AN: Aaah sorry for the long wait, For the past few weeks I've just had this major creativity block and I could even draw, let alone write But I managed with this chapter, though it was a struggle. And it's shorter than the first chapter, but eh.

Anyways, I just wanna thank everyone who has reviewed, favourite and followed! I'm glad you're all interested in this story!

And thanks again to The Red Harlequin on the Luna for betaing this chapter~

-two-

-Reunion-

He moved swiftly through the rubble, making sure to keep Luffy close to his side, helping him when he tripped. The little boy was unnaturally quiet, but every few moments Ace could hear his breath hitch in a sob.

It made Ace's heart ache. But he couldn't stop to comfort him; he had to get them out of the city before Mariejois' forces stormed the streets. If they were found, they would either be killed or imprisoned as the pets of the Tenryuubito – the World Nobles.

Those scum of the earth, stealing a name that does not belong to them. It made Ace's blood boil and his inner fire rage.

Death was preferable to becoming their pets. But if he could, Ace would choose neither option. He didn't want to die, not anymore at least, because he had Luffy to take care of, and Luffy was his Light.

He paused, the sound of marching feet reaching his keen ears, and Ace pulled Luffy behind a crumbling wall. He covered the boy's mouth with his hand and drew him close to his chest, making soft, comforting noises to try and calm him down. The marching feet came closer, and he clenched his eyes shut, praying to whichever of the Gods that would listen that they would not be discovered.

There was a harsh voice, growling out orders in that strange dialect, and Ace sucked in a deep breath.

Minutes passed, and his heart continued to race, before finally, the soldiers were completely gone from his hearing range. He allowed himself to relax minutely and his breathing to even out.

"Ace…?"

He looked down into Luffy's big terrified eyes and smiled in what was hopefully a reassuring manner. "It – it's alright, Lu. We'll get out of here, I promise."

The younger boy nodded tearfully and sniffed, and Ace reached out to run his hand through that soft, dark hair. "Hey, listen – you have to be brave for me, ok? I'm going to protect you."

Luffy nodded again, and he gave a shaky smile. Ace took his brother's hand in his own once more, and then they were off.

They raced through the streets, dodging debris and fallen bodies. They moved for what felt like hours, until they finally reached the southern edge of the city. A majority of the buildings were intact, but there was no-one around – no humans, and certainly no half-bloods.

Mariejois' soldiers must… must have already cleaned out the area.

It caused panic to grow in the depths of his stomach, because this area –this was where Sabo used to live, and for a brief, heart-stopping moment, Ace forgot that Sabo was gone.

But then he remembered not a second later. Sabo was dead. He'd been dead for years, so there's no way he would have been taken by the soldiers, and Ace had to shove painful memories to the back of his mind.

They were almost out of the city. They were almost free.

But then – a figure blocked their path.

Ace's eyes narrowed and his lips pulled back into a snarl, while he pulled Luffy behind him to shield him with his body. He was ready to fight if need be, but it was the last resort. When it came down to it, running was the only optioned that would ensure their safety. And Ace was ready to shift and carry Luffy away on his back and leave everything behind.

But to do that without being seen, they had to get out of the city.

Ace backpedalled wildly, kicking up dust and breathing heavily. The kid – Luffy, it really was Luffy – pushed himself up and dusted himself off, adjusting the straw-hat on his head. He was still smiling at Ace, dark eyes shining with an emotion that he couldn't identify.

Ace's body shifted – the bones, muscles and organs began to creak and shrink, and in the end he was left standing in his human-like form. He stumbled, completely naked, his wings and tail causing him to overbalance – because when was the last time he walked on two legs? He couldn't remember – and moved towards Luffy without much thought.

In this form he was a few inches taller than the boy, and he used that to his advantage.

He crushed Luffy against him in an iron grip; his arms wrapped firmly around his shoulders and buried his face in his neck inhaling the familiar, almost forgotten scent.

Luffy giggled, wrapping himself around his older brother as tightly as he could manage, "Ace!"

The dragon's weight proved to be too much once the younger brunette had his legs circling Ace's waist as well, and the pair toppled over in a pile of gangly limbs and laughter, mostly from the boy. His mirth was infectious though, and the fire drake soon found himself shaking with suppressed joy the likes of which he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Ace landed on his side, one of his wings cushioning his and Luffy's fall, and after a moment, he hugged the boy even closer. His horns almost stabbed into the boy's head, and his claws may have drawn blood – but there were no complaints from Luffy. All he did was let out a joyful laugh, and pressed his face into the dragon's neck, his grip never wavering.

"You're alive." Ace whispered, voice coloured with shock. The dragon pulled back, just far enough to grip Luffy's face with taloned hands, his gaze darting over the boy's face – taking in the years of maturity that Ace had missed. He couldn't believe he hadn't recognized him straight away… The soft pad of his thumb brushed across the scar under his eye. "You – you survived…"

Luffy's eyes were shining with happiness. "Yeah. So did you."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Ace whispered, "How…?"

The boy's smile dimmed, a dark shadow appearing in his eyes – a shadow that had no business being there – and he placed a hand on his chest. On that scar.

One that almost mirrored the scar on Ace's own chest. One that had been hidden by the overlapping scales that covered his breast in his natural form, but now – in his half-human form – was bare for the world to see.

Luffy opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

The woman's voice called out to them. "Forgive my interruption, Luffy…? But there are pressing matters that need to be addressed."

She stood a few feet away, a smile on her face and body seemingly relaxed – but Ace could see the tense lines around her eyes, and the way her fingers twitched minutely. The dragon's human lips twitched into a smirk. He fluidly moved to his feet, tail whipping behind him for balance, and he pulled Luffy with him.

Keeping one hand firmly on his shoulder, the dragon tilted his head, gazing at the woman in consideration.

Ace wanted nothing more than to demand answers from Luffy – what had happened when they'd separated, what he'd been doing for the past ten years, what he was doing here, how he had survived-

He was overjoyed – that day in the Goa kingdom… he thought he'd lost Luffy...

He needed to know what had happened.

But not yet. He had to wait. The dragon had to follow Whitebeard's orders and bring them to him.

"Pressing matters." Ace sniffed. He was about to say a rather scathing comment before Luffy grabbed at his hand and dragged him forward, towards the dark haired woman. The straw hat that had fallen off during the tumble was scooped up along the way. That caused the dragon to overbalance once again – Luffy had gotten a lot stronger over the years, to be able to actually pull him along… and Ace noticed something else.

Luffy was a half-blood. He could feel it in the way that his skin buzzed with magic when pressed against Luffy's own, and the slightly pointed ears were an obvious physical give away. Depending on who the half-blood in question's parentage is, half-bloods usually developed the ability to use magic or gained strange abilities.

Ace had always had his suspicions, but they had never been cemented. Luffy's parents were unknown, so there was no way to tell whether one was a magical being and one was a human. Luffy had been born with elastic skin - he could stretch his body to inhuman lengths – but there had never been any spark of magic that would confirm his status. And stretching – even as far as Luffy could – was a rather useless ability.

Hmm. More questions. Looks like you've grown up, Luffy…

"Robin!" Luffy began. "This is my brother, Ace!"

That statement obviously caught the woman – Robin off guard, though she hid her shock with relative ease. "Your brother?" She blinked intelligent blue eyes at the dragon. "I… see. I was unaware you had a brother."

"Mmh! 'Cause I never told anyone." Luffy swung his and Ace's hands, the half-blood's grip never loosening. "But you know now!"

Robin smiled sweetly. "Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you Ace."

She moved forward, just a little closer, raising her hand in greeting – and a sudden putrid stench filled the dragons nostrils, and it caused the scaled plates and spines that covered his back to rattle. The scent had been masked by Luffy's own potent one, but now that Ace was closer…

The fire drake drew back with a feral snarl, tugging Luffy with him.

"Ace – what-?" His brother yelped, but Ace cut him off with a rumbling growl.

"Demon!" He hissed, his inner fire raging, stirred by the instinct that demanded he dispose of the threat. "You have no business in these lands, be gone before I dispose of you myself!"

Robin's lips thinned and her eyes had grown cold. She raised her hands in a placating manner and said firmly, "I mean no harm to you or your kin, and I do have business here. I am no threat to you, great one."

Luffy had tugged his hand from Ace's tight grip while the demon spoke, and he was quickly in Ace's face. One hand stretched up to grip one of Ace's curved horns and Luffy tugged on it, drawing Ace's attention to his brother's stern eyes.

"Robin won't hurt anyone." The half-blood said with an absolute finality. "Robin's nakama."

Ace growled again. "She's a demon. Demons are not to be trusted!"

"She's nakama." Luffy repeated. "Nakama don't hurt nakama."

The dragon ground his teeth together. Demons were deceitful creatures that manipulated and killed without remorse. They were savage, bloodthirsty, and most of all, not to be trusted. Ace had encountered demons before – and he would never forget that encounter. He had barely managed to escape with his life. As it was…

He shifted his eyes from Luffy to the demon once again.

Robin still had her hands raised, her expression neutral. "I will not raise a hand against you or any other inhabitant of the Mountain King's territory, unless it is in my own or Luffy's defence." Slowly, she moved one of her hands, very aware of Ace's keen stare, and traced a symbol over her chest. A small, glowing cross appeared, embedded in the skin. "You have my word. Cross my hearts."

The dragon exhaled loudly, eyes narrowed. Vows that were made with magic there impossible to break, even for a demon.

Slowly, he relaxed his muscles and moved his gaze back to Luffy.

Why was he calling a demon a friend?

Yet more questions.

"…Very well." Ace murmured. "Time to address these 'pressing matters' then, yes?"

He drew back from the both of them, tugging his horn from Luffy's grasp, and eyed them.

"I'll take you to Whitebeard," Ace said, finally. "But only because he's already expecting you, and asked that I show you the way."

He flared his wings and turned on his heel. Flying would have been a great deal easier and quicker, but the dragon was standing by what he'd said before. Luffy, he would let on his back. But not this Robin woman, because even though Luffy trusted her – even though she had given her word – the scent of demon that clung to her caused a chill to sweep down his spine.

Never trust a demon.

But… he trusted Luffy's word enough to turn his back on her...

"Follow me." He called to them over his shoulder. "It's a long walk, but I know the short, less dangerous paths. Just make sure you stick close."

He gave a grin that was all sharp, dangerous teeth. "If you wander off the path then you're fair game."

Luffy – the stern, serious expression that had been so out of place on his face – was now gone; melted away to be replaced by that blinding grin and he briefly turned to speak to Robin. Ace payed no attention to the words.

It was clear to him that the demon followed Luffy – 'in my own or Luffy's defence' she had worded into the vow – so that eased him somewhat.

But still. All he wanted was to take Luffy and fly away to… anywhere. Somewhere secluded, where they would not be bothered. So they could talk.

He'd missed Luffy so much. That he'd managed to survive the attack… it filled Ace's scarred heart with joy.

Ace had his Light back.

AN: Hopefully chapter 3 will be out a lot sooner than this was xD

Review and tell me what you think~