"I promised, when we first met, that I would pay at the end of your blade if I ever got in the way of your dream." Kneeling in the several inch deep mud, the man bowed his head to show his respects - gratitude and apology overwhelming him as he cried softly - to his fallen friend. The raven haired man gently placed three blades on the ground as if they would shatter if he moved too quickly. "You died for mine, so I guess that counts as getting in the way."

He sat in the mud for several long hours, unbothered by the elements that tried to hide the swords. He didn't care about anything other than the grave in front of him. He briefly scoffed at himself as he knelt there, he didn't stay in front of his other friends' graves for nearly as long as he was this one. Maybe it was because Zoro was the first one to join him on his journey, or maybe it was because Zoro was the only one who hadn't tried to kill or betray him at any point. He didn't know, and he didn't want to think about it. All he wanted to do was sit there and grieve.

"Oh, I bid farewell to the port and the land," he'd never been much of a singer, but he'd make an exception, "and I paddle away from brave England's white sands, to search for my long ago forgotten friends; to search for the place I hear all sailors end." Almost comforting, the wind seemed to warm and wrap around him as he sang between sobs, "As the souls of the dead fill the space of my mind, I'll search without sleeping till peace I can find. I fear not the weather, I fear not the sea! I remember the fallen, do they think of me? When their bones in the ocean forever will be." His crying soon overpowered his singing. He couldn't continue on as thoughts and memories of their time spent together overtook his mind. Though, the rain let up almost completely.

He was almost startled by the sound of bushes rustling behind him. Whoever it was obviously knew that he wasn't in the right state of mind to sense anything, so they made as much noise as they could without being disrespectful. The raven haired man was grateful for that.

"Luffy?" the person called out, his nodachi resting across his back instead of its normal place on his shoulder. He didn't want it to get in the way of comforting his friend. "You've been here for almost a day and you haven't moved. You should come inside with me and the others."

Not even lifting his head, Luffy asked, "Others?"

His expression softened as the taller squatted beside the shorter, "Yeah, Kidd and Bonney got here a few hours ago; Marco and Shanks should be arriving with Mihawk in a few minutes." When Luffy didn't make any signs of moving, he sighed and stood up, "You'll get sick if you wait out here any longer."

"Law?" Luffy spoke just as Law took off his coat to drape it over the younger male, "Am I a bad person?"

Dropping his coat over the young man, Law looked slightly shocked, "What? No! What brought this on?"

Instead of answering, Luffy simply started to mumble the words of the song again, "Plot a course to the night; to a place I once knew; to a place where my hope died along with my crew. So I swallow my grief and face life's final test: to find promise of peace and the solace of rest."

Law could only look at his friend in pity as he joined in singing, "As the songs of the dead fill the space of my ears, their laughter like children, their beckoning cheers. My heart longs to join them, sing songs of the sea. I remember the fallen, do they think of me?" Law idly noticed that Luffy had cried himself to sleep. So, he picked up his fellow and started the small trek back to the small house he'd built, "When their bones in the ocean forever will be."

"Law!" called Bonney as he neared the small house. It wasn't the best looking thing, but it served its purpose of keeping its occupants safe from the elements. Besides, it was built to only last a few days at most, not a few weeks. It was a miracle it was still standing.

"Shh," the tall man shushed her, "He hasn't slept in a few days." He walked into the house and past Bonney and Kidd. He then laid the young captain on the small couch across from the lit fireplace, "The other three will be here soon, we should probably get ready to greet them."

Kidd scoffed, "What have we come to?"

"What do you mean?" Bonney asked.

"I mean," Kidd glared, "that we used to be great captains! Our names alone used to strike fear into those that heard! And now we're hiding from everything because of a stupid mistake."

"Well," Law snapped, "That 'stupid mistake' cost us everything we had. Our friends, our families, and our crews are all gone!" Breathing deeply, he composed himself quickly as he walked back over to open the door and let Shanks and Marco - he briefly let himself wonder where the third was before accepting the worst - into their small house, "Hiding is the only thing keeping you safe. If you don't like it, you can leave whenever you want."

Before Bonney - who had become the mother of the group after the other girls had died - could scold either of them, the door was opened and the two 'Old Era' pirates walked into the haphazard building. Together, they gauged the situation and the setting. No one said a word as Shanks walked past them all and over to where Luffy was laying. He had woken up just after Kidd had started complaining, but he didn't have the energy or care to move. He just stared at the slowly dying fire, lost in thoughts.

"Hey, Luffy." Shanks sat in front of the boy, interrupting his line of sight and forcing Luffy to look at him, "How ya doin', kid?" His voice was soft. It was odd for the others to hear him like that.

"They're gone." was all the raven haired man - though he looked more like a boy in the eyes of everyone present - said.

Shanks knew exactly who he was talking about. Though, the fact that neither he nor Marco could sense any of Luffy's crew should've given them their answer. That meant that these four barely adults - Law being the oldest at 28, Bonney following at 26, then Kidd at 25 and Luffy at 21 - were now alone. They only had each other now, but they had all been enemies only two years beforehand. It's scary how much war changes.

"I'm sorry, Luffy." the red head said. He knew how this - dare he call him his? - kid was feeling. After all, he felt pretty similar when his own captain died.

"How did you do it?" Luffy asked.

"How'd I do what?"

"How'd you get over Roger's death?"

The question took Shanks by surprise, so he had to take a few seconds to answer. "I didn't." was his answer, "I still think about him, even today." It was another few minutes of looking at each other with empty eyes before Shanks spoke again, "The death of a crew member - of a family member - is the hardest thing to get over. But, you can't let yourself drown in your sadness. What would your crew do if they saw you like this?"

That made Luffy go to a slightly different thought process. What would his crew do? Brook would probably play some music to try and cheer him up; Usopp and Chopper would start up a game of tag or hide and seek; Franky would show off whatever he had been working on; Sanji would make him food, probably meat or ramen; Robin would ask him about his home, even if he'd already told her everything there was to know about his home; Jinbe would tell him stories about his old captain; Zoro would let him take a nap on his lap. It wasn't much, but they all did something special that made him feel better whenever they caught it. Though, there were times when he just needed to be left alone, and they all gave him that space.

This train of thought made Luffy start crying. He missed his crew. They had been there for him almost every time he needed them after he set off, so not having them with him was like ripping out a vital organ. Slowly, Luffy rolled off of the couch he laid on and hugged Shanks. It was the first time since Jinbe died that he felt the embrace of a parent-like figure.

"Go ahead," Shanks rubbed the small raven haired man's back, "Let it all out. It's okay; I'm here, Marco's here, Law and Kidd and Bonney are here."

Marco ushered the three younger pirates out of the house and into the forest. He wanted to give the two some space, per Shanks's unspoken request. He also wanted to talk to these three and get a plan set up before Luffy and Shanks joined them. After all, the sooner they got everything figured out, the sooner they could be safe.

"What do you propose we do?" Law asked the former first mate of the Whitebeard Pirates.

"This is gonna sound crazy-" the blond started, but was cut off.

"What about this whole situation isn't crazy?" Kidd mumbled.

Marco didn't miss a beat as he continued, "-but I suggest we travel through time."

It was silent for a few seconds before Kidd and Bonney started to laugh, "Yeah!" Bonney said between her giggles, "That does sound crazy."

"We appreciate you and Old Man Red coming all this way, but getting our hopes up with an impossibility like that isn't something I'll tolerate." Kidd said, stargely serious. It was curious for Marco to see how protective the group had become of each other in the short timespan of being stuck together.

Marco, however, didn't dwell on his observations of the three. Instead, he told them that what he's suggesting isn't a ploy to eventually crush their trust and hope in him. "Me and Shanks found something on our way here. It was floating in the wreckage of an old Marine ship that was stirred up during a storm a few days ago. I looked into it, and it looks like time travel. If you want to check it out, be my guest."

The three looked at each other in consideration. If they did end up looking over it, then Luffy would have to be there with them. No matter how much they didn't like the fact at first, Luffy had actually seen the treasure Captain Gol D. Roger left behind, and was therefore the Pirate King. They'd be damned if they made a huge decision like this without him present. Law voiced their silent conversation and decision to Marco who nodded. It was a respectable choice, and he acknowledged it as such. Besides, that's how things were done on the Moby Dick; no decision was made without all of the Commanders on the ship and the Captain present.

*

When Luffy was done crying into the shoulder of his childhood hero and biggest influence, he sat back and apologized. "Sorry," he looked away as he wiped his eyes, "I didn't mean to get your shirt all wet."

"Don't apologize for crying." the red head ruffled the younger's raven hair, "Besides, it's fine." The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before the both started to get restless.

"You wanna help me make something to eat?" Luffy offered. It had taken a long time, but Sanji had somehow taught Luffy how to cook over something that wasn't a campfire. Though, fire was still his favorite way to cook stuff. Nothing beats the fresh scent of campfire smoke on clothes or the taste of charcoal peppered on a hunk of meat.

"Sure!" Shanks agreed. It was a slight shock that Luffy knew how to cook, but they got the meal prepared and ready for themselves, as well as the others. There wasn't a lot to begin with, so they didn't have a huge meal.

Halfway through cooking the small meal, Luffy briefly noticed that one person was missing. "Shanks?" he asked, suddenly very nervous to ask, "Where's Mihawk? I thought he was supposed to come with you guys?"

Shanks didn't give away any emotion as he busied himself with setting the table, "He should be here in the morning." Luffy didn't find much hope in the red head's words, though he didn't say anything.

*

A set table and the two laughing adults is what Marco, Law, Bonney and Kidd walked in on. It made each of them happy, seeing the normal ball of sunshine slowly recovering. Though they knew that he still needed time to grieve - they all took at least a week when their own crews died - they were just happy to have him smiling again. None of them - especially Kidd - would admit it, but they were all scared that Luffy wouldn't ever recover. Then again, none of them would ever be able to recover from the deaths of their crews.

"I didn't know you could cook!" Marco smiled as he sat at the table.

Luffy nodded and sat, too, "Yeah, Sanji taught me how to cook on a stove a while ago. But, cooking over a campfire will always be my favorite way to cook!"

"Why a campfire?" Bonney asked, taking a bite of her food. They all knew that food was a precious resource at the moment, so they all limited themselves, but no one wasted a crumb.

"Back just after Shanks left my home island, gramps made me live with mountain bandits." he was suddenly quiet before he whispered, "I wonder how they're doing?"

The rest of dinner was quiet but not uncomfortable. It wasn't until after all of the dishes had been cleared - not a scrap of food wasted - that they decided to bring up the time travel again. When Marco and Shanks explained it again, the three who'd already heard about it looked at Luffy. Whatever he said, they would follow. Not all of them would be happy about it, but they would all do what Luffy said.

"I think," the Pirate King said after a moment of thought, "That we should try it." He waited a second before he gave his simple reasoning, "If there's a chance that we can prevent any of this from happening, then I want to try it." Agreeing with his reasoning, the group of six began to plan their next few moves.

"We'll have to do this as soon as possible," Marco said, now taking charge of the situation, "I say we do it tomorrow morning; tomorrow evening at the latest."

"And if we're successful?" Law asked, "Then what?"

Shanks smiled as he answered, "Now's when the fun planning begins. If I'm right, then whatever it is will take us back to a time where we either died temporarily or were close enough to death to be considered dead. For myself, it'll be about three years after Captain Roger was executed."

"Going by that, I'll go back until just after Shanks was named a Yonko." Marco added.

"I'll be twelve." Law stated.

"Thirteen, I think." Bonney frowned.

"Fifteen." Kidd scoffed.

"Seven." Luffy said.

It concerned Marco and Shanks that the four were not only barely in their double digits, but that they also had to think about their answer. Though Luffy's age was the most concerning, no one said anything.

"Wait," Shanks looked at Luffy, "Weren't you seven when I docked on your island?"

"Yep!" Luffy smiled, but he didn't say anything more on the matter and the others let it drop.

"We should probably figure out how old everyone will be when we can all meet up." Law suggested, "I'm two years older than Bonney, she's one year older than Kidd, and he's four years older than Luffy." Taking a second to do the quick calculations in his mind, Law gave them their answer, "Us four should meet up when we're eighteen, sixteen, fifteen and twelve respectively." He then turned his direct attention to Shanks, "How old were you when Roger died?" Then he turned to Marco, "And how old were you when Shanks was named a Yonko?"

"I was fifteen when my captain was executed."

"I was thirty-seven when this idiot finally made a name for himself."

Law gave the small jab no attention as he took the information and ran another few calculations in his head. "Then that means Shanks will be sent back before any of us, and Marco will be the last one to arrive." At his point he was almost muttering to himself, but the others made sure to pay close attention, "Luffy and Shanks will have already met before Luffy gets there." he trailed off once again before giving his final answer, "In order of Marco, Shanks, myself, Bonney, Kidd and Luffy: thirty-nine, thirty-five, twenty-two, twenty, ninteen, and fifteen are the ages we'll have to be before we can meet up as a group."

The other five were shocked. Not only was this the most he had spoken in a while - almost a full year - but they were also taken aback at the fact he calculated that all in his head. Even Marco - though he won't ever admit it - wouldn't be able to do that that fast without writing it down.

Recovering quickly, the phoenix spoke again, "We should hold off on the actual meet up until after Luffy sets off." Before anyone could protest, he held up his hand to silence them, "Shanks will be in charge of getting Luffy his den-den number when they first meet, even though present Luffy won't be there yet. Law, Bonney, Kid and Luffy will wait until you all get to Sabaody before you meet up. I'll give myself a mission in the East Blue and get Luffy my personal den-den number. Does that make sense?" He sighed at the blank looks he received before he started to explain again, trying to simplify his words, "Shanks! You will need to give your den-den number to Luffy at the same time you give him your hat. I will get a mission to the East Blue before or when Luffy sets off and give him my personal den-den number. Law, Bonney, Kidd, Luffy! You four will wait until you reach the Sabaody Archipelago before interacting with each other. Is that understood?" This time, he was glad to get nods and noises of confirmation.

"That's a good plan and all," Kidd spoke up, "But that's all based on the fact that we'll end up at the earliest time we all almost died. What if that doesn't happen? What if we're all thrown into different times?"

The group was sent back into silence as they thought it over. Kidd brought up a good point, but they didn't have an answer for him. All they could do was hope that everything went according to plan for once. Shanks quietly knocked on the wooden table.

"It'll be good to have a backup plan." Bonney said, "Just in case." She waited for a minute for the men to present any ideas. When no one spoke up, she did, "If what Kidd says happens, and we all end up at different times that don't correlate with the plan, then we hope that one of us gets there before we all make it to the New World. If that happens, then they are in charge of giving their den-den number to the others when we reach Sabaody. Shanks and Marco, though, will have to find us on their own and exchange den-den numbers. From there, we'll be able to communicate and plan an official meet up." The males all nodded. It's a good back up plan. With two plans now in place, they could start getting ready to leave.

"Are we going to tell our crews?" Luffy spoke up for the first time since the beginning of their 'meeting'. At their surprised looks and silence, Luffy repeated his question, "Are we going to tell our crews?"

"I think," Shanks took in a deep breath, ignoring Kidd's snigger of 'That's dangerous', "I think we should only tell a handful of people. I'll tell Benn; Marco, you should tell Whitebeard; You four should only tell your Vice Captains." After a moment of thinking, he said, "If worse comes to worse, we tell our whole crews. Though, that shouldn't happen."

Deciding to change the topic slightly, Luffy spoke again, "We're going back to try and prevent this whole thing from happening, right? How will we do that? Is it simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time?" That got everyone thinking. Though, that was their best answer: Simply be in the right place and the right time. "Make ourselves an inconvenience to our enemies?" Yeah, that sounded a lot more fun than what they initially thought.

"If something happens that we can't prevent, I say we tell a few influential pieces on our chess board." Kidd brought up, "For example: Rayleigh, Dragon and Jinbe should be told at some point."

"I agree." Marco said, "But only unless we all agree that the time is right to tell them. Other than that, we don't tell them."

Luffy was going to ask another question, but he kept it to himself. He had no doubts that Robin would find out eventually, based solely on his behavior. She was smart, so he knew she'd figure him out. There was a small, irrational part of his brain set aside for paranoia that told him his crew would leave him for dead if - when, not if - they found out he was really from the future and he had already failed them once before. He distantly realized he had sent himself into a panic attack that the others hadn't noticed yet.

Only when the others had left to go start mentally preparing themselves for their trip did Marco let his concern for Luffy skyrocket. He had noticed about five minutes before everyone dismissed that the youngest's breathing pattern had changed into one that usually indicated panic. His unfocused eyes and the slight shaking in his hands told Marco that the boy - man, he was reminding himself - had ended up in a panic attack somehow. He was glad, however, that he'd been there when it happened. After all, he had extensive medical knowledge and was best equipped to handle this, aside from Law, but the doctor had already worried about Luffy enough. "Luffy?" he waved his hand in front of the younger's eyes in order to gauge how bad this was. When Luffy showed no signs of noticing him, Marco continued to try different ways to pull him out of his panicked state. Eventually, he landed upon a hug.

Luffy has always been one for physical touch and affection. It may seem weird to other people, but knowing someone is near is not as comforting as feeling someone near. It's why he's always jumping on people and getting in their personal space. It's also why he's so fond of animals. Being able to touch someone means that he can feel that person is alive and breathing. But, while it's his biggest comfort, it's also his biggest discomfort. After The War Of The Best, Luffy didn't want anyone to touch him. He was scared that they'd die in his arms, just like Ace did. It took two years, but he was finally mostly over it. Occasionally though, it reappears and he doesn't let anyone touch him. So, when he felt something warm and soft - almost feathery - brush against his face, he snapped out of whatever trance he was in and stared at the bird in front of him.

Marco didn't go into his full Phoenix form much anymore, but knowing Luffy for a little over two years, and knowing of him for a lot longer than that, gave him the idea that physical touch will help him. When the hug didn't work, the blond decided to go full phoenix and hoped that the healing aspect of his feather-like flames would help the raven haired man. When it worked, he gave himself a mental pat on the back and allowed a small smile to show to Luffy. Marco only transformed several minutes later when he knew that Luffy was back in a good - as good as it could be, considering - mental place. "We'll go over everything again, tomorrow morning before we leave. Why don't you get some rest?"

Luffy numbly nodded, the wish that Marco were still in phoenix form pushed into the back of his mind. Though he was told to get some rest, Luffy instead took his coat and left the building. He was still covered in mud from the rainstorm hours earlier, but he didn't care. All he did was throw his coat over his shoulders and walk back to where his friends were marked as memories.

As if he was used to it, Luffy went to each of the nine graves and cleared their precious items of as much of the mud as he could. Jinbe had a black flag with the mark of the Sun Pirates on one side and the mark of the Straw Hat Pirates on the other; Brook had his violin and bow; Franky had a hammer and a bottle of cola; Robin had her journal and a piece of a poneglyph; Chopper had his hat and his grinding bowl; Sanji had a pack of cigarettes and his best kitchen knife; Usopp had his goggles and his slingshot; Nami had her map and a pinwheel; Zoro had his three swords and a bottle of sake. All of the headstones sat under one of the orange trees he'd managed to get off the Sunny before it sank. Of course, his two ships had their own markers. The Mini Merry was in place of the Going Merry, and the swing hanging from the branches of the tree had a model of the Sunny in a bottle sitting on it. There was only one grave left, but it held no markers to tell who it belonged to.

Luffy sat in front of the unmarked grave and continued his ghostly song, "When at last before my ghostly shipmates I stand, I shed a small tear for my home upon land. Though their eyes speak of depths filled with struggle and strife, their smiles below say I don't owe them my life." He took the Ships Log out of his coat pocket and leaned it against the empty headstone before he continued, "The souls of the dead fill the space of my eyes, and my boat listed over and tried to capsize. I'm this far from drowning, this far from the sea. I remember the fallen, do they think of me? When my bones in the ocean forever will be." Luffy took off his Captain's Coat and threw it over the previously unmarked grave. "Now that I'm staring down at the darkest abyss, I'm not sure what I want, but I don't think it's this. As my comrades call to stand fast and forge on, I make sail for the dawn til the darkness has gone." Next, he placed the red sakazuki cups he kept in his pocket down in front of the grave. "As the souls of the dead live for'er in my mind, as I live all the years that they left me behind, I'll lay on the shore but still gaze at the sea. I remember the fallen and they think of me, for our souls in the ocean together we'll be." He stood and bowed to all of the graves, showing his respect for all of them, as well as his gratitude, "I remember the fallen and they think of me, for our souls in the ocean together we'll be."