So here it is! Yep. Awesome, right? Not really. Anyways, it may be confusing during the next few chapters when you read about Ace. Keep in mind that we're dealing with his mental state so some things might not make sense to you and in order to get the whole of why he'd feeling/acting the way he is you're going to have to do a little thinking and reading between the lines.

We're at 398 reviews now :D Yay~ And the bonus will DEFINITELY be posted once we reach 450 reviews, I promise. Obviously not that same day, of course, but it'll be the next update when we reach 450. I sincerely doubt we'll get 52 reviews for this chapter (we normally get around 25-30 so anything more would be fucking amazing and unbelievable. Only about 30% of readers review so sorry but it's not going to happen.) so hopefully it'll be up after another chapter or two. I'm not finished writing it but I'm getting there (slowly) and I have pretty much everything plotted out at this point so the rest shouldn't be too hard to write. In fact, I'd probably be done if I wasn't working on 5 other stories, another bonus and a oneshot. Anyways, enjoy the update~

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece. Do a really have to state this every chapter?

He was suffocating. Darkness all around, creeping up to him from the corners of his sight, he felt the oxygen deplete, leaving behind an empty vacuum. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe or see or hear. There was nothing left. It faded to black.

Staying perfectly still, unable to function as he should, he simply sat there, frozen in time. What happened? How did he get there? He remembered… screaming. Crying. Frantically the others yelled and fought and tore through the enemy. It was their fault—they were responsible. That white uniform was permanently stained with his blood. His…

Who? Resting in the void, he couldn't recall. Why was he so angry? Why was he scared? Something… Something happened. He saw something horrible. But what was it? What was it that hurt so much that he forgot he couldn't breathe? Even with his lungs contracting he didn't care. Death… Was death so bad? It didn't matter. All he cared for was remembering—

Silence. He remembered the thick, unforgiving silence that descended. It wasn't supposed to be that quiet. It shouldn't be so still. And suddenly he could breathe. He gasped desperately, the grip on his chest leaving. But the relief was short-lived when his body turned numb. He remembered. Luffy…

He remembered and knew he would slip deeper into his dark eternity. All that welcomed him was the paralyzing agony of his reality—of the cold, dead hand wrapped within his own—and the undeniable truth that he couldn't break free. That pain and darkness was all that he could trust to tell him what he didn't want to know. Who he was… Who he is… He couldn't trust his memories.

Vision depleted, he could not see. While it appeared that there was nothing but emptiness, he felt something with the pads of his fingers. Tracing the object desperately, hoping that there was more to his world than blackness, he found familiarity in it. And sorrow. It was a cloth, one he knew well. Luffy's shirt.

The fabric enveloped a cold, still mass. Ace shakily moved his hands about, attempting to identify it despite his blindness. At the shirt's collar was a frigid thing, dipping and curving peculiarly. He palmed it, trying to make it out as his other hand trailed to the end of the sleeve and onto an equally icy object.

His right was raised as it moved further away from the shirt. It ghosted over soft pieces of flesh—lips. A nose. The slight indent of a scar…

His left ran down the long appendage, met with a mess of tiny digits. Nails…

Luffy.

Breathing more erratically, Ace felt the numbness spread to his fingertips. He could no longer feel. Whether Luffy's body was really there or he imagined it, he didn't know. But he remembered more. He remember the moment when the world seemed to slow, warning him as his brother fell that something was horribly—

No.

No. Don't remember. It hurts too much.

What was it? He felt like something just happened… like he made a terrifying discovery. But what was it? Maybe he was dreaming. It wasn't real, whatever it was. It didn't matter. He didn't care—too tired. The burden on his chest was too great and the misery his brain told him of was weighing him down. Everything hurt and if he thought about the dream then it would only make his reality worse.

"Ace…"

His breath hitched. He knew that voice, but… who did it belong to? Should he try to recall? But, that might be painful… He shouldn't.

"Ace," the voice persisted, urging him to answer.

He swallowed, wondering who it was. It felt comforting. It was warm and… real. Running his hands across the floor he realized he still could not feel. There was no point in searching because the only sense that remained was his hearing.

Taking a deep breath, Ace decided to address the noise. "C-can you tell me who you are?" he asked quietly, his voice betraying his curiosity. When there was no response he decided to try again. "…Where am I?"

"Shishishi!"

His feeling returned and he gripped his head, biting back whimpers as the pain and pounding returned at the sound of that laugh.

Lu…

No, don't remember. You can't. Luffy is…

And then he realized why he couldn't see. But he couldn't open his eyes. If he did there would be no more going back.

Robin narrowed her eyes on the small boy sitting on deck. Her chest tightened, watching his pale, motionless form. Ace had not moved in four hours. Not once. At times she thought he stopped breathing. Maybe he did, but he showed no sign of being in distress.

She was the only one of her crewmates who took notice of the child's pitiful state. Everyone else was standing outside of the infirmary waiting for news about their captain. She couldn't blame them—Luffy was dead when he was brought into that room. It was hard to think of anything else. After receiving no news, good or bad, from their doctor it was natural for them to be as panicked as they were. Robin was in the same mental state but she was able to hide it and push her worries to the back of her mind after seeing the young child hadn't moved. She knew how it felt to have loved ones ripped away from you in an instant. Luffy was all Ace had.

The archeologist took calm steps towards the boy and stopped behind him, knelt down and wrapped her arm around his tiny shoulders. Slowly she turned him and drew back when she saw his face. Blood from Luffy's attacker dotted his skin and clothes. His vacant expression made him all-the-more difficult to look at as he didn't seem to recognize her or realize he was being moved. He was like a puppet, only moving along with her touch.

Pulling her mouth into a taut line, Robin reached her arm under his knees and lifted him into her arms, holding him against her chest delicately, as though he would break. For a moment she just studied his face, hoping to find something—anything—to show that he hadn't fallen apart. He was in pieces.

After walking into the bathroom she placed him gently on a stool and adjusted his body so that all his weight was against the wall, ensuring he wouldn't fall. Robin didn't know what was wrong with him but knew it had to do with witnessing such a traumatic event. Even at her age seeing the Pirate King fall and looking down at his grey flesh was enough to make her break down. But she wouldn't so long as that boy needed her. He needed someone to care for him until he reconnected with reality.

Because she didn't know what, exactly, was wrong with Ace, there wasn't much she could do. Wanting to help in any way possible, she filled a bucket with water and grabbed a rag, kneeling in front of the boy. He simply sat there like a doll. There was no life in his eyes.

"Let's get you cleaned up," she said softly with a smile, lifting his arm and removing the red marks. Robin repeated the process for the other and then moved up to his face. Her gaze settled on bloodshot eyes, dark circles and pasty white flesh.

In slow circles she cleared his face, allowing the warm water to cascade down his skin and onto his clothes. No matter how much she rubbed or how tightly she held him he didn't react. It was heartbreaking. She dropped the cloth into the bucket and raised her hand to cup his cheek, caressing the skin under her thumb soothingly. "We're here for you," she announced, hoping to elicit some sort of response from the boy. Nothing.

Brows raised in concern, she lowered her arm. She couldn't imagine what he was feeling. His whole life he was left alone to fight for his survival and when someone finally gave him a family he was ripped away.

Robin felt the hot sting of tears emerge from her eyes. Her lip quivered ever so slightly as she pressed Ace into a strong, unwavering embrace. Rarely did she cry but seeing her captain—the one who saved her and gave her a place to belong—having his life sapped away was too much. His brother's lacking emotion was just what she needed to push her over the edge. She sobbed into his shoulder.

Luffy, please come back. He needs you.

The crew was huddled around the infirmary door, a deep silence trapping them in a wordless wait. Four hours—four goddam hours—and not a single word from Chopper. Not one. He never came out to tell them if he got Luffy's heart beating, if their captain was dead or what the hell happened. Nothing.

Nami dropped her head into her hands and let out a shuddering breath, attempting to release some of the tension in her chest. It didn't work very well and she was left feeling just as helpless as before. She kept going over it in her head, wondering why she didn't notice the man when Ace did. If she had… If she had…

"Nami-san," came a low, worried voice.

The redhead looked up to see Sanji standing over her, a warm mug in hand. He moved it towards her hand, urging her to take it with clear worry in his eyes. "Thanks, Sanji, but not right now." She didn't feel like having something to drink. In fact she didn't feel like doing anything and, looking at the rest of the crew, it was the same for them. All they wanted was for Chopper to open the door and tell them that Luffy was alright.

"You need to keep hydrated," the blonde persisted, speaking in a way quite different from his usual flamboyance. "You've been crying a lot."

Lowering her face to hide the glistening water in her eyes, she nodded and took the mug. She had to keep strong—they all did, because they still didn't know what happened. What was taking Chopper so long? You would think he'd have told them something after four bloody hours.

Everyone turned when they heard footsteps. Robin approached with Ace resting in her arms. Their gazes rested with shock and concern on the boy who did not move, who didn't even seem to register his surroundings. It was like he couldn't see. What happened? Back when they were fighting off the Marines their only concern was Luffy. They didn't even think…

"O-oi, what…?" Usopp asked, looking at the small bundle in the archeologist's arms.

Robin shook her head. What was wrong? She didn't know. All she knew was that he wasn't responding to anything that happened to him. He didn't care, or maybe he didn't notice.

Twenty minutes passed. For the most part the crew remained silent, exchanging only a few words and concerned glances. No one really knew what to say. When the door to the infirmary finally creaked open they all shot up from their seats and surrounded the tiny doctor, asking rapidly if Luffy was alive. They were relieved when he nodded but the look on his face said that something was gravely wrong—it was probably what caused him to keep in there for four hours.

Swallowing hard in her throat, Nami was the one who asked. "…What is it?"

The doctor clenched his fists and glared at the floor, eyes teary. "…He won't wake up."

Everyone froze. That wasn't that big of a deal, right? His heart stopped so it was only natural… right? But Chopper wouldn't have said anything if it was normal. Something was wrong. Something was wrong and they didn't know what to do.

"That… That injection he was given… Among other things i-it contained seastone. Luffy, he…" The deer bit his lip. He felt like a failure. Even after being a doctor for so long there was nothing more he could do. "I tried to get it out of his system… He stopped bleeding a few times. He's stable now, but… I-I don't know when he'll wake up. He's not responding to anything."

"B-but at least he's alive, right?" Usopp asked, the weight on his chest lifting just a bit. So long as Luffy was alive it would be alright.

"Yeah…"

"Then we'll figure something out," Zoro stated, moving closer to the room's door. "Luffy will get through it. Always does."

Chopper nodded, hoping that the swordsman was right. He stepped aside to allow the others entry. They all filed in and moved about the room to get a good look at their captain. He was a pale grey with very little colour in his skin. A breathing mask was placed over his mouth and the look made him appear weak. That word could only be applied to him a few times over the decade. It was unbecoming of him. He was the Pirate King—the strongest man on the sea. He went up against every foe that crossed his path and returned victorious yet a little bit of liquid entering his bloodstream was enough to put him in such a pitiable state. How ironic.

When Robin approached the hospital bed she looked over the man with worry. Luffy wasn't the type to be in such a state. He never even got sick and even when his wounds were life-threatening he still woke and moved around, often demanding meat. Seastone did that?

Her gaze shifted to the boy in her arms and she was shocked to see that he'd turned his head to look at his brother, eyes wide. His breathing became rapid the more he stared.

Ace looked at Luffy, eyes finally open. He wanted them to shut. He wanted to return to blindness. But he couldn't. He couldn't because once you look there is no going back.

Standing in high-grade Marine garb stood a man with a scarred forehead and a furrowed brow. He looked out the large window of his office, staring out onto Marine HQ and the ocean beyond, contemplating the latest ploy of his superiors. His men just filed a report stating everything went well, though they weren't without casualties. All-in-all he had to commend them; getting close enough to the Pirate King to do something like that was impressive, though he had no doubt something else played a role in their success because the man was rarely that careless despite his appearance.

Sighing, he turned away and headed back to his desk. He wasn't sure how he felt about that plan. No, that was a lie—he hated it. It made the Marines look like cowards. But far be it for him to voice that thought. Fleet Admiral or not, he wasn't in a position to go against a direct order. He may have been at the top of the force but even then he wasn't the one in charge—at least not all of the time. He had to wonder if the new and improved Marines were really so great. Ah, but he couldn't voice that—that would be considered treason. Their new method of operations was far stricter than it was before the Great War. Nothing he could do about it.

Sorry, Luffy; we've got no choice.

A/N: So there you are. Fun fact: in the original plot I laid out about 10 chapters in this was going to happen towards the very end of the fic and Luffy WAS going to die. But I moved things around and had him live just for you guys! Ending's still going to irritate you though :P I actually decided to keep him alive because I realized I kill Luffy off too much. Remember Platform Drop? And my oneshot Goodbye? Yeah.

Oh, quick warning: I may post a tragic oneshot on Friday. I haven't wrote anything like that yet but I might get the urge once the date gets closer just because it's the first anniversary of my mother's death. So yeah. Watch out for that e_e;

By the way, Divide is kicking ass with reviews :P Seriously, it's already at 416! I'm sorry, readers, but it is officially my #1 priority. I'll still upload this regularly though, or I'll try to at least. And for anyone who reads both stories or any of my other stories: you're awesomeness incarnate, seriously.

To my lovelies~

LinaFair: Nope. He was going to be but 1 1/2 months ago I switched the plot around so he's still alive. For now. Well even though Lu's a big part of it, the main character is really Ace (even though it doesn't always seem like it) so I could continue without him if I wanted. Yeah, Ace has some... problems to deal with. You'll learn more about that in the next two chapters. Of course I allowed it! I love your fanart, seriously!

Natylol: Yep, he's alive. Mostly.

xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: You should feel bad for Ace. He's pretty messed up right now :P

spoons-are-evil: Hehe no worries! I LOVE your fanart, seriously! It's awesome! Made my day :D It is not linked on my profile~ Yeah, you probably won't like the Marines at all in this fic :/ Well, maybe one or two.

StrawberryGirlKairi: In my fics he dies pretty often, actually :P Remember Platform Drop? But if I do a cliffy like that in the future, know that if they're really dead I do a long, very descriptive narrative of how they/the people they care about feel, what they see ect. I try to bump up the emotion a lot more than I did in the last chapter. Keep that in mind! Well as a warning, in most of my fics main characters are going to die, just not yet. Just thought you should know. Brace yourself!

w1lliam: Don't hate me ;_; Like I've told other people, Luffy was originally going to die. I changed it because of how the plot ended up (came up with a more interesting ending and had to keep him alive for the time) but there will be character death in most of my stories so keep that in mind. Even if I did keep him dead I wouldn't 'fix' it though :/

Bluebird42: Yep! Or at least partially so. Not sure if I'll reveal some of the other ingredients. It was pretty obvious, wasn't it? XD

Kitsune Foxfire: Wanna know the scary part? There'll be a cliffy far worse than this in the future :P

: O.o Fishcakes? Insteresting reaction XD

Diclonious57: Lol you really think he knows CPR? He lived on an uninhabited island! XD

Neko-VongolaPrimo: It feels great for ME to end it there :P Tend to get more reviews when I leave cliffies hehe. Well it shouldn't be too surprising. As you can see from Platform Drop and Goodbye I have no qualms about killing off characters, including Luffy. It's all for the plot! Yep that's true but Ace doesn't know that. Well he does (he even said Luffy wasn't like that) but when you get into stressful situations like that you tend to doubt things you know. Hehe never! Watch, when I really do kill off a character I'll put "RIP (name) :P" just to spite you! It does feel better! Mostly. Still gotta be careful with it and still doing PT to try to get back some control but it's better than it was at least.

TekTak: Lol many people do. That's why I'm the Troll Empress :P Hehe I'm glad you think that, but it was pretty forced. So was this chapter. Well, except for the first scene.

Tachibana Natsu: :O?

MysteriousEyez: Lol still not used to my cliffies? Oh trust me, that's not the worst Ace is going to go through in one of my stories.

Portgas D. Paula: Well he was going to, but I decided to switch around the rage-inducing parts of the story :P

samettikettu: Nope my hand's doing good, luckily.

teengens: Well because I'm nearing the review counts of some amazing stories and it just feels weird because my writing can't match up to theirs :/ To be honest, I BS a LOT of my chapters :P Not plot-wise but the writing itself. Trust me, it's not talent. I'm not that good but the bit of skill I do have is from years of writing. I started writing at age 10 and I'm 18 now. I didn't really write much in high school but still. Heh all of them? Even To Be a Boy? Really? You're making me blush XD Ah, don't worry about it! I understand. I appreciate you reviewing once in a while though ^^ Most readers don't bother to leave feedback and it's really sad. It's people like you who keep me going.

trisha23flow: Glad you like it!

TigerGoddess19: Hehe they don't call me the Troll Empress for nothing ;) Cliffies everywhere! Here's an update~

azab: Too late, Zoro already did that :P Something major DID happen. Very major. Like, plot-twist major.

Cyborgnetics: Yep. Pretty obvious hint, hm? But I wanted you guys to be able to figure it out before it's fully explained next chapter.

Haruka-desu: Nope, not Bakainu. If you read Skip I mentioned that Luffy took care of him a while back. Plus no high-ranking officer would to that. He was just some guy following orders :P

Son Goshen: Hehe here's an update! I don't think I've ever went a month without updating this story. Skip and Reverse I did, but I don't think I've left any others that long.

deadlycute17: Actually Ace is the main character :P Doesn't always seem like it, though. You're welcome~ Here's an update!

shimaxkutau: I'm glad you are :)

ASLfangirl: Lol I love that metaphor XD Well... I'm sure you can figure it out :P

Guest: Here's an update!

(Welp, that's everything. Here's a question for you to answer in your reviews: who would you hate to see die most in this story? I think most of you will have the same answer but, whatever. Also: what do you think will happen to Luffy? Oh! And I'm think of doin a short side-story in the distant future that follows a simpler plotline of Ace being found and adjusting, only following a more realistic plot i.e. not learning quickly because of his past life. It'll obviously still have unrealistic parts because it's fiction but I dunno I thought it would be interesting. Just a short side-story like Skip only with less chapters that are longer in length and just something to work on in a few months. Tell me what you think! Ummm... think that's all. I'll see you in the next chapter and in the bonus once we reach 450 reviews! Adieu~)