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When Luffy was out searching for Sabo after the fire in Grey Terminal, he ran in a man that was wearing a suit, he seemed to have something like a fishbowl on his head. The next thing Luffy knew was that he was taken from Dawn Island and was now on the ship of the man going who knows where. They quickly found out about his devil fruit powers and put these chains on his that made him feel weak and tired. After that day he didn't know if Sabo and Ace were okay, he didn't know if he would ever see them again. Somehow, years later he managed to escape from the clutches of who he learned were the Celestial Dragons.
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Ace sat at a familiar cliff. He blamed himself he wasn't able save his brothers and now he was alone again. How cruel could this world be? Ace was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a small thud below him. He looked down and saw a small boat with a boy inside and a familiar straw hat. Ace gasped and jumped down into the water and climbed into the boat.
He carefully flipped the boy over and confirmed his suspicions. "Luffy." he muttered before he quickly paddled the boat to a small beach. "Ace..." the young boy muttered. "I'm here Luffy. I'm here. Don't worry I'll take care of you now." Ace quickly said as he lifted him onto his back and quickly ran through the jungle. "Ace..." he repeated. "Don't worry Luffy, you're safe." he reassured as he saw the familiar hideout come into view.
"Dogra! Magra!" Ace called out before Magra opened the door with Dogra right behind him who quickly turned around. "Boss! Come quick! It's an emergency!" Magra carefully took Luffy from Ace and brought him inside. Ace was quick to follow him, and he stayed by Luffy's side the whole time. "Ace, what happened?" Dadan soon asked after things calmed down.
Ace was quiet for a moment as he stared at the bandages that covered Luffy's smaller body before he looked up at the woman. "I-I don't know... I was sitting at the cliff we all used to go to, next thing I know I hear a thud below me. I see a small boat with Luffy inside of it. Then I brought him here as quickly as I could." he explained as a few stray tears fall from the boy's face. "He was calling out to me as I carried him here." he added as he turned back to face Luffy once again. Dadan sighed a bit and carefully hugged the boy. "It'll be okay. This is Luffy we are talking about. He'll be okay soon he just needs time." Dadan explained. Ace nodded a bit before she stood up and left the room.
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There were days where Ace felt like he was walking on eggshells around Luffy. He didn't want to scare him, but he couldn't help but want to hug the boy and never let go of him. His appetite wasn't the same he could only eat so much, or it would make him sick, he got tired more quickly, but he was always next to Ace. He was attached to the boy's hip. Ace didn't mind as long as he could keep Luffy safe, and he didn't have to go back to the hell he was stuck in then he was alright with Luffy being his shadow.
The first few months Luffy was having nightmares every night and would be woken up from his sleep. Usually, him and Ace would be found snuggled together in their sleep. Ace would be holding Luffy close to him while Luffy had his arms wrapped around Ace's torso. Very rarely did Luffy get a full night's sleep during those first few months. He never went into detail on the events or memories of the nightmares, but it also had him whimpering and wanting Ace's comfort.
Shortly before it was time for Ace to set sail Luffy decided that he would confess to his brother everything that had happened to him for the years he was gone. He reveals the truth that he had hidden on his back.
"What! The Celestial Dragons?! Those bastards! How dare they! I'll make them pay for hurting my little brother!" Ace growled. "Ace, they are the highest nobles in the World Government. You'd die before you would even get the chance to get close to them." Luffy explained bluntly. "How can you say something like that after what they did to you?!" Ace asked. "They were the ones that killed Sabo. I've seen what they can do. They'd kill you Ace. I don't want to lose you too!" Luffy cried.
Ace felt his anger burn away as he quickly went over to Luffy and collected the crying boy in his arms. "They won't hurt you ever again Lu and someday I'll... we'll make them pay." Ace muttered. Luffy hugged his brother tight and cried until he had no more tears left. "Please don't ever leave." Luffy whimpered. "I won't. I won't ever leave you alone." Ace promised.
--
Then came the day of Ace's 17 birthday. The day where the brother agreed that they would each set out to sea. "Ace, you have to go. We all made an oath that when we turned 17, we would all set out to sea." Luffy said looking at Ace while they sat ate the cliff. "But what about you?" Ace asked. "Your nightmares, you'll be by yourself. I don't want to leave you alone." Ace said expressing his worry.
Luffy smiled at his older brother. "I'll be fine. If I have nightmares." Luffy paused for a moment and grabbed his hat off his head. "I'll hug my hat. I'll steal your pillow and blanket from the tree house. They'll feel like hugs from you." Luffy grinned. Ace smiled at Luffy and ruffled hi little brother's hair he couldn't help but believe him. "If you say you'll be okay then I'll believe you." Ace nodded.
Luffy grinned and stood up pulling Ace to his feet. "Come on! You gotta get ready!" Luffy smiled.
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Three years passed since Ace left Dawn Island and he was now known as Fire Fist Ace, and he was currently in Alabasta hoping that he would get to meet up with his younger brother he heard a few rumors about his brother having a demon on his crew. Now he was curious to meet Luffy's nakama.
"Ace? Is that you?" Luffy asked as Fire Fist stood between Smoker and Luffy. "Hey Luffy! You haven't changed a bit! You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." Ace grinned. Luffy grinned a bit before nodding and running off with his crew. "How do you know Straw Hat?" Smoker asked. "What? It's normal for an older brother to worry about his bungling kid brother." Ace grinned before he fought with Smoker.
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"So, Luffy, you going to introduce me to your crew?" Ace asked as he sat on the railing next to Luffy. "Oh! Right!" Luffy grinned before running over to his nakama. "This is Chopper, he is our newest member, and he is our doctor! Then you have Sanji he is our cook; you should try some of his food Ace! It's great! Then there is Usopp and he is our sniper, he is a bit of a liar though." Luffy joked. "Hey!" the man yelled which made Ace laugh a bit.
"This is Vivi, she is the princess of Arabasta and we are here to help her stop Crocodile." Luffy explained. Ace grinned a bit, only his brother could manage to find and help, and befriend a princess. "Next is Nami, she is our navigator, and she is the best navigator! Then finally there is Zoro!" Luffy grinned as he jumped on the swordsman's shoulders. "He is my first mate or vice-captain, or whatever you wanna call it." Luffy stated.
Ace stared at Zoro for a minute before he nods, so far, they all seemed like good people. He wasn't sure if he could trust them just yet to protect his little brother. Though when he looked at Zoro there was a particular look in his eyes when he looked at Luffy. "So! What are you doing in Alabasta Ace?" Luffy asked. "What? You didn't get my message at Drum Island?" Ace asked.
"Message? What message?" Luffy asked. Ace chuckled a bit "Nevermind, anyways I'm looking for a man named Teach. He killed one of my men in my division. I had to go after him. I couldn't just sit there and let him get away with it." Ace explained. Luffy nods a bit as he listened to his brother's explanation.
--
Ace decided that he would travel with his brother for a few days, and he took this opportunity to observe his crew. While Ace stood on Luffy's left listening to his brother talk Zoro always seemed to be present on Luffy's right. At first, he thought it was a coincidence, but it kept happening. That made Ace feel a little at ease.
That night while after the group set up camp, they took the time to relax and prepare for the new challenges in the morning. "Oi Luffy." Ace called out grabbing the attention of the crew and Luffy as well who tilted his head a bit. "Can I talk to you for a minute alone?" Ace asked Luffy nods and follows Ace away a little.
When they were away from the crew Luffy sprung forward to Ace and held him in a tight hug. Ace smiled hugging his brother back. "I've missed you too, Lu." Ace muttered in his ear. "How have your nightmares been?" Ace asked. "They haven't gotten out of control, have they?" Ace asked again. Luffy gave Ace a sad smile before looking in the direction of his crewmates. "At first when it was just me on the sea, in that little boat. It was hard. I found myself not being able to sleep but then it wasn't just me anymore. I got my crewmates; I got an amazing ship, and we have gone on so many adventures together already. From time to time, I get them, but I have my nakama and even if they don't know the story, I can rely on them." Luffy said turning back to his brother with a smile. Ace smiled back at him and nods his head, and they walked back over and Luffy immediately ran over to his swordsman who was listening to every word that came out of his mouth.
Zoro looked towards Ace for a moment before turning his attention back to Luffy. Ace grinned He is in good hands. Ace thought to himself.
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"GO HOME LUFFY!" Ace cried out as he watched his brother charge through the battlefield filled with marines. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the way Garp was looking at him. He didn't care he didn't care about the expression on his face. He didn't want to watch his little brother go through this hell. He had already been put through it when he was a kid, when he was separated from his crew when he wasn't strong enough to protect them. He can't watch him die here.
"ACE!" Luffy called out "YOU'RE MY BROTHER!" he said. Ace could feel the tears gathering in his eyes as his forehead was now resting on the wood. "I want to live. I don't want to die." he cried. Only Garp heard him, and it made the old man cringe. Ace watched the battle unfold before his eyes, he watched as his family fought through waves of marines, he watched as his brother used conquerors haki to advance even further for even more marines to show up.
Luffy confronted the three admirals just to get closer. Unlikely allies came to his aid to help him, and he confronted Garp to save him. Mr. 3 helped make a key to get the Sea Prism cuffs off of him.
They were going to escape and get out of here. Then that lava bastard started talking shit about Pops and he couldn't help but turn to confront him. "Ace! Let's go! We have to go!" Luffy called out. This was one of the few times that Ace had to ignore his brother's call. He couldn't let this guy talk shit about Pops!
Then he changed his target and was now going after Luffy and Ace found himself standing in front of Luffy with the admiral's fist through his torso. The last thing he heard was his brother's painful scream.
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"Ace." Marco called out as he stood at the young man's bedside. "Marco? How? How am I alive?" Ace asked. "Honestly I couldn't tell you that myself. It's no short than a miracle." Marco answered honestly. "What about Luffy? Is he alive?" Ace asked. "I don't know. Shortly after you collapsed, he became unresponsive. Last thing we know was that Jinbei was carrying him away and he got away with the Heart Pirates." Marco explained.
Ace sighed a bit before nodding. "Ace, there is something that you aren't tell anyone about Luffy. Only you two seem to know. What is it?" Marco asked. Ace stared at the ceiling at what remained of the Moby Dick. "When Luffy and I were kids, we had another brother." Ace started. "Had?" Marco as he took a seat. "He was killed by Celestial Dragons. He was the son of a noble and he set out to sea to try and escape from that life. Well, that very day a Celestial Dragon was coming to visit the kingdom and he shot him down without a thought." Ace explained.
Marco nodded a bit as he listened to Ace's story. "Well, that day, Luffy went out to look for. We didn't know who the Celestial Dragons, Luffy accidentally ran into one, for no reason whatsoever he took Luffy from Dawn Island. That was the last time I saw Luffy for years. The next time I saw him he wasn't the same kid. He was jumpy for a while, had nightmares, avoid a lot of physical contact unless it came from me, or he initiated it. We agree with our brother Sabo that on our 17th birthday we would set out to sea and become pirates, shortly before my 17th birthday, Luffy told me what happened." Ace said as he felt himself starting to tear up and Marco stared at him in shock.
"He was a slave for the Celestial Dragon. He has the Hoof of the Flying Dragon mark on his back Marco!" Ace cried. "There wasn't anything that I could have done to save him!" he explained. "Ace..." Marco mumbled resting a comforting hand on the man's shoulder as he waited for the man to calm down. Ace took a shaky breath before he continued his story.
"When I turned 17, he convinced me to go out to sea. To keep our promise to Sabo. I set our three years before Luffy did. I was so nervous I didn't want him to suffer anymore. Then I saw him get his first bounty." Ace said with a sad smile. Marco smiled a bit remembering the day clearly. He was so excited he ran around the entire ship showing everyone the wanted poster even showing Pops.
"If Luffy is a force to be recon with. So, I think he'll be okay. Though it might be rough on him at first since the whole world thinks Fire Fist Ace is dead." Marco explained. Ace grins a bit and nods.
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Only very few people on the Straw Hat crew as seen the mark present on Luffy's back. Their captain always turned serious or avoided the question when the topic was brought up. Zoro was the first to see it, back when they were on the dinghy. He was also the only one to get a small explanation on the mark before his captain quickly changed the subject and similar to with Boa and her sisters, he always protected Luffy's back and kept it hidden from the others. Next was Robin, she saw it when she rescued Luffy from the sand after his first encounter with Crocodile. When she looked more into it after joining the Straw Hats it changed her view on the carefree captain. She was the only one that truly knew what the mark meant and after the events on Sabaody she didn't blame him one bit. Sanji has caught glimpses of it, but he was never able to ask his captain about it as he was always changing the topic or would be called away.
They only people that aren't a part of the Straw Hats that have seen it have been Law when he operated on Luffy to save his life after the Summit War and Jinbei who kept a watchful eye on Luffy, he also understood the extent of the mark's meaning. When Luffy found out about Boa's and her sisters. He confessed that he understood and even gave small descriptions of what happened to him. Though this didn't change Boa's view of him at all and it made her admire him even more.
Next to discover glimpses of it was Usopp and this time he was the only one that ask his captain in front of everyone. Probably not his brightest move but he was curious. "Hey Luffy, what is that on your back? Is it a scar from Marineford?" Usopp asked. "What? Are you hiding injuries from me?!" Chopper asked slightly panicked. Immediately Zoro and Robin looked at their captain in a slight panic while the others looked confused.
"Huh? Oh no! I was an old scar that I got as a kid when I was rough housing with Ace." Luffy said in the nonchalant manner. "At least let me look at it so I can document it in my patient log." Chopper said. "I'm sorry Chopper but no." Luffy said his tone had already changed. "Why not? As the doctor of this ship, I have to know about the scars to determine severities of certain injuries." Chopper stated.
"As the captain of this ship, I don't have to say anything about it. Now please drop it." Luffy said in a serious tone earning a shocked expression from majority of his crew. Rarely did Luffy use his position as captain as weight against them. When he did, they knew it was serious or something he wasn't ready to tell them. So, Chopper dropped the topic right then and there.
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Luffy didn't know what to think when he saw his brothers both standing the colosseum in Dressrosa. At first it was a cruel joke from some devil fruit user. Both his brothers that were supposed to be dead stood right in front of him alive. Luffy quickly ran over and wrapped his arms around them in a hug. "How? How are you here? I thought you were both dead!" Luffy cried out hugging both of them. "I've missed you so much!" he quickly added.
"We missed you to Lu." Sabo said hugging him back as well and Ace simply tightened his hold with his face hidden in Luffy's neck. "I'm so sorry we were gone for so long." Ace said though it was muffled Luffy heard it loud and clear.
Luffy looked up at Sabo and saw the scar running along his eye. He carefully ran his finger across it. "After that Celestial Dragon shot me down, I was unconscious and lost all my memories. All I knew was my name because a small tag in my hat. You dad was actually the person that saved me. I've been with the Revolutionary Army, I'm actually Chief of Staff!" he explained.
"That's great Sabo! I'm so glad you're okay." Luffy smiled. "What about the Whitebeard Pirates? What happened to them after Marineford? Actually, how are you alive? I saw you die?" Luffy asked. "I don't know, but it's a miracle that I am even alive. As for the Whitebeard Pirates, we been making small movements. Without Pops we haven't done much; we've thought about disbanding and working in separate units." Ace explained. Luffy nodded a bit understanding.
--
Anger flowed through Sabo's veins after Ace told him about what happened shortly after he 'died'. "Are you serious? Did that really happen?" Sabo asked. Ace nodded as they approached the small house that Luffy and his crew was staying in. "Unfortunately, it is true." Ace said. When the entered the house Zoro was standing there with his hand on his sword's hilt, he relaxed though at the sight of the two men and took his seat back next to Luffy.
"Sabo, Ace, what are you guys doing here?" Luffy asked looking up. "We came to see our little brother." Sabo grinned "Luffy, I told Sabo." Ace stated. Luffy nods a bit looking down. "Told Sabo what?" Franky asked looking at his captain then back to the other two brothers.
Luffy sighed a bit motioning for his brothers to sit. "We will wait for the rest of the crew to arrive and then I'll tell you." he said sitting up a little being careful of his injuries. "Are you sure Luffy, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to." Zoro argued. "No, I think it's time. We've all gone on so many adventures together, we are a family and I trust my family more than anyone else." Luffy said. "Aye captain." Zoro said with a nod.
Sabo looked at Ace who nodded a little bit.
--
When the rest of the crew gathered, they could feel the seriousness coming from their captain and was quick to sit down to listen to what he had to say.
Once everyone was inside Luffy sighed "I'm sorry I've kept this from everyone for so long." he simply started. "The only ones that have known or at least had an idea has been Zoro and Robin." he explained. "What are you talking about Luffy? Kept what from us?" Nami asked. "There is a part of my past that only Ace has ever known but I think you should know." Luffy explained.
Nami nods a bit she understood what it was like to keep some trauma hidden so she was now quiet as she listened to his story. when she looked over at Ace the usually bold man was looking at the floor a shadow covering his eyes, she then turned back to Luffy. Who now had their backs to them as he pulled the bandages off and took his vest of his shoulders to reveal a mark. It almost looked like the brand the Jinbei and Arlong had.
She then gasped as she remembered the meaning behind their brands. The mark of the Celestial Dragon, Hoof of the Flying Dragon. "I was taken as a slave for the Celestial Dragon and spent a little over four years with them. I was 11 when I escaped making Ace 14 when he found me at the cliffside of our home island." Luffy explained before turning back around.
The horror plastered on his family's faces had him looking down a little. "Only Zoro had an idea of what I went through, and Robin figured it out pretty quickly after she rescued me after my first encounter with Crocodile. I didn't want to tell anyone because I saw it as a sign of weakness. I was too weak to escape so I hid it." he explained. "Lu, you were just a kid! You can't really blame yourself for that!" Sabo argued as he earned a quick glare from Nami and Zoro. "You don't still see it like that do you?" Sanji asked.
"No, I don't. After everything at Sabaody and at Impel Down, then Marineford. I felt true weakness." he explained. "Now I see it as a challenge I have and still am overcoming. When I punched that Celestial Dragon part of it was out anger for what he did to Hachi, then it was out of hatred for what happened to Sabo, and then I felt a sense of revenge. I wanted revenge for everything that they did to me." he explained. "I know I was one of the lucky ones. I was able to escape, they didn't break me. I still have every intention to achieve my dream and become King of the Pirates." Luffy explained.
"My biggest fear was that you would think of this as me being weak, but we've all been through our nightmares, and we have each other's backs no matter what." Luffy said with a smile.
Chopper was the first one who got up and ran over to his captain jumping into his lap and hugging him, then it was Zoro and Sanji, Nami, Usopp, and Brook, then finally it was Robin and Franky in one massive group hug.
Ace and Sabo sat off to the side with a light smile on their faces waiting for the crew's hug to finish before they would steal their brother from them. "I don't think we have to worry as much anymore." Sabo smiled. Ace grinned a bit a shook his head. "No, we don't but he'll still be our bungling kid brother." Ace stated.