"Are you sure we should be staying on this island?" Rouge's voice is filled with worry while carrying a three-year-old toddler in her arms.
"Yeah, it should be safe for now. No one knows about this island." Roger said before looking down on two six-year-old twins who are standing by his sides.
"Daddy, we're staying here?" The eldest of the three asked, head tilting on the side.
"Yes, baby girl. We will. It might be a little difficult since we're the only ones here, but we should be able to manage." Roger assured.
"No, it should be fine! The island is big and we can go on adventures!" The younger of the twin exclaimed while looking forward to the promising adventures they can do on this island.
Rouge and Roger can only chuckle as they make their way towards a vehicle hidden in the bushes. It's a four-wheel vehicle that they can use in this kind of terrain.
The family of five made their way towards a hidden villa in the forest where they will be staying. A villa away from the city and away from the world.
Roger does not want his children to live like this but he has no choice. Until he has cleared his name, he can't possibly let his children be exposed to his enemies. Clearing his name might be impossible at this point given that it's not clear, to begin with.
The drive only took them about an hour. The villa is well-maintained and hidden by the thick trees in the area. The inside of the villa is fully furnished, equipped with modern furniture.
"Rayleigh had this ready for years now." Roger said the moment the children are not around. "I'm glad he had it prepared beforehand."
"He probably knows things will not go as smoothly as we all want, not when you managed to anger the World Government and the people behind them." Rouge answered while she's preparing the meals for their children.
"It will be hard for the three of them had we stayed in Grandline. All of them will not stop until we are dead." The word 'we' does not refer to him and his group. He was referring to himself and Rouge.
Being married to the Mafia King, Rouge is aware of the dangers it will place on herself. She's not the least worried about it. What she is worried about are her children. Even when Roger wasn't crowned as Mafia King, she knows that it will be incredibly dangerous. She could never ask him to throw everything away.
No, she will never do that. She loved him the way he is and who he is. He was a Mafia leader even before meeting Rouge and that's part of himself. He was only a rising rookie when they met and throughout his journey towards the top of the chain, Rouge remained as his support, his guidance, and his inspiration.
"Maybe it is a good thing that only a few people know about you." Roger said again.
"Because you won't let anyone have that information." Rouge fired back, smiling as she did.
Roger is possessive and very protective of her. No one in the group knows about Rouge except for the officers and a few trusted friends they have. Officially, there was nothing that binds them together - no marriage certificate whatsoever. What binds them is the love they have for each other as well as their three angels.
Roger's protectiveness doubled when Rouge got pregnant 7 years ago. He did everything in his power to hide his children. He will never let anyone get near them no matter what.
"How long are we going to stay here?" Rouge asks one time when they are sitting on the bench in the garden as they watch their children play on the ground.
The silence that followed is expected in Rouge's mind. She knows that there's no definite answer to her question. They might find themselves on this island forever.
"I do not know."
"I don't mind staying on this island as long as I have you and the children with me." Rouge truthfully answered. The city life could not offer her the happiness she can get from her family. She's willing to forget everything she had just to be with them.
"And our children? As much as I want to protect them forever, I cannot do that. There will come a time that they must set out on their own, find their own path." Roger wanted nothing more than to let her children roam free, to do what they want and be what they want. Being on this island will not give them that.
"That is true. They do not want to be caged after all." Rouge can see the fire in their children's eyes. It resembled Roger's own. Even at the tender ages of 6 and 3, they both know that these children will fly high, dream higher.
"I won't be caging them with my name." Roger said.
"Is that why you insisted on falsifying their birth certificates?" Rouge is talking about the false information they have on the birth certificate. Their birth certificates are indicated as males. Gol D. Ace, Gol D. Sabo, and Gol D. Luffy.
Even though this information is hidden from the public, there's no doubt that the World Government will get it. To avoid any more complications and to cut off any form of traces, Roger did not put Rouge's name on the documents. World Government will continue guessing who the mother is.
"Dada! Dada! I want food!" Luffia runs towards Roger, hugging his leg as soon as she arrived to demand food. She's a smart one, always asking Roger for food because she knows he won't deny her requests. A simple begging is all she needs before she can get Roger to follow what she wants.
"Luffia..." Rouge's tone is warning her. She pouted before tugging on Roger's sleeves that just makes him laugh. But this laughter soon is gone the moment he received a call from his cellphone.
It's a very old model and only used when one of his members calls him.
"Excuse me. I have to take this call." He said as he places Luffia on his chair before he leaves the garden to seek a more quiet place to talk.
The name Rayleigh appears on the screen.
"Rayleigh..." He greets.
"Roger. Did I disturb you?"
"No. Not really. Did something happened?" Rayleigh only calls when there's a need or an emergency. Their group officially disbanded the moment Roger left Grandline in favor of the safety of his family.
Many did not like it, but the officers understood. They know Roger more than anyone else in this world. This is not because he is afraid of the World Government. This is not for himself but his family.
Despite the disbandment, many are still in Grandline, staying off the radar of the World Government and living their lives the way they want to and still call themselves family members of the Roger Mafia Group.
"They got Rowing." Rayleigh grimly said, sighing as he did. There's no need to question what Rayleigh meant with his words. It's as clear as the sun that Rowing - a member of his family is dead.
"How?" It took everything in Roger to ask this.
"Shot him in the head."
"Who?"
"It's unknown. He was found dead in his house in the rural area. From what I gathered, it was a clean shot, someone was placed there to kill him."
Roger can only sigh while clutching on the mobile device in his hand.
"His house was also burned down. They're trying to make sure that any information regarding 'that' is gone, eliminated."
"And since they can't get to me, they're trying to eliminate the others?" there was nothing but hatred in Roger's voice.
"Yes. But do not worry. We're working on preventing them from getting to you." Rayleigh is still active in Grandline. Often messing with their enemies and gathering information.
"We? Don't tell me that you and the others are still active out there when I told you not to?"
"Hahaha! We are no longer part of the group since we officially disbanded. That command of yours is no longer valid. Besides, remember what you told us? Do what we want."
"You bastard." There was no bite in his words when he said that. It was filled with gratefulness to his members.
"I just called to tell you what happened. We're going to pay them back for what they did to Rowing."
And that was the end of the call. More members of his are dying because of what they know. Maybe he should do something about this soon.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
The twins find themselves in the forest with Luffia in tow. Their parents are currently talking in the garden so they took this opportunity to slip passed.
The twins are holding Luffia's hand on each side, making sure that she won't stumble. It hasn't been a month since they arrived on this island and the three of them managed to discover a lot of places.
That includes a door on the ground.
"This is locked." Sab said.
"That's why we need to guess the passcode." Ann said while looking at the automated lock system this door has.
"Door? Why is it there?" Luffia stares at it with amusement in her eyes. The twins are busy arguing that they did not notice Luffia approaching the lock.
"what if it has limited tries? There are automatic door system that will blow up if you tried it several times." Sab argued. At the age of 6, she's quite advanced and pretty smart. At the age of 4, she was able to read and finish books.
Ann is also the same but she's just a little slower than Sab who must have been blessed with high IQ. They are homeschooled by their mother since they were 4 years old and with so many books and knowledge, they were able to gain knowledge thrice than the kids their age.
While the twins are still in an argument, Luffia decided to start pressing buttons in the automated lock and that's when they heard it. The loud 'ding' coming from the door, signaling that it successfully opened.
"Wha - "
"How?!"
"Shishishi!" Luffia just flashed a toothy grin to her sisters before pointing at the unlocked door.
Gulping down their excitement, the twins nodded at each other before they pulled the door open.
"There are stairs."
"You're stating the obvious, you idiot." Sab said. "Shall we go inside?"
"Mom and Dad are not going to be happy if they find out." Ann said while staring intensely at the stairs. "Only IF they find out."
"Lezzgo lezzgo!" Luffia was jumping up and down while pointing at the stairs.
"Well... You're right though. Only IF they find out." Sab agreed, curiosity winning over rationality.
With that, the three ventured inside the secret door. Ann always has a flashlight with her and it comes handy when they are walking inside the dim-lit underground room.
"Oh! Oh! Switch!" Before the twins could prevent Luffia from doing anything, she ran towards the switch and press on it. For a second there, the twins were afraid that it activated a trap. Instead, it just turned on the lights in the room.
"Phew. How come she's so lucky?" Sab can only rhetorically ask while staring at the youngest.
"Don't ask me." Ann just shrugged.
As they dwell inside, they are not surprised to see firearms and several documents inside. This is not the first time that they saw a gun. Most of the time, they find their father's gun tucked under underneath his jacket. Sometimes, their mother also carries it.
They asked a few times why they must carry it and their parents just said that it's for protection. They're smart enough not to further question it. It must be something adults do.
They looked around and found a lot of hand grenades stored in a box. Luffia was about to pick it up but the twins quickly grabbed her by her collar before she did.
A newspaper laid there that caught Sab's attention so she tugged on Ann's shirt.
"What?" Sab points to the newspaper with their father's picture there.
Gold Roger - Mafia King.
"Oh, Daddy!" Luffia took the newspaper lifting it in the air while the twins just remained silent after knowing what it was about.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Days turn to weeks. Weeks turn to months. Months turn to a year. The twins are now 7 years old while Luffia is 4 wherein she starts to take Rouge's lessons.
Unlike her sisters, she does not have the patience to listen to her mother at all and prefers to take the lessons at her pace, often making mistakes which Rouge is not too happy about. Luffia takes after Roger, so much that it's giving Rouge a headache.
Because they have been on this island for a year now, their supplies are running out. For the first 6 months, Rayleigh dropped by in the middle of the night to give them their supplies. This time, he won't be dropping by so they have to get supplies on their own.
"Why can't Daddy join us?" Luffia asks her mother while they are sailing to the nearby island about an hour away from theirs. They used a speedboat available on the island.
"Because someone has to watch the house." Rouge explained. Luffia just nodded and accepted it as an explanation while the twins just remained silent.
Unlike Luffia, they know why Roger is not allowed to go out. And before they left the island, Rouge told them never to mention their father's name to anyone else.
The twins are helping Rouge in buying supplies while Luffia is just there looking around. There are a lot of adults in town so when she saw a green-haired kid not too far away, she decided that it's a good idea to greet him.
"Hi!"
"Hm?" The green-haired kid just looks at Luffia for a little while before continuing the push-ups he's been doing.
"What's your name?"
"Go away. I'm busy."
"Why are you doing that?" Luffia sat on a nearby rock then looks at the kid expectantly.
"To be strong. Adults are stupid. They think because I'm a kid that I can't do it." The green-haired kid frowns, dissatisfaction evident on his face.
"Shishishi! I like you. Let's be friends!"
"You look weak. Why would I want to be friends with you?" The kid stands up from his push-up position to look down on Luffia.
"I am not weak! I'll be strong!"
"Heh~ I'll wait till you're strong before we can be friends." And that's what he said before walking away. Luffia was about to follow him but her name was called by her mother.
For the past 2 years, the two of them see each other whenever Rouge brings Luffia to get supplies on the island. She told him that they live not too far away.
Despite not knowing each other's names, they still talk to each other.
"I'll go ahead now! Bye-bye idiot!"
"I don't want to hear that from someone like you."
"Shishishi!"
"Will you be back in 3 months?"
"Yeah! I will! You have to tell me your name then!"
"Yeah, yeah. Bye!"
Unfortunately, that did not happen...
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Things are not going well back in Grandline." Roger told his wife. "It would be better for you and the children to go somewhere else. As far away as possible."
"What happened?"
"They're killing anyone who made contact with me for the past few years. It is only a matter of time before they find us here."
"So they can prevent you from leaking that information?"
"Yes. I think it's best to explain everything to our children about the truth." Roger may not have been discreet about his connection to the Mafia world but he never mentioned anything about it to his children. They're older now and this may be the best time for them to know what kind of a man their father is.
"Yeah. I think that's fair enough."
"I'm going to also turn myself in." This made Rouge stare at his husband, shocked at this decision.
"You know what will happen if you do that, right?" There's no need to explain the outcome should Roger decide to turn himself in. There's just one path - death.
"I know."
Rouge wanted to say more but seeing the look in Roger's eyes made her hesitate. His decision is final. There's nothing she could have done to make him change his mind.
The twins were 9 while Luffia was 6 when Roger told them about what he used to do.
"I saw it. They have your picture on the paper and it says, Mafia King!" Luffia said. Since she can read now, whenever the three of them visits the underground room, she tends to look at the files in them.
And not just that. They see a lot of pictures when they visit the nearby island. Those are wanted posters of their father.
"But they said Mafias are bad guys. But Daddy is not a bad guy." Luffia added.
"Well, I wouldn't say that I am a good guy." Roger smiled at his youngest. "But I am not that bad either."
"Nuh-uh! Daddy is a great guy! The best!"
"It doesn't matter what others think." Ann suddenly said. "Dad is Dad."
"Yeah. You being a Mafia King doesn't matter." Sab shrugged.
The parents of the three children expected to get a lot of questions from their daughters but surprisingly, there's none at all. They accepted it like wholeheartedly.
"Daddy! Teach us how to use guns!" Luffia exclaimed, tugging on Roger's hand. "We saw a lot of guns in the underground room."
Her words made the twins stare at the youngest, eyes as wide as saucers. They want to shut her up but it was too late.
"Underground room?" Rouge raises an eyebrow at Luffia before looking at the twins as if seeking for an explanation.
"Err, we saw it years ago." Sab can't stand the pressure from her mother's eyes. No, Rouge is a lot scarier than their father.
"It was just an accident!"
"And how did you open it? Mind telling me how?" The tone in their father's voice is filled with amusement and a little proud of how nifty his children can be.
"Luffia guessed what the passcode was. So it opened."
"Hmm, I see. That's fine. If you found it, you found it. There's nothing much we could do with what you saw in there." Roger shrugged, trusting that his daughters are capable of handling whatever they saw inside. He is aware of what that room has. It's a miracle that they kept it a secret from the two adults for a long time considering Luffia is a blabbermouth.
"Shishishi! Dad, teach us how to use it!"
"Sure. I don't see why not."
"Roger!" Came a reprimanding voice of Rouge.
"It's fine, honey. They'll have to learn how to use it when they get older. Besides, this is something I can at least teach them." With their conversation earlier, Rouge can easily understand what Roger wants to say. That he won't have chances to teach his children about a lot of things.
Not when he's about to turn himself in.
Over the past few months, Roger kept himself busy with teaching his children about guns and the Mafia world. He did not specifically provide all the details but he told them what he thinks as appropriate.
In this world, they must learn how to fend for themselves, to protect themselves and those they love. He's been telling them that freedom is the best thing that they can ever achieve.
What exactly is the kind of freedom they want? That's up to them to decide.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Ring... Ring... Ring...
Roger woke with a start upon hearing his cellphone ringing. He never received any calls from Rayleigh at this time. It's always when he's awake, not when it's almost dawn.
Rouge also woke up upon hearing the phone ringing. With urgency, he pressed the answer button.
"Rayleigh."
"Roger. You have to get out of that island. NOW."
"What happened?"
"I don't know what happened but someone managed to tip the World Government of your location. They are on their way there. I am almost there. Get the children out of there now."
"How far are you? How far are they?"
"I am almost there. Probably in 15 minutes. Their ships are not far behind."
Roger looked at Rouge who nodded in understanding before running hastily toward the door to get to their children.
"Ann. Sab. Lu!" Rouge shook all of them awake. The three of them share one king-sized bed despite having rooms on their own.
"M-Mom?" Sab was the first one to wake up, rubbing her eyes as she did.
"Get up, now! We must leave."
"H-Huh? W-Why?" Ann yawns and sat up.
"There's no time. Come on!" Rouge urged the twins to stand up as she lifts Luffia off the bed to carry her towards their destination.
The twins frowned. Many questions must be circling their minds now but they decided to ask later and just follow their mother. They stepped out of the house and found their father who is carrying a duffel bag.
"Honey. Take the children to the eastern part of the island. That's where Rayleigh will be waiting."
"And how about you?"
"Don't worry about me. It's me they want. Just go." Tears start to fall from Rouge's eyes while staring at this man. A man that gave her so much happiness than she deserves.
"Dad?" Sab calls out to her father. "You're not coming with us?"
"Sab, Ann..." Roger grabbed each of the twin's hands before he sits to meet their eyes. Both are crying while looking at their father. They know in their hearts what is about to happen. "I know the two of you can understand this situation. You know that your father is a wanted criminal."
This made the twins cry even more but Roger must do this.
"I want the two of you to be strong, always. Do you hear me? Look after your youngest sister. And live your lives to the fullest. Do not let this situation shackle you down."
"Daddy, no!" Ann hugged her father as she sobs. Sab did the same as if trying to prevent her father from doing what he is about to do.
"I did not raise the two of you to be this weak. You must go now." It took a lot of willpower to take his daughters' hands off him as he stands up to say goodbye to his youngest.
"Lu..." He whispers to a sleeping Luffia.
"D-Daddy?" Luffia answers half awake.
"Daddy loves you."
"Love you too, Daddy." She weakly smiles, eyes still half-lidded and this almost break Roger's heart. As much as he wants to be with his family all the time, he cannot. He will only bring disaster to his children and he cannot allow that to happen.
Once more, he hugged Rouge and his children before pushing them to the car so they can leave. It took a lot of persuasions to get the twins inside the car.
As they left, Luffia is now fully awake. She woke up to find herself inside the car as they left Roger behind.
"Wait, what's happening? Dad? Where's Dad? Why are we leaving him?"
No one answered her. She can only look at her mother as well as sisters as they cry.
"What's happening?"
The drive towards the eastern part of the island was quick. When they arrived, there's a boat waiting for them.
"Rouge!" Rayleigh is waiting there for the family. His eyes turned sad when he realized that Roger is not with them. He should have expected this to happen. This is Roger after all.
"Rayleigh. Take the children and get as far away as you can."
"What?" Rayleigh couldn't believe what he's hearing.
"It may be a bit difficult for you but take them to where Dragon is." Rouge instructed.
"To Dragon? Are you serious?" Rayleigh could not believe what he's hearing right now. He knows who Rouge is talking about.
"Yes." That was the only answer Rouge gave before she looked at her children, giving the duffel bag that Roger placed in the car.
That's when they heard a noise coming from the other side of the island as if someone just fired a cannon. Rouge cannot waste more time. "Listen to me. You three are going with your Uncle Rayleigh. The world is not fair. It will never be fair but remember what we taught you. Live your lives the way you want to. You understand?"
"Mom... I don't like this." Luffia's tears fell while looking at her mother.
"I don't like it either. But we must do this. Now, go!"
"Mom! No!"
Rouge can only hug her children one more time before she pushed them away as she gets inside the car to go back to where her husband is, leaving her children behind.
It hurts to see them cry and it hurts more that this will be the last time she will see them. She instantly felt regret.
She could just leave her husband behind and be with her children. They need her more than ever but this time, she wants to be selfish. She wants to be with her Roger until their last breath.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Roger finds himself in the villa. Several ships must be around the island. He hopes that they got away, as far as they can.
That's what he thought when a car suddenly pulled behind him, revealing his wife's beautiful face.
"You..."
"I couldn't leave you behind. Do you remember our promise? You die and I die."
Roger can only shake his head in exasperation. Since when did he ever win against Rouge's arguments? Only a few times over the years that they've been together.
And this is not his time to win against her.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Sir! We've secured the area. No boats or anything around!" A naval soldier reported.
"Good. Then fire."
"Sir! The orders are to arrest him and bring him back alive."
"Didn't you hear me? I said fire!"
Left with no choice, the man's subordinates followed his orders and fired their canons repeatedly.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"I expected that they will be arresting me alive and place me in a public execution. I guess I was wrong." Roger smiled bitterly after several canons were fired.
"They'll probably tell the public that you resisted a warrant of arrest so they have no choice but to kill you."
"HAHAHA. That's more like them, I guess."
"But they won't be killing us. There will be no evidence they will find on this island. Not when it's no longer on the map." Roger stares at his wife before he understood what she meant.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
As the boat sailed farther away from the island, the three children can hear the island being bombarded with canons. What they can do is cry.
Luffia's been shouting for their parents for the past several minutes since they boarded the boat, wanting to swim back to the island. The twins have to hold her back as well as themselves from doing the same thing.
This world is harsh. Unforgiving even for children like them. It was just yesterday that they are so happy, so satisfied with their lives... And now? Their happiness is slowly being replaced by desperation and sadness.
What can they do? Nothing. They're powerless. What they can do is curse their situation.
And curse they did especially when they heard a loud explosion coming from the island. The impact of the explosion can be felt even when they are miles away from the island.
The three children can only stare at the island they used to call home while it was slowly consumed by the fire.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
AN: To the guest who placed a very long review, thanks for that info. To answer your question, Roger's crew may appear. Still not sure when, but if they will, they will just be a side characters. This is more of ASL-centric story, so the focus is on them.