Disclaimer: If I owned One Piece, I would not be crying pathetically over today.

"All we can do is keep quiet and stop the captain from doing reckless things."

"How long will the effects last?"

"I don't know, I'd say around two cycles." An offhanded wave.

Anger. "This is dangerous. You should've asked me before administering it."

"My my my, Fleet Admiral, it isn't like you to worry over our subject like this." A lazy smirk.

The other scowled. "I am not worried, I am simply concerned about possible side-effects that may interfere with the mission."

"Ah, it's nothing big. It'll act almost like a very bad flu for a few days, and on the first the block will kick in, this time twice as long and a little stronger. Besides, he's overdue anyways."

"That's not the point!"

"Tch, Sakazuki, don't fret like this. There is no lasting damage other than the effect we wish to achieve."

"Do further research on this. Cancel out the side-effects, we can't have him half dead like this."

Mockingly, he saluted. "Yessir!"

Almost immediately after Ace arrived at the scene, he began to analyze every single detail of the impromptu battle field. The clearing was severely damaged with scorch marks and upturned dirt and rubble, signs of some kind of fire or gun that had created them. Judging from cleanly-sliced off trees and other unnaturally lines, there was also a sword fight. But pushing these ordinary battle marks aside, he found the ground strangely wet, charred grass glistening with droplets and dirt turning into a more liquid form. He was sure there weren't supposed to be rain today, and sure enough as he casted a brief glance above head there was no trace of any storm clouds as far as he could see, only the darkening sky of dusk.

His crew mates were nearly all scattered on the ground, three of them who were snoring peacefully away despite the awkward positions they slept in, knocked out by a particularly strong burst of haki. Others sported an assortment of injuries, some looking as if a bomb dropped by them and or as if they were fried by electricity with the singed hair and clothing. Shigeru and another were panting heavily, covered from head to toe in bruises and various cuts, bleeding sluggishly.

It was overall a very bleak sight for Ace to see, as he knew many of the Marine soldiers were quite well versed in their respective battle skills, yet they looked as if they were dispatched with little to no effort. Even their commander was barely standing and conscious, but it was obvious he wasn't going to last very long.

The enemy consisted of some very odd nine people, exactly as reports had described. The leader, Straw Hat, had a relaxed stance, a straw hat shadowing his face. The same calm was also evident in the other members save one with a long nose. Several had odd weapons, and one was a large cyborg. He decided not to linger on the strange moving skeleton and a raccoon-like humanoid figure, assuming that they'd act like normal human beings. The Straw Hats were a large and formidable group, thus taking out most options he'd use to fight. His only option was to attack them all at once and keep moving while hoping he'd be fast enough to dodge the attacks.

All of this was evaluated within the span of seconds, and he slid into an offensive stance in preparation for the suicidal battle.

Then-

"… Ace?"

Ace faltered in his movements and stared at Straw Hat in shock. One of the most important rules: do not give your name to others. And somehow, this pirate miraculously knew his name when Ace could've sworn he had never met him or any of his crew in all of his life. Or at least, the two years he remembered, and the past that Akainu had told him of. He thought he heard Shigeru curse in his peripheral vision. Yet he pushed all the distracting thoughts to his mind; all he had to do would be to terminate the Straw Hats and the secret would be safe. That is, if he managed at all.

Ignoring one of his current superior's commands, he burst into flames and punched the ground, sending debris flying in the air, using the dust and smoke to create a nice cover. The explosion would hopefully act as a brief distraction, and sure enough the pirates' views were focused on the spot he was previously at, eyes streaming and coughing.

But all of the effort was in vain when he tripped over apparent nothing and fell forwards, converting the momentum into a frontal flip just in time. His eyes narrowed when he saw remnants of sakura petals. There weren't any cherry blossoms in the island of Elysia at all, so the only logical conclusion would be a devil fruit power. The suspicions were confirmed when he saw a vaguely familiar woman with her arms crossed, a look of absolute concentration on her face. Wasn't she the…? He searched his brain and found only a hazy impression of the beach and a short conversation.

And in his musing he hadn't realized the smokescreen he created had become less opaque. But before he was hit by any attack, Straw Hat stopped his crew. "Ace, is that you?"

The hopeful face and voice was strangely reminiscent of the little boy he failed to save several weeks before, and it tugged painfully at his heart in memory of him. There were the same wide eyes and tousled black bangs the other boy had. "Who are you?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he winced internally.

Straw Hat's face fell so dramatically. "What do you mean?" he half screamed, horrified. "You forgot me? Ace?" Somehow, the way he said it made Ace want to fervently apologize and comfort the pirate.

To say Ace was confused would be an understatement as he tried to make sense of all of this. From the younger's words it was clear Straw Hat believed he knew Ace, and that fact was hard to refute in the freckled man's mind and made perfect sense; otherwise, how would Straw Hat had known his name? But he honestly didn't remember this pirate, nor did he associate with any known pirates that he could remember in the short two years. The more he thought over, the stronger a physical headache pounded in his head, and he rubbed the temples in an effort to ease the soreness. "I don't know who you are," he said stubbornly.

"You… really forgot me?" Straw Hat said. "I'm your brother!"

Brother?

"Why are you wearing a Marine uniform? What are you doing, Ace?!"

He was a secret weapon of the World Government, that was why. He was their best assassin. Yet obviously none of these were appropriate answers.

"He was brainwashed," the green swordsman growled in response, not bothering to take his eyes off of Ace. "The goddamn corrupted government took him and brainwashed him to become their slave."

What?

In an instant, Straw Hat had flipped from being hopelessly lost to emanating cold fury. "What did you say, Zoro?" he said quietly.

"That's what happened, Captain," Zoro responded calmly, unfazed by his captain's attitude.

He was… brainwashed? Was this some kind of ploy cleverly constructed by the enemy, or was this the truth? Ace couldn't tell.

"Lies!" bellowed a deep voice from the side. Shigeru, with renewed vigor, took a new battle stance as he glared daggers at the pirates. "Don't talk bullshit here! That's not true! Don't you dare spread such dirty lies about the World Government, you scum!"

Ace didn't know who to believe anymore.

Straw Hat turned to his commander with a deep scowl. "Were you one of the bastards involved with it? Huh?" His fists were tightly clenched as he glowered fiercely at the man.

Shigeru did not respond and only returned the gaze, unwilling to back down.

In a flash, Straw Hat became a blur of movement as he disappeared and reappeared in front of Shigeru, launching his fist at the older man's face. The power of the punch sent Shigeru hurtling through the air and crashing into the rocky hill on the other side, deeply imbedded in the rock. With a battle cry, he prepared another attack, but dozens of pale arms sprouted out of the ground and on his back, clutching tightly onto him and holding him in a strong lock.

"Captain, you must stop," was the stern voice of the black-haired woman.

A small part of his head clicked, knowing now that it must've been one of the conjured limbs that tripped him over.

Straw Hat struggled vainly against the bonds. "What are you doing, Robin?" he screeched.

"Killing him will do no good, Luffy," she replied in the same firm tone, tightening her phantom hold.

The burning rage in his eyes clearly indicated that he could care less about everything, the same kind of rage that was present when he attacked Enies Lobby and declared war on the entire government. It would be hard to stop him, and although Robin deeply appreciated that quality, it also put lives in jeopardy and could very well force situations to become messier than they already were.

The more Ace heard, the stronger the headache had grown until it was no longer confined in his head, and began to wrack his body. With a gasp, he fell onto his knees on the gritty rubble, clutching tightly at his head. There was something repressed in his mind that fought to be released, but another force held it back vigorously, causing the two to battle mentally. And the name Luffy had triggered an even more violent response as the pain came in a fresh wave, overwhelming his senses. With a strangled yell, he collapsed and gave in to darkness.

"Hey! I'm Luffy!"

Ace groggily awoke on a familiarly soft bed, rubbing his eyes wearily as the ship's gentle rocking beckoned him to go back to sleep. It was such a tempting idea, as the sky was completely dark and he wanted to get back to that dream he had. The details were already foggy and had all but slipped away, yet it left behind a warm glow in his chest he did not experience often. A small part of him realized with irritation that it was the third time he had fallen asleep in the day, and it wouldn't be appropriate if he spent all day sleeping-

Wait. Why the hell was he back on the ship? How had he fallen asleep?

More importantly, what happened?

He bolted upright at the revelation, and suddenly the memories began to flow back to him of a few hours prior.

The battle with the Straw Hats! And the talk of brainwashing, which seemed to be more real by the second the more he pondered over the fact. He didn't fall asleep either, he had passed out from pain. Oh god. But even as he thought back to the name Luffy, it no longer evoked anything in him; it had become just a name and nothing more.

Just what was happening to him?

"You're awake, I see." His commander, heavily bandaged in various places leaned against his door. Strangely, he looked worn and exhausted, the wrinkles in his face more pronounced, and to Ace he seemed to have aged a decade. Shigeru was simply completely defeated, and the emotion was conveyed through his speech. "You alright?"

For a moment Ace sat there wordless, unable to comprehend the sudden change that took place. Here was the officer, standing on the flipside of the man he was supposed to be, showcasing a more down-to-earth side that few ever saw. "Err, yeah," he mumbled. His frustration about his situation and the anger towards the older man had slipped away, replaced by pity of how simply dead Shigeru was to his eyes.

"Don't expect to hear this from me ever again," Shigeru warned, "but I will apologize for keeping secrets that are not mine to say. You've gone through so much more shit than I have now even though I'm twice your age." He sighed wearily. "Not my place to say what the government does. None of that is important though. I would say you have noticed we're back on our ship, have you?"

"What happened?" Ace braced himself for the worst. They probably were forced to surrender to the Straw Hats and left the island in shame. But he did not expect the next words.

"The Straw Hats surrendered."

… What? "Captain, did you-?"

Eyes unreadable, Shigeru nodded curtly. "They have surrendered and agreed to be taken back to the Marine Headquarters without any resistance at all, despite the fact that they could crush us like little bugs under their feet. And they're all cooperating very well."

"What are they doing?"

Shigeru shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. We are monitoring them for any surprise movements but that is it. Anyways, rest well. We're heading to the headquarters as soon as we can, probably reaching there within a few days." He left without another word before Ace had the chance to ask any further questions, leaving him in deeper confusion than before.

He didn't understand the man's cryptic words about secrets, but it was clear that Akainu must've done something to his memories by force, smeared away his life like it was nothing and replaced it with living hell. And somehow it was all related to the Straw Hat boy, who for the life of him he couldn't drudge up a single thing in his mind. There was no corresponding emotions, no small shard that gave away the pirate's identity to him. Nothing.

Or maybe, Straw Hat was only lying about being his brother. Pirates were liars, thieves, and criminals of the worst kind, after all, so perhaps it was just a clever trap devised to trick them all by using the information they managed to gather beforehand.

That excuse even sounded pathetic in his head, and he knew the chances of it being a farce was slim to nothing.

There was only one way to find out, wasn't there? There were direct first hand witnesses on this ship he could question, the closest reliable sources he could find about his lost past. It was a perfect chance to delve into the very information he was forbidden to access.

Did he want to know though? What if it was better if he hadn't known? A terrible event that traumatized him.

But this had being his goal for all of the two years. And now a golden opportunity shoved itself in front of his face and simply begged to be taken, yet he was hesitant and unwilling to simply reach out and give in to the temptation. How ironic.

He stood up abruptly from his bunk angrily and kicked the sheets away. "Goddamn it, just go!" he said loudly to himself, and he took a step towards the door and stopped there.

God, why was this so hard? There was no guarantee the Straw Hat captain was awake either, as it was the middle of the night. Any normal person would be sleeping away at this hour without a worry. But maybe because he was in the enemy ship, he wouldn't sleep because he was too cautious and wary of the soldiers.

Banking on this simple hope, Ace darted down to the stairs, where the shadows would hide briefly from any hall patrollers that chanced upon his corridor. Taking a deep breath, he observed his surroundings and was pleased to see no one, or any suspicious sounds other than loud snoring from a few rooms down. He stepped cautiously down the carpeted staircase, hands gripped tightly on the railings so if he was caught by surprise he wouldn't slip. Quietly he stole down two flights of stairs directly into the deepest level where the cells were.

Almost immediately, unease spread inside him as he felt the unsettling pressure of the sea, barely blocked by the ship's layers, and the overwhelming amount of seastone used to construct the cells. He swept the area quickly to confirm that there weren't any guards he could see in sight, as he had already passed the previous whom overlooked the doorway down by distracting him with a beam of light.

His heart beat annoyingly loud as he walked past numerous bars, noting with mild astonishment that the pirates slept contently on the bare straw mats without a single fear that a soldier would attempt to harm or kill them in anyway. It was amazing how much trust they had to their captain, despite his own apparent inability to protect them.

Finally, he reached the end where he knew Straw Hat must be held. Disappointment weighed heavily in him as he saw the curiously slender body of Luffy lying on his side with his back facing the bars, seemingly asleep from the slow, regular breathing and the completely relaxed position. As he was about to turn away, he heard the sound of stirring and shifting.

No, Straw Hat was very much awake. He had flipped on the other side in one fluid movement and scrutinized the older with a sharp gaze.

"Ace…"

Today was the day Ace "died". Chapter 574 came out exactly three years ago on February 15 of 2010. Even after such a long time, I'm still not over his death (far from it, in fact. I'm such a hopeless person. ;_;) Well then, I will make a random small note to commemorate this day in which the genius troll Oda killed off a very in depth character and celebrated by reading a ton of theories which he didn't die. I'll say that the Chinese forums seem to be making quite a lot of sense that got me thinking. Still in denial~

Also I was actually not aware of this fact last night and stayed up writing an AU one-shot where it was Luffy who died instead of Ace. I published it and it can be found here if you're interested: www . fanfiction s / 9012582/1/On-the-Other-Side . It is a bit creepy how that worked out…

Lastly, I want to thank all of you so much for the reception I had received last chapter, it was simply overwhelming! Thank you so much for your lovely responses and support for the story I thought would get nowhere. Please do continue your support, if you are so kind! Leave a review maybe? :D Because I actually do update faster the more reviews I get.

~Shen