shut up!'

Somewhere out on the edge of the jungle next to he Terminal where the children were unaware of, Porchemy, a large built man with a shark like face and long purple hair, stood with his subordinates. One of the followers shouted, 'There, in the jungle. I just heard a child's voice.' He pointed and the four of then entered the forest. Hearing the footsteps from the distant, the two brothers stopped messing with Luffy and grumbled, 'Oh no! Someone's coming!'

'For starters, let's untie him! If we don't get out of sight, they'll find the treasure.' Ace suggested. And so the two did, they untied Luffy and the three of them climbed behind a few bushes. They stayed there, sitting quietly as Porchemy and his men approach the tree. Overhearing Porchemy's conversation about Bluejam, Ace silently cursed under his breath for stealing those men's loot. He had thought they were just some hoodlums like all the others.

'You got that money from those guys?' Sabo asked worrily. Ace gritted his teeth, 'We've got some dangerous money in our hands.'

'The guy who is carrying the sword is Bluejam's underling, Porchemy. He's absolutely crazy, have you heard?' Sabo informed, his face tensing, 'He tears the skin off the face of the people he defeats, while they're still alive!'

'I don't like that guy…' Luffy grumbled, remembering what he did to Ace, Luffy couldn't help but feel like punching him across the face. Thinking of something, Luffy began to move.

'We can't let ourselves be seen…' The two brothers duck deeper into the bushes. Sabo turned to Luffy, making sure she was there but not even a soul was next to him. He turned to look at where Porchemy was and almost screamed. Luffy, holding one of the two's pipe, just swung and hit the stick at Porchemy. The iron surface hit against his temple making him tumble back a few steps.

What the hell is he doing?! The two brothers shouted in their minds. Luffy, who had just pissed the man off, ran towards the Grey Terminal while shouting, 'Oi, Shark Face! I know where Ace is! If you want to know… TRY AND CATCH ME!' Luffy shouted and stuck out her tongue while stretching her cheeks. Porchemy stood up and he and his men began chasing Luffy.

'What is that idiot doing?' Ace shouted, getting ready to chase after her. He didn't know why but he didn't want to leave the boy alone. But, a hand reached out to stop him. Sabo said with a determined look, 'We should move the treasure while Porchemy is distracted. And, that kid is no idiot; he just saved us from losing our treasure.'

'You mean he teased Porchemy on purpose?' Ace asked, slightly confused. Wondering who would do that for someone they don't know.

'We shouldn't waste his effort. Let's move the treasure to somewhere safer. After getting caught and tortured, that kid would somehow tell the truth anyway.' Sabo said as he began climbing up the tree.

The hut was very terribly built and looked as if it was about to fall apart. Luffy was tied to a column that supported the small house. The small rays of light managed to sneak in through the dozen of holes on the wall and ceiling and land on the girl's face. Porchemy stood opposite to her, a gigantic hammer in his hand.

'I won't tell you anything!' Luffy said her eyes full of determination. Porchemy approached the girl slowly, dragging the hammer with him; he had an eerie air around him that could send shudders down ones spine. He raised the hammer into the air and smashed it down with immense force. The hammer hit the floor, sending splinters in every direction. It stay there for a second, seemingly crushing the child, only for it to bounce right back up the next moment.

'I told you that you can't hurt me like that.' Luffy said with a defiant grin. The men in the back, who were watching Porchemy torture Luffy, began panicking only to be told to shut up by Porchemy. The tall man walked closer, 'So you have the devil fruit's powers don't you? I don't know which fruit but if this kind of attack won't hurt you, there are other types of torture.

Bring me my gloves.' Porchemy ordered. The pirates began to tie Luffy and hung him from the ceiling. One of the men returned with a pair of spiked gloves. Porchemy snapped them on and approached the young girl, 'Listen up, brat. The cash that your friend, Ace, stole was our pirate's crew's precious treasure. And you know where it is, so just tell me!'

'No way!' Luffy protested. But before she could continue, the spiked fist slammed against her face, splattering blood to the ground. Luffy spat out blood and spoke, 'Watch the face, a girl needs to keep her face pretty, you know.' She said with a grin.

'Shut up, brat! The only thing you need to say is where the treasure is.' Porchemy demanded.

'Never.' She said with the same determined eyes. Another punch sent her flying, more blood dripped to the ground but she refused to let out even a cry. It was painful, excruciatingly painful even but she refused to speak or even let a tear drop. If only she could control her Haki properly right now, she'd beat them easily. Her control over Observation Haki was still superb but she had no control over Armament and Conqueror's Haki, they were out of control.

'I w-won't talk.' Luffy mumbled. She managed to activate her Conqueror's Haki for a moment but only one of the followers fell. The two asked him what happened but he was already unconscious, foaming from his mouth. Porchemy didn't react, he only continued punching Luffy.

'Go search for Ace and Sabo! Now!' He ordered and the two conscious underlings ran off with their tails between their legs.

The two brothers had finally finished moving their treasure to another tree in the forest. They hid it under the roots of an old oak. Sabo was going to head to the Grey Terminal to check about any new revolving around Porchemy when Ace stopped him and asked, 'Something feels wrong here, doesn't it?'

'What do you mean?' Sabo asked. Ace turned to him, 'It's been hours and none of their men had come here to find us.'

Ace felt that something was wrong, seeing the determined look in Luffy's eyes and how he'd face off the two lords of the jungle the other day, Ace knew that it was not so simple. Something about that kid told him that Luffy wouldn't just tell them the location of their treasure.

'Do you mean…' Sabo looked at Ace after a while of thought. Ace nodded, both their faces drowned with fear and worry, 'He hasn't told them yet!'

The two other men, who had return from their useless hunt, were now on the ground with foam coming out of their mouth. Porchemy was continuously punching Luffy across the face as Luffy coughed up blood. She couldn't even move anymore. After using the Conqueror's Haki on the two other hoodlums, Porchemy was furious and began to ask her what she did. Luffy didn't have a chance to knock him out since she was losing her consciousness. Her vision blurred, the only thing she could make out was the figure of Porchemy pick up the sword and telling her she no longer have a using and he will kill her now. Luffy could retort, she could even scream. She thought she had lost all hope.

Suddenly, the wooden wall burst open and the two boys, Ace and Sabo, charged in. Luffy looked up, her vision getting slightly better, she couldn't even feel the pain anymore, her senses have dulled. Panting and breathing unevenly, she croaked, 'Ace… Sabo…' She felt like she could cry, her brothers were there, protecting her again.

Ignoring the underlings laying on the ground, Ace charged straight towards Porchemy, jumping up, getting ready to smash down on his head. The pirate, effortlessly, grabbed Ace in mid-air by the neck and said with a smirk, 'You brats showing up makes it much easier. I didn't know your friend has such sealed lips.'

Ace struggled in his grip; all he managed to do was croaked out Sabo's name. Sabo jumped up and charged from behind, swinging his pipe, he hit Porchemy across the head. The large man drop Ace and stumbled slightly, he growled like a wild beast and regained his footing, 'That hurt pretty bad, you know.'

XXXXX

Luffy was sleepy now, she was sure that after the sleep she would feel much better. Her eyes won't be blurry; her ears won't be ringing… She didn't feel this terrible when this happened in the last life. Maybe it was because using Haki had exhausted her too much. She couldn't even comprehend what was going on. Luffy then dosed off into a deep sleep.

XXXXX

Porchemy turned around, the blade in his hand glistening, 'You know what happens when you make fun of grown-ups, don't you?' He said with a mad grin.

'Your opponent it right here!' Ace stood up to his feet and shouted, getting Porchemy's attention, 'Sabo! Get Luffy!' Sabo could do nothing but nod. He was scared, he didn't want to admit it but he was. Running pass Ace, he could see his brethren's leg shaking slightly. I guess Ace is scared too, he thought, couldn't help the smile.

Sabo picked up the knife one of the fallen pirates were holding and went off to cut Luffy's rope. Porchemy's and Ace's fight had begun, Ace continuously dodge and return the hit while Porchemy take the initiative. It seemed as if Ace could fend off the man well enough. Sabo, at the while, had been able to free Luffy. He grabbed the child around the waist and carried him under his arm, 'Ace, I got Luffy, let's go!'

'You go on ahead!' Ace announced, steady on his feet, ready for another round with Porchemy. Sabo tensed, he wanted to mishear what Ace had said, why does that idiot have to stay stubborn at the most annoying times? He shouted, scolding Ace, 'you idiot! Come on!'

'Once I've chosen an opponent… I won't run!' Ace announced stubbornly.

'What? You brat!' Porchemy shouted angrily, the wound on his head bleeding.

Sabo turned around with a worried look, 'Don't! He's on a different level compared to those delinquents in town!'

'Don't you get it?' Porchemy asked with a dark look, 'Oi, play time's over! You stole our money! You will obediently return it to us, you insolent brat! I'm sure you've realised you've down a bad thing! I won't hurt you if you give back the money!' He said; his grin widening as he pointed the blade at Ace.

The young boy smashed the sword away and said with a glare, 'we're gonna make much better use of it!'

Porchemy grunted, now as twice ass annoyed, 'Wh-' He straightened up and glanced down at the child, 'What did you say?!'

Dropping Luffy gently to the ground, Sabo said as he approached his comrade, 'you… wait just a minute.' He run up next to Ace, 'You're being too reckless! Why are you always doing this?!'

'I never back down.' The determined look still it his eyes, sparkling like a flame that would never be diminished.

'Don't be ridiculous!' Porchemy shouted as he swung his sword. Ace jumped up to parry it but before he could react, the pipe was cut clean in half. A lunatic grin etched across his face as Porchemy announced proudly, 'If I lose to a pair of kids, I'll quit being a pirate!'

'Then we'll make you quit!' The two boys leapt up and attack the pirate with all their might. Porchemy shouted back, 'I'll slaughter ya!'

The voices echoed through the Terminal as the weapons clashed.

'Is he alright?' Ace asked as the leaned closer to the unconscious boy (girl). Sabo had just finished bandaging up the wounds on her face when she opened her eyes with a snap. Luffy sat up her eyes wide then tears started to fall out. Seeing the reaction, Sabo freaked out while Ace turned his worry into anger, he shouted, 'Why are you crying? The fighting's over! You're rescued! Why are you crying?'

'I…' Luffy raised a hand to her eyes and started wiping the tears away but they won't stop coming out. She muttered, 'I don't know…'

'Ace, stop shouting at the kid, he just had a mental trauma.' Ace put a hand on Ace's shoulder. Somehow, both of them had become worried for the kid. Ace clicked his tongue and continued fixing up his pipe with sticky tape.

Luffy had started sobbing and now both Ace and Sabo no longer mind to worry about it. She sat there, tears down her cheek crying, even if she had the memory of her old life, she was still a seven year-old child. Sabo turned to Ace, 'That's a really bad habit you've got there, Ace…' Sabo relaxed himself, leaning on the root of the tree while crossing his arms, 'Refusing to run when you're against real pirates. Why are you so eager to die?'

Ace ignored Sabo's scolding and continued to observe his staff, 'this doesn't feel quite right… it was better before.'

Sabo shook his head and sighed, feeling like he's the only one who was thinking straight, 'After this, Bluejam's crew will never forgive us. They'll be after us from now.' Then he turned to Luffy who was crying into her palms, she didn't make a noise, sometimes hiccupping.

Ace jumped down from where he sat, 'It's so annoying! Stop sobbing! If you're going to cry, just cry properly, stop trying to stay quiet! I hate cry-babies like you! You're like a girl!'

Luffy wiped away her tears for the last time and stopped crying abruptly. Her head shot up and she said with a pout, 'I'm a child! I was just tortured and someone tried to kill me! Let me cry!' Ace and Sabo gaped at the supposed-to-be-a-girl boy and was shocked at how she immediately stopped crying. She continued arguing, 'I was trying to stay quiet so I won't bother you!'

She sighed, calmed herself down, jumped of the root she was sitting on and stood in front of the two, 'Thank you for saving me.' She bowed.

'Why you…' Ace shouted but he was stopped by Sabo. Ace had never been thanked before, he didn't know how to reply to gratitude, the only feeling he could put in was anger.

Luffy straightened up, revealing the tears that were about to flow out again but she didn't let them go because she knows crying will not help. Ace charged forward like an angry dog, 'Why didn't you tell them? Those people would kill people without a second thought.'

The young girl bowed down, her hat covering her face, 'If I told them…' She said as she begins to look up, a smile suddenly appearing on her face, 'I will never be able to get your trust.'

'Why do you even need our trust? You could've died!' Ace shouted.

'I need your trust so we could be friend. I'd rather die than be alone!' Luffy said, tears oozing into her eyes but none had fallen.

'After all the thing I put you through? You'd still want to be my friend?' Ace pointed at Luffy accusingly.

'There's nobody else!' Luffy said, tears rolling down her cheeks, 'Grandpa's gone, I can't return to Fushia village, the bandits won't play with me, there's only you!'

'Then…' Ace said, his glare softening, 'It isn't so bad that I am here?'

Luffy nodded enthusiastically, 'Un.' He agreed.

'And it'd be bad if I wasn't here?' He continued ad Luffy nodded again. Thinking of the people who wanted him dead, calling him a monster and a demon, Ace tightened his grip on the pipe and bit his under lip.

'So… you want me to live?' Ace asked, looking down so that his bangs would shadow his eyes. Luffy nodded happily and said, 'Of course!'

Ace turned around, hiding his smiling face and said, 'But, I don't like girlie and weak kids like you.'

Luffy wriggled her nose and shouted as she charged at Ace, 'Who said I was weak?' Luffy leapt into the air and grabbed onto Ace's back, making him fall over. Ace was unaware of this but he was slightly blushing. Luffy lay on top of Ace's chest, looking at him straight to the face and with a mischievous, she said, 'I'll become the strongest in the group and beat all of you!'

Ace knocked his forehead against her's making her fall aside and off his chest after he stood up, he shouted still slightly flustered, 'Who said that? I'll become a Pirate Captain and beat both of you!'

Luffy jumped up to her feet and pressed against Ace's forehead with her own and announce, 'I'll become a great pirate captain like I promised Shanks and you won't do anything about it!'

'You? A pirate?' Ace said leaning harder against her. The two continued fighting before Sabo interrupted, 'Okay, that's enough! Oh, by the way, I've got a problem.'

'A problem?' Luffy asked, faking innocence.

'Yeah.' Sabo continued, 'Because of what happened today, Bluejam's crew will be trying to find and kill all three of us, right?'

'Yeah, I guess.' Ace agreed.

Sabo continued, 'I've been living in the forest but it's close to their base, the Pirates' Cove. What do you think would happen if I fell asleep somewhere and they attacked me?'

'You'd die.' Ace said bluntly. Luffy joined in and nodded, 'You'd definitely die.'

'Indeed.' Sabo said and looked at the two, 'So, I've got a favour to ask you. You guys, hear me out.' The three group together and started discussing enthusiastically.

The next morning, true chaos arrived at the Dadan's family hideout. It was the appearance of the three little monsters.

Chapter 2 and it is also very very long. *sorry*. I might've made some mistakes so... I hope you like it. Give some reviews to the story, some favs, some follows. Thank the people who have read and fav/follow this story. Hope you don't mind if this author doesn't portray the characters well enough. PS: Reviews will help make the story better so tell me if something's wrong.