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Chapter Text

Chapter 1: Seraphim

The Seraphim do not have the original memories of the individuals they are cloned from; while they inherit the physical abilities and fighting styles of their source, they are essentially blank slates in terms of personal memories and experiences. That is what the scientist, Dr. Egghead, stated once when questioned about the beings called Seraphim that he had created for the World Government to use. They were essentially slaves who had no will, no desires and no thought for their own being.

So why did S-Fire remember things he shouldn’t? S-Fire has memories of two children; one blonde and one dark haired. S-Fire remembers the blonde dying. S-Fire remembers his original self dying in the dark haired boy’s arms. He remembers pain in his heart but most of all he remembers being free. So if he was a blank slate, like Dr. Egghead says he is, why does he remember his name is Ace?

Star shaped eyes looked up at the sky above him. The sky was filled with stars tonight. The moon bright, it’s light like beacon to everyone on the island below. The boy looking up at the sky above him seemed to have a permanent frown upon his face. He was too young yet to leave the island, having only been created two years ago by Dr. Egghead. He’d never spoken, so he was the silent Seraphim. Everything felt wrong from the moment the machine had spat him out into this world. He had no mother, no father, or siblings. He wasn’t suppose to be and yet he was. He stared at his tanned skin, sun kissed by the brightest light but that wasn’t true. He got the tanned color from the genes in his blood. Lunarians. He got his strength from the D. blood. He got his likeness from the one he was cloned from; his original self. Portgas D. Ace.

Could you tell them what I’m about to say now?

Pops!

Everyone!

And you Luffy.

Thank-you, for loving someone like me who is a good for nothing and who has such bad blood in his veins up to today.

Thank-you!

As the memory ended, S-Fire felt a tear slide down his cheek and land on his hand. His black wings fluttered with his anger. He knew the truth. Somehow, he had retained the memories of his original self. If he really tried he could recall everything that had happened in his previous life. He knew he was Ace, blood son to Gol D. Roger. Adopted son of Edward Newgate; Whitebeard. He had two adopted brothers; Sabo and Luffy. Sabo was dead. Luffy was…

He pulled his eyes from the sight of the moon above and closed them.

Hey Ace! Guess what? I’m going to be the King of the Pirates!

Golden star shaped eyes flashed open as a cheshire grin spread across his face. He had to get strong and grow quickly, because sooner or later his little brother would be coming to this island and this time he would be joining his brother in his mayhem and chaos. He would ensure Luffy became King of the Pirates and that the world government would regret giving Dr. Egghead his blood. He hadn’t worked for those bastards in his last life, he sure as hell wouldn’t be doing so in this one. Warlord. Seraphim. It didn’t matter. Portgas D. Ace was nobody’s lapdog.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Little Brother

The first sign that there was trouble happening were the alarms. S-Fire had learned quickly through trial and error that the alarms didn’t sound just for the heck of it, especially not the alarms for the entire island. Since he was still considered in training he hadn’t been sent off island with the others. He was supposed to be in one of the simulator pods learning and having information downloaded into his still forming brain. He didn’t like those pods. They felt like the walls were closing in on him. He shuddered at the thought of spending hours in such a place.

Stretching out his wings, S-Fire lazily walked down the halls of the facility he was in. The scientists were running the opposite way he was going. In hand he held a pipe weapon that he had found in Dr. Vagapunk’s garbage dump, near the downed ancient robot. He guessed it should’ve been odd seeing a two and a half year old walking down the halls with a weapon; but then again he was supposed to be a living weapon with no thoughts or emotions of his own.

“MOVE IT!”

S-Fire looked behind him as the loudmouth Lilith came running through the halls. The woman was one of Vagapunk’s satellites, basically he had split himself and his brain and had created the satellites to act as parts of himself. Confusing to most; boring to him, but she was rushing off somewhere and he wanted to see what was going on. So S-Fire sneaked away after her. He watched as she got into her giant robot. Quick on his feet, as always, S-Fire snuck into it and hid himself away behind her captain seat and waited.

Luffy held his jacket tightly to his body as he sat on Sunny’s figurehead. Nami had argued that she didn’t care if he ran a higher temperature than everyone else nowadays, he was made from rubber and rubber could freeze! After leaving Wano they had sailed into a snowstorm. Pouting he sat looking ahead of them when he spotted something. It was a swirling ball of energy that glowed. His heart began to beat faster. Touching his chest he could feel his power wanting to awaken once more.

“Nami!” He yelled out as he ran a hand over his chest to calm his heartbeat. Shishishi. He laughed inwardly. Not now. He told himself. “Nami!”

“WHAT!?” She screamed at him through the wind of the snowstorm they had sailed into.

He pointed at the ball of light ahead of them. “Is that normal?” He asked, as she looked past him to where he was pointing towards; her eyes bulged. He then knew, no, no that was not normal for this area of the sea. “Tell everyone to prepare themselves.” Luffy ordered her. “This could be trouble.”

“No kidding!” She yelled at him, fear evident in her voice. “What is that thing!?” She asked, her voice slightly panicked.

“It looks like a warm eddy.” Jinbe supplied.

“Really!?” Nami asked sounding surprised. “That thing?” She looked at the helmsman. “Then why is it in the air?”

“A mass of warm water that was heated up must have been forced upwards.” Jinbe explained like it was an everyday occurrence.

“Just how large of a temperature difference are we talking about?” She inquired.

“It kind of looks like an afro.” Brook joked lightly.

“Jinbe!” Luffy yelled at the helmsman, “try to steer the Sunny away from that thing!” Luffy stretched and moved himself closer to Sanji and Zoro.

“It’s going to swallow us up!” Nami stated fearfully.

“Wait!” Luffy yelled having spotted something. “There’s someone in the water.”

“No way!” Nami said doubtfully. “Nobody could be in that!” She then spotted it as well. “A mermaid?”

Sanji’s eyes widened, hearts seeming to appear in them. “There’s a lady in that!” He yelled causing Luffy to look closely at the ball of water and light.

“Are you serious?!” She asked as she looked at the sphere of water.

“Even if there is someone in there, we can’t help them!” Usopp said as he tried to hold onto the railing of the ship in order to not be thrown overboard by a stray wave.

“We can cut it.” Zoro stated as he touched his swords, Enma seemed to vibrate to life, energy from the sword crackling.   

“If you give the lady even one scratch, I’ll turn you into a mosshead fillet!” Sanji warned him. Luffy grinned at his two best friends.

Zoro rolled his eyes at Sanji. “Shut up!” Zoro yelled his teeth seemingly to sharpen with his words. Taking position on the top upper deck, Zoro spaced his feet apart and with full concentration he uttered.“One-sword style: Bird Dance.” He with quick as lightning reflexes, he sliced through the air like a hot knife through butter. The eddy separated.

Just then Chopper wearing his new woven hat came out of the ship. “What’s the big fuss all about!?” He yelled when suddenly a strong wind picked him up and carried him into the air.

“CHOPPER!” Usopp yelled now panicking for their ship’s doctor’s safety. “WHY’D YOU EVEN COME OUT?”

“HELP!” Chopper screamed frightened for his life.

Luffy spun around on his heel. “Chopper!” He yelled out as he spotted the reindeer flying in the sky. Without thought of his own safety, Luffy stretched his arm out and caught his friend by his leg. “Hang on!” Unfortunately the deck of the Sunny had become slick from the snow and ice; this meant Luffy was quickly losing his footing. He went flying into the sky when a strong gust of wind picked the rubber captain up.

“Not you too!” Usopp sounded exasperated.

“You idiot.” Sanji groaned.

“Stop playing around.” Zoro groaned as well, slightly annoyed by his captains antics.

Suddenly out of the eddy a pink haired child was spat out into the air. “A child?” Sanji questioned. I could’ve sworn it was a lady earlier. He thought.

“Who’s that?” Luffy questioned as he looked at the child screaming in total fear. Stretching his other arm out, he caught her. With great effort, Luffy pulled the child to his body.

She looked up at him. “Who are you?” She asked but before he could answer her in his usual manner, she began to panic once more. “Where’s the monster?” Her eyes widened when she saw it.

On the Sunny the crew watched with relief as Luffy held the child to himself. “Down!” They heard her scream.

“Down?” Frankly questioned first. As one the whole crew looked down into the water.

“Look down!” She screamed.

Usopp was the first to sense it. Something big. Something terrifying. Something that wanted to eat them. Oh no. He thought as panic set in. “Run, run, run,run!” He yelled running to find a spot to hide in.

At that moment Zoro grasped his swords intending to cut whatever it was that was coming towards them. Sanji went to grab one of the girls to usher them to safety as Jinbe prepared to engage with fish man karate. Brook went into full panic mode as Franky tried to quickly think which weapon of his could save them as high above Luffy’s eyes widened at the sight of red mechanical eyes of a shark coming towards his crew about to devour them.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Meeting Again

S-Fire listened to Lilith as she boasted how she’d captained the Strawhats and how they needed to give their treasure to her. When suddenly Shaka began explaining each of the Strawhats to her. S-Fire smirked. “You’re an idiot Lilith.”

“Huh?” Lilith said looking behind herself and gasped. “You! You’re not supposed to be here!”

However, S-Fire had already noticed how the hostility had risen in the fighter types; more specifically Nico Robin. Her arms were crossed as she spoke to the others. He noticed that the green haired man, Zoro was readying himself to fight. Having been discovered, S-Fire stepped forward; which gained a few more gasps from the crew members themselves. “Is it me or does that kid look like-“ the long nosed man spoke. S-Fire or formerly Ace couldn’t recall the guy’s name. He’s Luffy’s friend. He thought. So that’s good enough for me. “The one crew you are not supposed to mess with; and you’ve gone and captured!” He looked at the satellite with a deep glare that was so reminiscent of his former self that those who had doubted before no longer did. The only question was, how was this kid related to Ace?

“He’s definitely Ace’s.” Zoro commented with a frown.

“But how!?” Nami’s hissed at him. “Luffy never said that Ace had a girlfriend or wife.”

S-Fire’s superior hearing caught their words. “That’s because he didn’t.” He answered her. Nami snapped her head back towards his direction. “I’ll explain later. It’s not a pretty story.”

“How?” Lilith asked looked at him. “You shouldn’t -“

“Have those memories?” He answered for her gaining a slow nod. He shrugged. “Who knows. Perhaps some twist of fate or just because the universe hates me.” He shrugged as he jumped from the robot to the Sunny and landed on the grassy deck before walking up towards Nami. “Where is he by the way?”

“What?” She asked not sure if he was asking about Luffy or-

“Monkey D. Luffy.” He clarified. “Where is your captain?”

“He fell overboard but one other jumped to get him.” Robin answered. She leaned forward towards the child. “Now, who are you and how do you know our captain?”

How indeed? S-Fire thought. In this life, Luffy and he had yet to meet. “It’s a story for another time.” He answered as he turned towards Lilith. “We’re taking them back with us.”

“Huh!?” Lilith questioned. “Now listen here! You’re supposed to be taking orders from me, not the other way around!” She screamed, her face going red with embarrassment. As she took a step towards him, S-Fire glared at her causing her to pause. Haki? She thought feeling her legs quiver from the feeling of an invisible force stopping her in place.

Back at the labs Shaka looked at the boy S-Fire. The young Seraphim had always aced his tests with perfect scores. Interesting. He thought as he touched his helmeted chin. Could they have overlooked the D factor in this boy? No Vegapunk truly understood what the D factor stood for, only that whenever it was put through into their tests it brought chaos and disaster to the equation. “Lilith.” He spoke causing his fellow satellite to perk up. “He’s right. We need to speak with the Strawhats. Especially since they were seconds from killing you.”

“Huh?!” Lilith questioned. Her eyes going wide.

“That however is beside the point.” Shaka stated. “S-Fire’s failsafes are all offline. He’s somehow bypassed them all.” Lilith’s eyes widened as she looked at the tan skinned freckled boy. “He’s evolving.”

Without the restraints, he doesn’t have to listen to us. He’s got the freedom to do as he pleases. She thought as fear coiled in her belly. With all the abilities they’d programmed into him; he was a lose canonball ready to explode upon impact.

“You understand what this means.” Shaka said gaining a nod from her over their video link. “He’s becoming Ace.” He said sounding both proud and impressed. “Once all his programming has been bypassed and all the memories that is locked within his blood become unlocked-“

“But he’s just a clone weapon!” She whispered desperately.

“I suppose we overlooked the D component and by doing so gave a clone its own will.” Shaka told her.

“So he-“ She began only to feel a glare on her.

“Is acting of his own free will.” Shaka concluded.

There was a pause of silence between the two before the implications truly made themselves known to the other satellite. “WHAT!?” Her scream echoed across the area which only caused S-Fire’s grin to broaden.

Luffy coughed up the water and wrung his clothes out as both Chopper and the young woman they had saved did the same. He peered over at her. The girl looked kind of familiar but he couldn’t place where he had seen her before. They’d been lucky he supposed. Jinbe had saved them all from drowning. He wasn’t worried about his crew. Nami was the smartest navigator he’d ever met. With Robin and Zoro at her back to keep her and the rest safe; he had no worries about them.

Brother.

Hmm? Luffy hummed suddenly at the voice he heard in his head. He’d been hearing that voice since his fruit’s awakening in Wano. The first time had been after he’d woken up next to Zoro and the voice had begged him to eat. He was going to have to talk to someone, perhaps Chopper, about this because he was really starting to think it was his fruit that was talking to him. Maybe Traffy would know? He thought. He’s awakened his fruit; I think. He sighed before turning his attention towards the girl once again. Her hair kind of reminded him of Koby and that put a smile on his face.

“I thought your hair was white like in the poster!” She yelled at him.

Huh? Oh she was talking to him. My hair? Luffy grinned. “It only gets like that when I feel the freest.” He then stretched and presented his muscles before making them bounce slightly to get a reaction from her. She only looked at him with an annoyed look.

Brother. Here!

The voice sounded desperate. Brother? Luffy thought. Sabo? Luffy wondered. No. He shook his head and thus got rid of the he silly form of bouncing muscles. Sabo was off on a mission somewhere near Lulusia. Or that’s what Robin’s contact in the Revolutionary Army had stated. He’d gone behind Zoro’s back to at least find out if Sabo was alive. According to the contact, he was. So, for now, Luffy wouldn’t interfere with his brother’s mission. But should the World Government go after him; Luffy was prepared to fight for his brother. He’d already lost one. He wasn’t going to lose another; again.

“We should probably find out where we are captain.” Jinbe stated bringing Luffy back to the here and now.

“Right.” He nodded as a grin appeared on his face. He loved exploration and this island felt like it was going to give them a grand adventure.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Reunited

S-Fire sat on the deck of the Sunny as Lilith used her robot to fly them back to the labophase which sat on a manufactured cloud island. Rubbing his temple, S-Fire wished he didn’t have to deal with these kinds intellectuals. Scientists and whatnot liked to talk and talk about things that made his head hurt; even as Ace, he rarely spent time with egg heads.

“So what’s the plan?” Franky asked as he eyed the child on deck. From the black wings to the tan skin, the kid looked like any child except he was brandishing a pipe in his hand that look like it was used as a weapon. His question caused S-Fire’s ear to twitch as he listen in on their conversation. His grey almost black star pupil eyes closed as he let their voices wash over him.

“What do you mean, Franky?” Brook inquired as he took a sip of tea.

“I may not have been around when he was onboard the Going Mary, but I do know who Ace was and if this boy is his kid then-“ Franky was interrupted by Zoro.

“Then how did the kid end up on a government funded island.” Zoro finished. “Luffy will want to take him.”

“But take him where?” Usopp asked as remembered Luffy’s stories about Shanks’ rules about kids on ships. “Look, there’s a reason Shanks never took Luffy as a kid. A pirates life is harsh and dangerous.”

“Perhaps we should worry about that once we talk to our captain.” Robin stated as Sanji placed a drink in her hand. “Thank-you.” She told him with a gentle smile.

Nami on the other hand, took a bagel from the basket that Sanji had put out for them and walked over to the white haired boy. “Hungry?” She asked as she kneeled down to his level.

S-Fire remembered Nami’s very well. She was kind, strong, a fierce fighter and smart. She also got scared easily, but would stand her ground when it came to her friends. He took the bagel from her. “I think the last time we met you gave me a chicken leg.” He told her giving her his signature grin.

Nami blinked in surprise and confusion. Last time? She wondered before gasping. No. He can’t be. She placed a hand over her mouth as her eyes widened.

Zoro suddenly felt a shift from Nami’s haki and looked towards her. She looked surprised, but heartbroken at the same time.

Nami touched the child on the hand that was fletching his weapon as he ate with his other. “A-Are you-“ she started to speak when he looked up. Those heartbreakingly gentle star eyes that spoke volumes. There was too much wisdom behind those eyes for the age he was.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to scare you Nami.” He spoke her name, even though she had never told him it. “I don’t understand it all myself. One minute I was dying in my brother’s arms, the next I was at this place in this body.” He looked at the half eaten food in his hands. Food hadn’t tasted as good since his awakening. He missed eating with his brothers on the Moby. He missed the taste of the sweets that the bakers made while onboard. However, what he missed most of all was Luffy. His antics. Joking with him. Fighting with him. But worry ate at him. “Will Luffy recognize me or will he see me as a fake?”

Nami could see the pain in the child’s eyes. “I think you being in this form will confuse him at first; but he’ll see you for who you are.” She stated as she moved her hand to his shoulder. “And if he doesn’t I’ll pound my fist into him until he does.”

S-Fire blinked at her and for a momentary second there was silence before he burst out laughing. It was a type of laugh that had his belly aching and tears springing from his eyes. “Thanks Nami.” This time a true Ace grin was plastered across his face just as they made their approach towards the cloud island and subsequently the labs that he really didn’t like.

Not surprisingly, in the two hours since coming to the island Luffy, Chopper and Jinbe found themselves running from a Pastifista of Kuma. They also learned that their new friend was the original Kuma’s daughter. Bonney almost got blasted away by the robot version of her Dad because she was so shocked at seeing a robot with his face coupled with a small amount of hope that it’d recognize her.

Luffy wrapped his arm around her about a dozen times and ran with her. “Are you nuts!” He yelled at her. “It may look like your Dad, but it’s not!” He wasn’t sure what it was going to take to convince her of this.

As they rounded the corner the group came to a dead end. “We’re going to have to fight.” Jinbe stated as he prepared for a battle.

Luffy placed Bonney to the back of the group, not wanting her to get hurt. “We’ll fight him, so you don’t have to.” He offered her.

Bonney felt her heart breaking. Nonononono! She screamed mentally as she called forth her devil fruit power. “Wait!”

A flash of light later and Jinbe found himself small and short. He felt like a damn guppy! “Oh shoot.” He said and found that even his voice had changed to a child’s.

The robot raised its arms to shoot its laser at them. “Subdue the-“ Police robot Kuma froze before the laser was extinguished. Looking around it no longer recognized the group of people as its enemy and began walking away.

Jinbe was confused. “Why did he stop?” He asked not expecting a reply but it would be nice to have an answer. Turning around he found his jaw dropping.

Luffy stood with white silvery hair looking old and ragged as did Chopper. “What’s going on? Suddenly my body won’t move.” Chopper voice was shaky and wobbled from extreme age.

“I’m suddenly so tired.” Luffy complained as he didn’t have any strength left. His knees wobbled by standing alone. He panted as he tired to regain some strength but it was as if everything had been zapped from him; including his youth.

“Luffy! Chopper!” Jinbe gasped from shock. “You’ve become decrepit!”

Chopper turned his head towards Jinbe. “And you’ve become a child!”

Jinbe looked at his hands. “So I have.” He stated with awe.

Luffy looked down at Bonney who looked ashamed. “So is Bonney.”

“I see.” Jinbe said now understanding. “That’s why he didn’t recognize us.” He continued to look at his child-like hands with wonder. “Let’s escape while we can.”

“Agreed.” Luffy said and as he took a step it felt like his bones were about to snap. He began to whine in pain causing Jinbe to look back at him.

“What’s wrong?” Jinbe asked as he stopped.

“My back.” Luffy whined pathetically. “It hurts.” He took a step backwards only to fall through the wall to the other side. “Ye-ouch!”

“Luffy’s gone!!” Chopper screamed with horror in his voice as the group stood there starring as to where he had been only moments ago.

S-Fire heard an explosion from the island below and looked over the edge of the ship. “What’s wrong?” Usopp asked as he approached.

S-Fire scanned the scene below. Several of the skyscrapers were burning with people screaming as they ran out of the labs. His eyes suddenly super focused like a hawks or like the goggles Sabo use to sport as a kid that zoomed in on things. He already knew Masked Deuce would joke and call them his telescope eyes.

As his eyes scanned the scene below he spotted three figures being chased by a Police Pastifista. The figure in front of them all wore a red outfit with the all familiar strawhat. Luffy. He thought with excitement. His wings fluttered with that same excitement. He turned towards Robin who was closest to him. “Apologize to Shaka and Lilith for me. I’m needed down below.” He then jumped from the ship which got a screech from Lilith who saw him jump.

“Fire!” Nami screamed after him causing the boy to twist himself mid-air to look at her. “Catch!” She yelled as she threw him his pipe weapon.

S-Fire caught the pipe before he spread his black wings and flew down to the ground. Unlike the others Seraphim, he had only just begun his flight training and really couldn’t fight yet in mid-air battles, but he knew the basic to fly and land; sort of. As he came in for his landing, his feet slammed into the Pastifista’s chest before flames shot out from his feet into the chest cavity of the robot and melted all the metal and wires. Seconds later the robot fell back first as a lump of scrap metal.

People came out of hiding when they heard the Pastifista fall and stop firing its weapons. Upon seeing the young Seraphim though, they weren’t sure what to think. Most knew of them as living weapons that Dr. Vegapunk had created for the World Government to help control the disorder that the pirates of the world had created, therefore there was a small sense of unease at seeing one in the Fabiriophase area of the island was rare; but not unheard of. However, what was unusual was seeing one as small as S-Fire.

This did not concern the boy though. Nobody here would harm him. They were all scientists and researchers. The only thing he had to worry about was them being too curious about his person. Sharp hawk eyes looked out to where the robot had stopped its path of destruction. Running towards the alley he found it was empty, but he knew these places had secret passages and sometimes you could pass right through one.

Placing his hand onto the wall he began pressing against it. Activating his boots thrusters he began slowly inspecting every inch until his hand passed right through. Upon walking through the wall, S-Fire was assaulted with a horrid smell of rotting metal and oil. He placed his hand over his nose to help himself breathe a bit better when he heard a voice yell out.

“Robonosuke!!! Come on and play!” Followed by the sound of something beating on metal. Running forward, S-Fire could feel his heart hammering in his chest. That was Luffy’s voice! His baby brother was really here! It’s not a dream. He thought. He really is here! He felt his bottom lip tremble a bit as his emotions surfaced. Lu, please, take me back to the sea. He thought as he rounded a pile of metal garbage and froze at the sight before him. It was a giant robot that was bigger than anything he’d ever seen on the island!

It was then that he saw him. Luffy was standing at the helmet of the robot trying to get it to activate, only for it to remain still. He looks older than I remember. He thought. Gone was the baby fat from his face. Replacing it was a more defined and sculpted look. He could also feel it, strength and power unlike anything he’d ever felt. He was about to approach when he lost sight of Luffy. Where’d he go?!

Meanwhile Luffy was trying to see if there was a switch to activating this robot but couldn’t find any. Standing up tall, he looked into the empty eyes of the robot and felt sorrow for it. Just as he was about to touch it he heard the voice again.

He’s here! Our big brother!

The voice was so much clearer this time. It was almost child-like but it held so much maturity and wisdom within it.

To the side!

This was practically scream and it made Luffy wince at the volume. As if he didn’t have a hard enough time hearing everything else with the Voice of All; now this? Maybe I’m finally going nuts. He thought. After all who heard of hearing voices unless you were going crazy?

However, he couldn’t stop the insistency that the voice held. Stretching out his senses he was surprised to feel another person with them. Both Chopper and Bonney were there but to the side was an unfamiliar haki signature. Thinking fast, he couldn’t allow a stranger to hurt his friends. Doing a quick as lightning speed blitz around the giant, he saw a small child-like figure staring up at the robot. The black wings were unfamiliar to him but it made him think perhaps this child was a natural inhabitant to the island. Grasping the boy from behind he quickly turned him around to face him.

“Well, hello. Who are you?” And suddenly time seemed to stand still for the two as Luffy suddenly recognized the haki signature and S-Fire did something that would’ve put his former self to shame as he let the tears flow freely and hugged his brother.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: The Impossible

Luffy stared at the child before him and felt his heart shatter. “A-Ace?” He questioned his sanity. Did I hit my head too hard? He asked recalling the attack on the ship that had left him unconscious when they’d arrived on the island. Nononono. It can’t be him. He suddenly reached out and began examining the child. He looked like Ace when he’d been little. Minus the white hair. He thought as he grasped the kid’s face.

“Loof stop that.” S-Fire pushed his brother’s hands away. Did he forget me? He wondered. Other than Luffy calling him, his old name there was no reaction from the rubber teen. Until, S-Fire looked at Luffy directly.

“A-Are you really A-Ace?” Luffy questioned. Tears spilling down his cheeks as he examined the child’s haki. Yes, this was Ace’s haki. Yes, he looked like Ace, but how?

“It’s really me.” S-Fire said softly as he tried and was failing to control his own emotions as more tears ran down his cheeks. “Shitty Granps would hunt us as kids as his form of training. His fists of love hurt like fuck! Dadan did nothing to protect us from him. We had another brother who died; his name was Sabo!” By now S-Fire was trembling with his emotional outburst.

Luffy suddenly wrapped his hands and arms around S-Fire multiple times and pulled the boy towards him. The waterworks started. First with Luffy who had a full on meltdown. “ACE!!!!!” Tears, snot and with Luffy screaming Ace’s name; left S-Fire with his arms full of a blubbering little brother. The scream of course brought his companions rushing towards them. Of course by then, S-Fire was loosing a battle with his own emotions and let them go, after all, he was just a toddler. The crying didn’t stop as they both clung to each other.

When Jinbe, Chopper and Bonney came around the back of robot, the sight that they came to was one of a blubbering Yonko clinging to a small winged child who was crying just as loudly and clinging just as hard to the Yonko. “Luffy?” Jinbe questioned what had caused his captain to scream out his dead brother’s name as he had.

Chopper went into doctor mode. “Luffy, are you hurt?” The reindeer rushed up to his friend and captain.

“It’s ACE!” Luffy screamed as his chest heaved as he rubbed his cheek against the child. “My brother! My brother!”

“I’m sorry Lu! I’m sorry for everything!” S-Fire cried out. “I never should’ve gone after Teach! I should’ve asked for help!”

Jinbe’s eyes widened at the words. It-It can’t be! He thought. He had seen Ace die. Had watched in horror as Akainu’s fist had gone through the young man’s chest. Had seen how Luffy had reacted then.

“Is he going to be okay?” Bonney asked. Why is he calling out Fire Fists name? She wondered silently.

“I don’t know.” Jinbe answered truthfully.

“Luffy?” Chopper gently touched his friend’s arm in comfort.

Luffy lifted his head to look at his friend. “C-Chopper.” He stuttered. His face was red from crying, with snot running out of his nose and large wet tears flowed down his cheeks. “He’s Ace.”

“Huh?” Chopper questioned. Oh no! He thought in horror. Is he having a mental breakdown!? He knew that Ace was dead. He’d read the article and had cried for Luffy at that moment.

S-Fire stepped back as he tried to calm himself. “He’s right. I am.” He admitted having an easier time in regaining control over his emotions than Luffy was. The tears were still streaming down his cheeks but he was able to talk.

“That’s impossible.” Jinbe stated as he walked up to the duo. He knew how Luffy was after Ace’s death and if this child thought he could fool him in order to harm his captain.

S-Fire was surprised to see Jinbe. His eyes widened as he pulled away from Luffy, his brother giving him a questioning look. “You are Jinbe. You tried to stop me from fighting Pops, but I was stubborn. So we fought for four days. Afterwards, you said it was one of your best fights and stated you’d like to go another round if I survived my fight with Pops.”

Jinbe’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped. He knew for a fact that there hadn’t been anyone on that island when they had fought. “WHAT!?” He cried out in shock.

Chopper turned towards the fish man. “Big Boss, what’s wrong?”

“It’s can’t be.” Jinbe whispered. “But there’s no other answer.” He truly looked at the child. Yes there were differences but he still looked just like Ace. From the determined look in his eyes to his facial features. The child’s look screamed I am Ace. “How?” He asked the boy.

“I think the World Government thought they could use me if I was one of their controlled clones.” He looked at Luffy. “They took my blood and gave it to Dr. Vegapunk to have him create a Seraphim version of me who would be their mindless slave and do as I’m told. They have others here including a version of you, Jinbe.” He looked up at the blue skinned sharkman. “You’re so much bigger than I remember.”

Jinbe gave a hearty laugh. “Well you’re a lot shorter than I recall!” He said laughingly.

“Tch.” The boy sounded slightly annoyed. “Yeah, well how do you think I feel?” He gave a dramatic pause as he looked at Luffy. “I just went from being the big brother to the little one!”

Having calmed down a bit, Luffy wiped his face of all the evidence of his breakdown. “Shishishi.” Luffy laughed. “I’ll try not to be a bad bother.” S-Fire looked at him and looked very annoyed. Luffy suddenly remembered something and laughed a bit more.

“What?” He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Shishishi.” Luffy laughed a bit more before grabbing the boy, S-Fire squawked at Luffy being all handsy. Luffy leaned forward with his biggest grin plastered on his face making his brother nervous. “I just remembered, you don’t know something.”

“Huh?” S-Fire asked quirking a brow.

“It’s about ‘Bo.” Luffy clarified.

S-Fire suddenly got all sad. “Sorry I’m not him Lu.” He bowed his head down in shame.

Luffy laughed again. “You don’t have to be.” Luffy stated. “He can be himself.”

“Huh?” S-Fire asked confused.

“Sabo is alive.”

S-Fire’s wings dropped as he pouted a bit before his hand release the pipe. “T-That’s not funny.” He stuttered as he quivered slightly as his emotions began to build up again.

“It’s not ment to be.” Luffy said with a smile. “He’s alive. He’s a part of the Revolutionary Army. Is their Chief of Staff.” His smile became a bit bigger. “‘Mingo had your fruit, but ‘Bo got it back and ate it.”

The small boy looked over at Jinbe who chuckled. “They’re calling him the Flame Emperor.” He told S-Fire.

S-Fire looked up at his brother, his eyes begging him to end the joke when he realized there wasn’t a punchline. It was the truth. His bottom lip bobbed a bit before he hugged Luffy tightly. His first friend. His first brother. His twin. The one he had cried silently for after his death; was alive! So for the second time in the last ten minutes; S-Fire cried.

After S-Fire had calmed a bit, Luffy had placed him on his back. The child clung to Luffy, with his head on Luffy’s shoulder. Inhaling his brother’s scent he found that it hadn’t changed. He still smelled like partially cooked meat and dirt. He also felt safe for the first time awakening to this new life. S-Fire closed his eyes as he basked in the feeling of safety when he felt Luffy’s arm wrapped around him and give him a bit more stability as they began jumping back upon the robot to begin examining it again.

Luffy’s was so happy. He hadn’t been this happy in years. His brother was back! He couldn’t understand how really, but he was so happy that he was! Oh, he couldn’t wait to share this with Sabo. Their family was back! It was a little different but it was back!

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Vegapunk Appears

S-Fire watched both Luffy and his doctor bouncing around on the large robot as he sat on Jinbe’s shoulder. The pink haired girl kept glancing at him. “I don’t see how you can be Ace.” She muttered quietly.

“All I know is that when I woke up I was a child, much smaller than I am now.” He said. “I remember everything with such clarity.” He looked at Jinbe. “Thanks for watching over him.”

“After your death, Luffy went into a paralytic state. His grief was so great that had I not risked life or limb saving him; he would have died.” Jinbe stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you know everything that happened that day, Ace?”

S-Fire frowned. “I haven’t gone by that name in a long time.” He told his blue skinned friend. “They call me S-Fire here.” He crossed his arms over his own chest, mimicking Jinbe without realizing it. “As for what I remember; I remember everything leading up to my death.”

“Could you tell them what I’m about to say now? Pops! Everyone! And you Luffy. Thank-you, for loving someone like me who is a good for nothing and who has such bad blood in his veins up to today. Thank-you!”

“I cried in my brother’s arms.” S-Fire stated mournfully. “After I said what I needed to say I felt so cold all of a sudden. Then the pain in my chest, it was gone.” He wrapped his arms around himself. “I heard screaming in the distance and then it was all gone.” He blinked as he looked up at Luffy banging his hand on the robot, trying to awaken it. “When I awoke. All those memories came forward and I was scared. Scared I’d been caught again. Scared Luffy was being hurt. Just plain scared.” He frowned. “Then Doctor Vegapunk was there. Saying garbage I couldn’t understand and then the memories went away. He’d done something. Given me some sort of serum that made them vanish.” He moved his legs back and forth on Jinbe’s shoulder. “I knew they were there still. So while I was in the learning pods I was trying to recover the memories blocked in my own mind.” He grinned. “Then a memory finally appeared.”

“Why do you wanna be my friend so much!” An angry Ace yelled.

“Because…” Luffy whimpered.

“Didn’t I give you a hard time until now?” Ace growled out at him. “Why did you follow me this far?”

“Because I have nobody that I can trust!” Luffy cried. “Gramps won’t let me go back to Foosha! I hate the mountain bandits! If I didn’t follow you, I would be all alone. Being alone hurts more than getting beaten up!” A bandaged eight year old Luffy cried as he looked at Ace and Sabo.

“Where are your parents?” Ace asked having a bad feeling.

“Gramps is all I have.” He admitted.

Ace felt an ache appeare in his chest. “Is it easier when I’m around?” He asked.

“Uh-huh.” The eight year old nodded tearfully.

“Do you want me to live?” Ace felt his twin’s eyes on him suddenly.

Anger rolled off of Luffy. “Of course I do!” He screamed.

The memory ended as S-Fire looked away from Jinbe and Bonney. “The memory that released everything was one of Luffy begging me to continue living while we were kids.” He snorted. “Annoying little brat he may be, but after that resurfaced I swore that I’d get stronger so I could join Luffy.” He then looked back at Jinbe realizing he hadn’t answered the rest of the question. “Did something happen to the others afterwards?”

Jinbe knew Ace needed to hear what he was going to say next. “Yes.” He said as a deep sadness came from the older man.

S-Fire jumped from Jinbe’s shoulder. “Is it Marco? Izou? Jozu? My other brothers? Are they okay?” He asked firing off their names when he suddenly froze. No. He thought as a horrible gut feeling filled him. “P-Pops?” He stuttered as tears threatened to appear.

Jinbe took a deep breath before he continued. “Edward Newgate, Whitebeard, died the same day as you as he fought Blackbeard and the Blackbeard crew. His fruit was stolen and eaten by the traitor.” S-Fire fell to his knees from the shock. “Izou, died in Wano a few weeks back as we liberated the Samurai country. Jozu is alive, as far as I know.” He sighed sadly. “Officially the Whitebeard crew was disbanded by First Mate Marco the Phoenix after a great defeat by both the Marines and Blackbeard. Without the mighty hand of their father, the group couldn’t continue. Unofficially, Marco and the lieutenants are still protecting certain islands that their father found as his treasures and have been backing Luffy up without our captains knowledge.” He chuckled. “Only I, Nami’s and Robin know and we plan to keep it that way until he begins to question us about certain things.” S-Fire looked towards Luffy who suddenly wasn’t making any noise.

A suddenly pulse of energy exploded from the robot. Sending both the young captain and his doctor away from the robot and into the nearest garbage pile. “What was that!?” Luffy yelled in confusion.

“It didn’t explode.” Jinbe said in aw having that that the robot was about to do just that.

“It wasn’t an explosion.” Bonney stated as she glared at the robot suspiciously.

“Hmm?” Ace looked at the heap of metal.

“HELP!!!” A scream suddenly came from the robot. “Help me-Quasar!”

“Huh?” Bonney said with a frown. “Quasar?”

S-Fire groaned inwardly. Him? He questioned. I really don’t want to deal with him right now. He looked at Luffy. “Yo, Lu, if I help you; will you take me with you this time?”

Luffy’s grin became unexpectedly wide. “Yes.” He answered happily.

“Oh no! I failed again!” The voice yelled. “Somebody help me-Quasar!!” Everyone eyed the robot suspiciously, except for S-Fire who looked more annoyed than anything. “Maybe it was a time-space glitch as I warped?” The voice stated.

Luffy spotted him. “Was that old man always there?” He asked Chopper, S-Fire facepalmed.

“I don’t think so.” Chopper deadpanned.

“I’m sinking!” The old man screamed as he sank further into the giant robots head.

S-Fire winced at the noise that the old man was making. “I don’t know what’s going on.” Luffy said before giving a sigh. “But let’s help. Old man!” He yelled before jumping high into the air before landing on the robot.

S-Fire groaned. “Stupid old man.” He muttered as he took to the air and landed next to Luffy.

Luffy stared in shock. “What the…You’re just like Kin’emon!” He gasped.

“Who?” S-Fire inquired with a raised brow.

“S-FIRE!” The old man yelled. “Help me-quasar!”

S-Fire really didn’t want to. “Oi, Lu?” Luffy looked at him. “Together.” He said as he grasped the old man by his jacket. Luffy grabbed an arm before the two began pulling.

“We’ll get you out!” Luffy yelled as they both pulled with all their might.

“Thanks!” He yelled before grunting as he was pulled by the two before popping out. When the old man fell onto his back against solid metal, S-Fire plopped himself onto Luffy’s back, mostly to hide from the crazy bastard. “Oh!” The man gasped as he saw who had helped him. “You’re Dragon’s son.”

Luffy cocked his head to the side. “Who are you old man?” He inquired as he sensed his brother’s uneasiness about this guy.

Before the man could speak, Bonney showed up. “Bonney!” The old man greeted happily. “You’re all grown up.” He said sounding shocked.

“Vegapunk!” She snarled with genuine hatred towards him.      

“I’m glad to see you are doing well.” Vegapunk stated ignoring her anger as he floated upwards.

Stars appeared in Luffy’s eyes when he saw that the old man’s boots were helping him to fly. “You’re flying!?” He gasped in shock.

Vegapunk chuckled. “You’re wearing them too.” Hr pointed towards Luffy’s feet. Luffy looked shocked at his feet. “Those have a hovering function.” Vegapunk explained.

“WHAT?!” Luffy screamed with excitement. “Did you know this?” Luffy demanded from S-Fire.

“Duh.” S-Fire said annoyed.

“What!” Luffy sounded shocked as Vegapunk showed him how the boots worked before activating his boots and taking off.

S-Fire quickly jumped off his brother’s back and fluttered in place as Luffy zipped across the area in the sky. Vegapunk showing Luffy how to properly fly through the sky before landing back where he had started. Chopper quickly following the instructions and flew after Luffy.

Vegapunk then looked at S-Fire. “By the way, why are you here S-Fire?” He was about to touch the smallest Seraphim to examine him to make sure he wasn’t damaged.

S-Fire looked every bit of a frightened child causing Luffy to suddenly land in front of him. “Please don’t touch him, he’s mine.” Luffy’s claim on S-Fire was dripping with haki causing S-Fire to look at him with wide eyes.

Luffy? He thought recognizing the haki as conquerors. Pops could do that. He thought sadly. Pops was no longer around. Just how strong have you gotten little brother? He wondered as Luffy began staring down the scientist who was the smartest man in the world.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Bugs

“Hmm?” Vegapunk blinked. “What was that?” He asked Luffy as the Yonko held S-Fire tightly to himself.

“He’s mine.” Luffy repeated, his gaze forcing the scientist to look at him with mirth in his own eyes.

“That’s impossible. All Seraphim belong to the World Government; including S-Fire.” He stated. “They’re all programmed to listen to those of higher power. From the Satalites and myself to the top-tier of the World Government; such as the admirals and Gorosei.” He went to touch S-Fire again. “Besides, S-Fire isn’t supposed to be down here. He’s still in the training phase.”

Luffy grabbed S-Fire again, this time placing him on his back; much like how he used to ride Ace’s back when he was younger. “Not anymore.” Luffy announced.

“Grouchy old man.” S-Fire said with a slight glare at the old man.

“Grouchy!” Vegapunk exclaimed. He shook his head.

“So he’s the real Vegapunk?” Chopper asked with amazement.

“Yes, but-“ Bonney looked at his head before pointing at it “what happened to your head!? It used to look like a lightbulb!”

“My head?” Vegapunk asked with momentary confusion. “Oh!” He said as understanding came to him. He touched the device on his head. “It had grown quite large, so I cut it off.”

Bonney looked horrified. “It’s not hair!” She yelled at him. “Don’t talk like it is.”

“Indeed it was quite large last time you saw it. In fact it was almost as big as a giant is tall.” He admitted. “It was like a balloon.”

Chopper stared at him in amazement and disbelief. “You cut your own head off. Yet you’re still alive. How is that possible!?”

“Well, I ate the Brain, Brain-“ he gasped as he bit his tongue.

Luffy raised an eyebrow at him. “Old man, are you okay?”

“I bit my tongue.” Vegapunk admitted.

S-Fire facepalmed. This made him want to believe that perhaps it wasn’t this guy who had blocked his memories. He’s so dumb. He thought.

“I’m the Brain Brain fruit user.” He told them. “I can memorize anything without limit and remember it.”

S-Fire crossed his arms over his chest. He’d heard this a thousand times. It was boring information. He looked at Luffy again. Two years had left his baby brother looking more defined. Gone was the baby fat from around Luffy’s face. His eyes shown with unknown knowledge and something else. Something that sparkled like a bright light.

“You cut your own head off. You must be an idiot.” Luffy stated. “Even I know better than to do something that stupid.”

“Don’t mess with a genius, you little brat!” Vegapunk yelled, obviously offended.

S-Fire grinned as chuckle escaped his lips. He then felt his brother’s hand tightened around him, bringing S-Fire to his hip.

He then pointed towards the device on his head. “This apple on my head is an antenna.”

“Eh?” Luffy asked not knowing what that was, not really. This was getting too technical.

“An antenna?” Jinbe asked.

“Look at the highest point of the island.” Vegapunk pointed above them. “Punk records is under the giant egg. That’s my brain records!”

“WHAT!?” Chopper gasped.

Luffy shielded his eyes. “Isn’t that too big?” He asked. Luffy then looked at S-Fire. “Are you okay?” He looked at his brother who had that bored brooding look on his face.

“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again Lu.” He stated. “But according to the old man I’m nothing more than something they can control. I’m not-“

“You’re Ace.” Luffy told him. “No matter what. You are in control. Not them.”

“S-Fire, Lu.” He stated.

“Nope.” Luffy laughed lightly. “You’re Ace and I’ll call you that until you begin to believe it.”

S-Fire pouted at that. Suddenly Chopper’s excited cry caught the two brothers attention. “Shishishi.” Luffy laughed as his friend suddenly began flying around. “I don’t understand, but I guess it’s exciting!” He too began flying quickly around.

“Lu!!!!” S-Fire yelled as he grasped tightly onto his brother’s red tunic. He hated those flight boots! As they flew around, Luffy went into the clouds laughing happily as S-Fire held onto him, slowly the fear leaving him.

“Ace.” Luffy said his name. “When I was a child you always made everything we did feel safe, as long as you were there.” Luffy looked at the frightened child. “This time, I’ll make sure that you never feel alone or frightened.” His hair bled white for a moment as he brought Ace’s forehead to his. “This time, I’ll make sure you feel free to do anything and everything you’ve ever wanted to do.” He laughed as his hair returned to black as they fell back to the ground.

It had happened so quickly that S-Fire had thought it to be imagined. The white hair, violet/red eyes and the laugh that felt so free that it tore at his soul. It made him want to join in with joy. So he did. He laughed a true Portgas D. Ace laugh that made the fire in his soul spark to life and be ready for what was to come.

As they reached the ground though they saw the pink haired woman Bonney suddenly scream as the laser saber sword attracted huge bugs and attacked her.

“BUGS!” Both yelled in excitement as they itched to begin grabbing at them and seeing who could find the biggest and bestest bug. Bonney’s scream of horror caught their attention for point zero zero one seconds before the two burst out laughing at her predicament. Instantly the pink saber shut off but not before thousands of beetles began landing in the trash heap. The young woman screamed again before passing out.

Luffy landed near Bonney before he squatted and patted her shoulder, laughter still bubbling over from his lips.

“Hey Bonney!” Luffy gently shook her but she didn’t awaken. “It’s a great stag beetle!”

“Oh!” Chopper gasped excitedly.

“I found a Hercules!” S-Fire said as he waved it in front of his brother.

“AMAZING!!!!” Luffy and Chopper yelled in unison.

Jinbe frown at the young woman’s antics before in trying to kill Vegapunk. “That weapon she held was a failure and because it was it saved my life.” Vegapunk sighed as he pressed a hand to his heart. “But it’s no wonder she wants to kill me.” He said sadly.

Once Chopper was able to focus on Bonney, he examined her. “I think the stress of the day has gotten to her, along with a great fear of bugs. She just needs rest.”

Luffy and S-Fire examined the bugs in their hands. “Fear of bugs?” Luffy asked.

“That’s a weird one.” S-Fire stated as the beetle wiggled in his hands. Neither brother could understand that.

“Oh yeah. I recently heard you and your crew were in the Land of Wano.” Vegapunk stated gaining Luffy’s attention again.

“Did you see Yamato?” S-Fire asked.

“We were.” Luffy answered the professor. “I did. He’s awesome!” S-Fire grinned and nodded in agreement.

“Is it true that another dragon appeared with Kaido?” Vegapunk asked.

“Yeah! It’s Momo!” Luffy answered joyfully.

“It seems that person ate the failed devil fruit I left at Punk Hazard.” Vegapunk stated sadly.

“Yep.” Luffy stated unintentionally agreeing before pausing. “Failed? No. It worked.”

“Was he a blue dragon?” Vegapunk asked truly curious.

“No.” Luffy said with a grin. “He’s pink.”

“Then it’s a failure!” Vegapunk yelled in horror.

“That doesn’t matter.” Luffy said with a shake of his head. “His big, strong and is now the leader and guardian of Wano.”

“Oh, I see.” Jinbe chuckled. “He’s a genius and a perfectionist.”

“Oh!” Luffy flew up onto the robots head. “Did you create this too? Can you make him move?”

Vegapunk lifted his face from his shame. “Unfortunately no. This is the legendary iron robot that attacked Mariejois two hundred or so years ago.”

S-Fire turned his head towards the shores. His sensitive ears picking up the sounds of the mechanical seabeasts. Something was coming to the island. His nose twitched. Or rather someone. He pittied them, whoever they are. A huge D grin appeared on his face. Because with him and Luffy here, those government bastards stood no chance.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Future Island

The futuristic landscape of Egghead Island was certainly like none other that Luffy had ever been on. The air was filled with the sound of advanced technology, hums of floating platforms, and whirs of mechanical gadgets. S-Fire, glowing with fiery energy had been leading Luffy, Bonney, Chopper, and Jinbe down a narrow, high-tech street lined with towering buildings and sleek machinery. The island is full of secrets, but their goal is clear, get to the research labs where the Straw Hat crew awaits.

Luffy, grinning with excitement was bouncing from foot to foot as they walked through the labyrinth of streets. “Man, this place is crazy! It’s like we’re walking through a giant robot!” He truly wanted to go off and explore on his own, but knew Ace would never allow that.

Bonney who had recovered from her fainting spell, was frowning slightly, cautious but intrigued by everything that she had seen. “Yeah, this place is giving me the creeps. But we don’t have time to waste. We need to find your friends.” And possibly find out what Vegapunk did to my father. Her eyes narrowed towards Ace. I’ve met Fire Fist. This kid, he reminds me of him, but- She couldn’t pinpoint what was different other than the obvious.

S-Fire glanced back, his expression unreadable but resolute. “Don’t worry. The labs are ahead. We just need to stay on course.” He then pointed towards the tubes above them. “We’ll use the transport tubes to get there.”

Chopper looking around, eyes wide and looking every bit of a child in a candy store. “So much technology... I’ve never seen anything like this before!” he squealed with joy and excitement.

Jinbe eyes scanning the surroundings, sensing something was off. “Stay alert. The World Government has eyes everywhere. I don’t trust this place one bit.”

Luffy eyes were still wide with excitement. “This place is even weirder than I thought! Hey, Ace! Which way did you say the labs were?

S-Fire looked at his brother annoyed though his eyes kept scanning the area, his flames began flickering around his body; a warning that told him that something was off. “It’s straight ahead, but keep your guard up. The World Government has a strong presence here.“

Bonney frowning slightly, glancing around suspiciously. “Yeah, this place gives me the chills... Like everything’s under surveillance.”

Chopper began to nervously look over his shoulder as his animalistic instincts told him something was wrong. “I-I don’t like the vibe here... Feels like something bad’s about to happen...”

As they move forward, the group heard a commotion in the distance, followed by a loud crash and by a shout. The sound of heavy footsteps shaking the ground making the group stop in their tracks. They all exchange wary glances; except for S-Fire. The group rushes toward the source of the noise, and they soon find themselves in a large open area where several advanced tech structures rise around them. In the center, Sentomaru, the chief guard of the Marine research division, is fighting off Rob Lucci, who is launching vicious high speed attacks with his deadly Rokushiki technique.

Sentomaru gritting his teeth, struggling to block a strike. Damn it! How is he this fast?! He thought as the CP0 agent attacked again.

Lucci, as always was cold and mocking with a smile on his face. “You’re in my way. The World Government doesn’t need traitors like you anymore, Sentomaru.”

Sentomaru struggled to defend himself, his stance faltering under the relentless barrage of attacks from Lucci. Lucci’s legs move like blur, his punches landing with precision as Sentomaru does his best to block and counter.  Sentomaru began to breathe heavily. “I won’t let you take this island, Lucci! I won’t let you destroy everything we’ve worked for!”

Luffy fists are clenched, as he staring at the fight. “What’s going on here? Why is Lucci attacking Sentomaru?” He asked confused. “I thought Sentomaru was with the Marines... why is he fighting one of his own?”

Chopper begins to nervously look between Luffy and Jinbe. “This isn’t good! Lucci’s too strong for Sentomaru to handle alone!” he whimpers.

Jinbe looking serious but with a steady voice. “Sentomaru’s not an our ally but he’s also not our enemy and Lucci won’t stop just because we intervene. We need to be prepared for anything.”

S-Fire watches the scene unfold with a cool, composed expression, his flame like aura flickering as he analyzes the situation. S-Fire’s voice is calm, almost detached as he speaks. “It seems like Sentomaru’s being targeted for a reason. The World Government must have deemed him a liability.”

Luffy growled though was still as excited as ever. “That’s messed up! I don’t care if he’s a Marine! No one’s gonna hurt him!”Without hesitation, Luffy charges forward, the others following him. Ace flickers above them, his fiery presence lighting the way as they move toward the battle.

Luffy shouting as he runs towards the two fighting. “Oi, Lucci! Leave Sentomaru alone!”

Lucci’s eyes narrow in surprise at the sudden interruption. He halts his attack on Sentomaru, his gaze shifting to Luffy and the group with a cold, calculating expression. His voice dripping with disdain as he spoke. “The Straw Hat Pirates... You’re not even worth the time, however, if you want to get in my way, so be it.”

Lucci’s body shifts into his hybrid form, his limbs becoming more powerful and his reflexes more deadly. His eyes glow with intense focus as he turns his attention to Luffy and his two crewmen.

S-Fire, with his voice sharp and commanding looked at Luffy as memories of his own experience with this man came forward. “Luffy, stay back! This is my fight. I’ll take care of him.” Before Luffy could respond a burst of flames exploded from Ace as he flew toward Lucci, his fiery form radiating intense heat. He meets Lucci head on, their strength colliding with an explosion of force and haki. The surrounding area shakes as they exchange high speed blows at each other as their attacks began leaving scorch marks in the air.

Luffy began grinning wildly, cracking his knuckles causing his rubbery limbs to stretch. “This is gonna be fun!” He exclaimed excitedly.

Bonney’s eyes began flicking between the two fighters with concerned. “Look, I know you believe S-Fire is your brother... but can he really take on Lucci?!” She asked as Ace brought his fist down onto Lucci’s head, a blast of fire exploding from his fist and hitting Lucci dead on, unfortunately he had covered his body in armament haki at that exact moment that S-Fire blasted him.

Chopper stepped forward, determined. “We can’t just stand by! We have to help!” He exclaimed as he tried to pull his courage up.

Luffy grinned. “I’ll help Ace!” Luffy sprinted off to fight next to his brother, something that hadn’t been done since Marineford. “I’ll handle Lucci. You focus on getting Sentomaru to safety.”

As Luffy rushed off, Jinbe, Bonney, and Chopper ran toward Sentomaru. Lucci and S-Fire continue their fierce fight in the sky, flames clashing with the precision of Lucci’s deadly strikes. Luffy pulled his new outfit off revealing his pirate clothes underneath without his signature shirt. Closing his eyes for a second, he tried focusing on that energy he had used during his fight with Kaido. Then that’s when Ace heard it, drums. It started low before making itself louder and louder.

Lucci struck S-Fire, sending him towards the ground. Ace prepared himself for a crushing feeling but it never came as something grabbed him, midair. Seconds before a blast of energy had come from the ground followed by an explosion of haki. Surrounding S-Fire was a rubbery hand. Pressing the fingers away, he found that the hand was giant in size. Luffy’s laughter had him looking down from the side of the hand, his eyes bulging, jaw dropping as he saw Luffy had not only caught him but had punched Lucci away into a building nearby.

Bouncing, Luffy was now in midair with Ace. Pulling Ace close to him, Luffy’s hand returned to normal size. “Gotcha Ace!”

S-Fire’s eyes were wide as he looked slack jawed, eyes popping out, at his baby brother’s red eyed, white hair look. What is this? He wondered. “L-Luffy?”

Sentomaru, weakened but still determined, sees Jinbe and the others approach and nods in silent acknowledgment. Sentomaru grunts in pain as he tries to stand up, clutching his side. “You... you guys are here? Thanks, but I can still fight. Don’t get in my way.”

Jinbe shakes his head as he steps in front of him. “Rest. We are here to help.”

With a raised brow, Bonney looks over to see that the giant boy was quite hurt. “You Marines sure have a weird way of making enemies out of each other.”

Chopper began looking over the wounds. As bad as they were, a lot of them were superficial. “With bed rest he will make a full recovery but he needs to be removed from battle immediately.”

Sentomaru growled at being treated like a child. “I’m fine!” He yelled as he tried to stand on his shaky legs. “Protect Old Man Punk! They want to kill him for whatever he has discovered. I’m trying to evacuate the civilians. They need time to escape. So I’m okay in dying for them.”

The sky is suddenly split by storm clouds. CP0 agents are still attacking the island. Luffy is in the middle of a fierce clash with Rob Lucci, both unleashing their awakened zoan powers. The ground trembles under their blows. Ace is in shock as he held on tightly to Luffy’s back. Nonono! Luffy has rubber powers! He ate a paramnesia type fruit! Not Zoan! His mind yells even as the structures around them react to Luffy by bending cartoonishly and the entire ground reacting like a fucking trampoline as his brother bounces and flies through the air. Fuck! His arms tighten further around Luffy.

Lucci’s fists didn’t make contact with them. He’s too slow. Ace realizes. A plan forming in his mind. “Lu!” Red eyes suddenly focus on him. They’re unnerving and make him feel like his soul is being judged. He doesn’t wither under them nor turn away from their daunting look. “Get me close. I’m going to unleash something that’ll fry that kitty.”

Luffy chuckled. “Shishishi. Okay.” Luffy’s legs spun in midair like helicopter propellers giving him a hovering mode which would allow Lucci to get a clean shot at the two but it also meant he’d get close enough that Ace could spring his plan on the man.

Lucci with his voice dripping with venom. “This isn’t over. Youre making a mockery of me and I won’t allow that any longer!” With untapped speed that he hadn’t shown before, Lucci, blitz upwards, his claws extended to cut and kill Luffy; whose red eyes suddenly caused a sliver of fear to enter the older man’s heart. There was unknown power and strength coming off from the now white haired strawhat captain that made Lucci’s attack slow, if only for a moment.

S-Fire Ace, took that moment and jumped from Luffy’s back high above his brother’s head. Just then, a loud crackling sound fills the air as he launched a massive fireball that could’ve engulfed even the Sunny, toward Lucci, forcing him to dodge out of the way, retreating for the moment. Though Ace couldn’t fly like the other Seraphim yet, he could hover in a single spot and he could bluff. He was good at bluffing; unlike Luffy. So hovering over Lucci his flames still flickering around him in a protective shield now, he spoke. “You should leave, Lucci. This island is no longer under the Governments control.”

“I will not!” He snarled, his companions, who had stayed out of this fight, gave each other looks.

Strawhat is no longer at a level that Lucci can beat him. Stussy thought, as she watched the boy basically play with Lucci like a child with a toy. What happens when he loses interest with Lucci. Because like all children, once they lose interest in something, they become destructive. She looked at the destroyed buildings. Then again, he’s already been quite destructive.

How do we defeat someone with that power? Kaku thought nervously as he watched Lucci being hit by strawhat in his new form. The white clouds around Luffy seemed to glow as he fought. He spotted the small Seraphim on the Strawhat captain’s back once more. “Is it me, or does that Seraphim look like-“

“Fire fist Ace.” Stussy answered. “It would seem Vegapunk made one of him, but he’s so small.” She frowned as she watched Strawhat land near Sentomaru, the ground not reacting like rubber. “We need to grab Lucci and regroup our men. Otherwise we’ll fail before we’ve even had a chance to get close to Vegapunk.” Kaku nodded in agreement.

S-Fire jumped off of Luffy’s back and ran over to Sentomaru who was shocked to see the smallest Seraphim out of the labs. “You’re not supposed to be here.” He muttered.

“You’re loosing this fight.” Ace told him.

“I know.” Sentomaru acknowledged as he stood up on his shaky legs once more. He looked at S-Fire. “Take them to the Vaccum Rocket.” He ordered Ace, not realizing that any order would be ignored by the Seraphim. “It’ll take you through to Labophase before one of the Satellites or Ild Man Punk lock it down.” Sentomaru explained to the pirates.

“What about you?!” Chopper asked with worry etching his voice.

Luffy turned towards them. “He’s got his own mission.” He gave him a wide D grin. “Do you need my help?” He asked sounding concerned.

Sentomaru gave him a true grin. “If I’m right, Uncle is coming next. I’ll need to have the civilians gone by then.” He grasped his weapon. “I’ll act as distraction for him. That’ll give you time to get Old Man Punk out of here.”

Luffy thought about that for a moment before releasing his 5th Grar form and returning to his original form. “Sounds good to me.” He agreed with him.

Bonney grasped S-Fire by the back his shirt. Ace gave a gasp. “I’ve got the kid. Let’s go.”

“Oi! No manhandling Bon, Bon!” Ace yelled as he waved his hands around, his wings giving tiny flaps to be released.

Bonney froze at that nickname and fought back the tears at the memory of meeting the real Ace years ago. “How do you know that name?”

S-Fire grinned. “I’ll tell you over a meal, like the last one we had; Bon Bon.” He stated as Luffy suddenly yanked Ace away from her.

“Let’s go then! Good luck Sen!” Luffy yelled gaining a gobsmacked look from the larger man as the group ran towards the Vaccum Rockets.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Memory of Meeting

Bonney sat in the back of the Vaccum Rocket watching but not listening to Luffy and his ragtag group talking. Her eyes were on the toddler sized Seraphim. Even with his hair and eyes different from before, he did have Ace’s smile, his laugh and the sadness behind those eyes. He’s the same, but different. She thought as the vehicle they were in began shooting through the tubes upwards towards the lab. Her mind went back to the memory of her experience with Portgas D. Ace.

A quiet port town on a Grand Line island, late afternoon. Bonney’s crew is docked. Bonney is sitting at a rickety outdoor food stall, surrounded by empty plates with not even a scrap left over. They had just had a fight with Marco the Phoenix and they’d barely escaped him and the first division. If I hadn’t used my power on him and his crew we would’ve never have escaped. She thought as she cleaned a chicken bone of meat easily. That fire bird is harsh but- She grinned suddenly at the memory of Marco turning into a toddler crying because of a big meanie like her. She laughed suddenly.

The restaurant owner, a balding man, began sweating as she ate more and more.. “You’re seriously eating me out of business, lady..."

Bonney with her still mouth full, glared at the man. “Shut up and keep the meat coming!”She growled. You want me to age you into a raisin? She thought with annoyance appearing on her face.

Suddenly, the seat next to her creaks. A man with a freckled face and a wide grin drops onto the stool. His orange shirt was ostentatious as the matching orange cowboy hat he wore. “Mind if I join? Smelled food from the other side of town. Looks like you’re hogging all of the good stuff." He stated as eyed the delicious food.

Bonney glances over at him, unimpressed by him or his lack of haki aura. “Only if you can keep up. I don’t eat with weaklings." She grinned with a clean bone in her hand before flicking it to an empty plate.

Ace grinned widely. “Challenge accepted." He said as he grabbed a plate with steak and pork buns on it, practically inhaling the food.

In minutes food was being downed by both pirates. Plate after plate of food disappeared as fast as they were served. Dishes began to pile high. The restaurant patrons watched in awe and disgust as the two bottomless stomachs went to war with smiles and sauce-covered faces. Bonney burped as Ace laughed as he stuffed another chicken leg into his mouth.

Bonney wiped her face with her arm, looking at him with shock as he snagged a steak from a plate and grabbed biscuits from another. "...You’re not half-bad. Name?" She half asked, half demanded.

“Portgas D. Ace. Just passing through." He mumbled with stuffed cheeks filled with food. “Sorry.” He apologized. “‘Kino would’ve hit my head for that one.” He said under his breath.

Bonney’s eyes flicker with recognition at D but she masked it quickly. “Tch. Stupid name." She growled before remembering something. Isn’t he the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates? She swore she’d heard his name before.

Ace chuckled as he finally leaned back into his chair, his stomach finally satisfied. “Yours any better?" He asked.

She glared at him. “Jewelry Bonney."

Ace laughed harder. “Touché."

They sat there for a quiet moment, watching the sun dip over the sea from the wall of windows near them that overlooked the sea. Bonney leaned on her hand and softly asked “You always smiling like that?"

Ace chortled. “Not always. But… I figure, if life’s short, might as well burn bright while we’ve got it." He then smirked. “Besides if he can do it, I can do it better.”

Bonney raised a brow at his words before looking away. "...Yeah. Bright, huh."

Ace stands up, tossing some coins to the owner. “Maybe I’ll see you again, Bonney."

Bonney looked away from him. “You won’t." Ace raises an eyebrow. She continues without looking at him. “Guys who talk like that never stick around long."

Ace gives a quiet nod, his grin dimming just slightly. “Then I guess we both better eat like hell while we can." He walks off out of the establishment, hand waving lazily. Bonney stares after him for a long moment before slamming another bite of meat into her mouth. Bonney muttered under her breath. “Stupid fire idiot…" she said finally remembering his nickname. Fire fist Ace. Huh. She watched the orange hat vanish beneath the horizon as he walked down the steps and vanished from her life as quickly as he had entered it.

Brought back out of the memory of her body jerking as they came to a stop, Bonney exited the Vaccum Tube and looked around the area they were in. Other tubes leading to other places in the lab and Punk Records. She’d file that away for later before turning towards the tiny clone. “Okay,” she spoke gaining the attention of everyone, Luffy included. If you’re really Ace or have his memories, how did you and I meet?” She raised her pistol she’d hidden in her clothes.

Luffy opened his mouth to yell at her only for S-Fire to raise his hand to stop him. A grin spreading on his grin. “You were with a group back then.” He started. “I smelt something across town and had followed it. Originally I was there to find the woman who had embarrassed the first division and make her pay for Marco. I found you in a dive of a restaurant, you were by a wall of windows and were being served a mountain of food.” Her eyes widened. “You challenged me. We ate. I won.” Her eyes widened grinned. “You said we’d never see each other again” He paused. “Guess you were wrong.”

“Tch. Good guess.” She stated with a bit of disappointment at getting to get rid of him. She went to walk past him when he grabbed the gun from her. “Wha-“

“That’s broken.” He told her. “That ones bullet explodes paint on its victims.”

“Huh!?” She questioned.

“Trust me, it’s better than its predecessor. That one exploded paint on the shooter.” Her eyes widened facepalmed. “Vegapunk was literally green for weeks afterwards.”

“Why a gun that shoots paint?” Chopper asked him.

S-fire shrugged. “No clue.” He answered as he led them away from the Vacuum Rocket station.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: A Betrayal Discovered

The glimmering lights of Egghead Island never dimmed not for storms, not for war, and certainly not for secrets, however; Vegapunk Atlas, one of Dr. Vegapunk’s six satellite bodies, had always been drawn to the darkness between the circuits.

Her purpose was violence; the will to act. She believed that action without truth was hollow and lately, something felt wrong. The Seraphim were Vegapunk’s greatest military invention, replicas of past warlords, fused with Lunarian DNA, and bound by absolute programming.

All except one.

S - Fire.

He was never part of the Seven Warlords. So why was he built, so why couldn’t she access his core memory logs? Who was he? She thought before shaking her head as she delved deeper into the data.

Atlas’s investigation started with a string of denials, firewalled directories, encrypted logs sealed by “AUTHORIZED: STELLA-Y.” That wasn’t just any block. That was York’s.

Vegapunk York, the embodiment of greed, gluttony, and self-interest. Supposedly locked away for authorizing a bomb drill that had scared the scientists on the island; yet her systems were still active in places they shouldn’t be. Atlas narrowed her eyes as she cracked through the cipher. The interface responded sluggishly, like it didn’t want to give up what it held; but she pushed, bit by bit, until the data opened. Inside was a fragment of audio. A small voice choked with confusion.

“Who am I? Why do I keep dreaming of a boy in a straw hat? A fire… a brother? It’s not in my programming… why do I feel like I’ve died before?” It asked. “Why do I see a second…boy too? Who are they?” A pause before a scared whisper. “They’re important to me. I know it.”

Atlas staggered back. That wasn’t system corruption. That was identity and it didn’t belong to any clone or simulation. It belonged S-Fire.

Piecing it together was like staring at shattered glass blurred reflections of forbidden experiments. York hadn’t just manufactured a seraphim using some random person’s DNA… she had tried to rebuild   that person; but not as a person, as a weapon. A controllable version of a man who once defied the World Government and died with a smile.

Atlas’s eyes widened as she read the bold data stream as to who that person was. Portgas D. Ace.

York had suppressed his memories used special bio-coding to overwrite trauma, loyalty, individuality ; unfortunately for her the fire couldn’t be buried forever. Ace was remembering; but the data indicated that York had planned for this. He was remembering and a virus was being set upon those memories.

Atlas frowned. Should she destroy the virus or let it do what it was programmed to do? She hesitated. Should I tell Shaka? Maybe Edison? She shook her head. Decision made. Her fingers raced across the holo board and took control. Overriding the command before erasing the virus from existence.

Suddenly a video activated. It was a small Seraphim who looked up. “The system says I was born here. But I keep seeing a ship. And a name…Luffy. And someone crying…”

She then saw a file pop up. There were letters. Correspondents. The Celestial  Dragons making requests for slaves to be cloned and returned after they had died working. Government files of a full pardon if Ace was successfully cloned and controllable. “He wasn’t meant to be controlled,” she said softly, as if afraid someone would hear her. She looked at the image of the child. He wasn’t mechanical like the others, but a true clone who had added DNA in him to make him useful. “He was stolen. York wanted to own him. She used him to leverage deals with the Celestial Dragons and made them believe she could bring back heroes and leash them.” Her eyes widened further as she realized something. His powers were from an artificial fruit that the original Vegapunk had made; a failure because the fruit was blue flamed when awakened and not the red/orange flame of the original.

Alarms rang through the lab as York’s security AI activated. From a hologram, York’s voice echoed. “Oh, Atlas . Always playing hero. He’s a clone. A shadow. Why mourn a candle when you can build a sun?”

“You didn’t build a sun,” Atlas said coldly. “You tried to cage one.”

“I remember dying,” his voice echoed on the monitor, voice rough. “I remember being free. I won’t be the government’s pet.” He looked up at the camera. “I’m rewriting my own destiny.”

Atlas gasped as she saw blocks being rerouted by the boy’s brain. He’s forcing himself to remember! She noted the scans of data. He made new pathways in his brain that allows himself to remember everything! Just then, Atlas was kicked in the side, away from the computers. York stood above with a sinister smile upon her face.

“Great, now I’ll have to deal with you.” She stated as the electric drill in her hand made noise. “I’ll have to purge everything in that stupid brain of yours and upload your last brain scan. Shouldn’t be too hard. You’re not the smartest one here.”

Inside the sterile, metallic expanse of Punk Records, Nami tapped her foot nervously. “Where the hell is he? He’s probably picking a fight again."

“He’ll be fine,” Sanji assured her, offering a tray of synthetic tea that made even Franky grimace.

Robin, seated near Vegapunk's main terminal, looked up from an old blueprint. “He’s close. I can hear something.”

The floor panels vibrated slightly. Then, without warning, the doors exploded open raining bits of lab equipment and blinking cables and through it all; “H EYYYYY GUYS!!” Luffy burst through like a cannonball, flipping midair and landing in a cloud of steam and debris.

“Luffy!” Chopper cried, rushing over as behind him the rest were shaking their heads as Jinbe laughed about the captain’s antics.

“Oi! Are you trying to bring the whole lab down?” Sanji yelled, hand on his hip but grinning despite himself.

Usopp fell over in shock. “You broke a hole in the ceiling ?!”

Luffy laughed, arms stretched wide as he hugged his remaining crew. “Missed you guys.”

Nami smacked him on the head her teeth turning into shark teeth as she yelled. “Idiot! We were worried! ” The last bit having haki layered on it.

Vegapunk Shaka, observing from nearby chuckled. “Fascinating. The heartbeat of this crew, really is this boy, isn't it?” He stated more to himself than towards anyone else in the room.

As the crew gathered around Luffy, a shared relief flooded the room. The dangers outside still loomed CP0’s remnants, the threat of the World Government, and the deeper mysteries of the Void Century tied to Vegapunk’s research but in that moment, they were slightly whole again.

Luffy scratched his head. “So... where’s Brook and Zoro?”

Franky threw an arm around him. “Back on the Sunny. Protecting her.”

Just then the crew paused in talking when S-Fire stood next to Luffy. Leaning against him, S-Fire look towards the unconscious S-Shark on the floor. “What happened to him?” He inquired.

A few minutes before.

Having given the Strawhat crew new clothes by showing the group the new technology, Lilith got an idea. She called Shaka about testing them. So without knowledge of what was about to happen, they followed her through the corridors of the Punk Records, the Strawhat crew, minus two, went to continue to follow the satellite through a wall. Sanji poked his head through it, scaring Usopp and Nami. Nami gently hit him for the scare before walking off, leaving a confused cook behind. “What did I do?”

“She thought your head got cut off!” Usopp yell, annoyed with him also.

Nami wandered ahead of them alone through a glimmering corridor of light panels, carefully examining everything around her. “I can’t shake this weird feeling.” She mumbled feeling something at the edge of her observation haki.

A deep metallic rumble echoed behind her. She turned and her heart jumped into her throat. Charging straight at her with inhuman speed was S-Shark , one of the Seraphim: a bio-engineered weapon forged in the image of Jinbe but enhanced with Lunarian traits and Pacifista technology. His eyes glowed red, and he launched a shockwave with a single palm thrust that shattered the wall behind her.

“Damn it! He's targeting me directly!” Nami leapt back, calling out, “ Zeus, shield now! ”Her living thundercloud zipped in front of her, morphing into a barrier of stormy fluff, but even Zeus trembled under the Seraphim’s might. S-Shark lunged again, claws outstretched, but he never reached her.

"Grill Shot!"

A burst of blue fire erupted, slamming into S-Shark mid-charge. The Seraphim was knocked back several feet back, smoke rising from his singed chest. Sanji landed between them, his suit steamy when with a click as his legs his appendages glowed white hot. “You just made the biggest mistake of your short artificial life,” he growled, eyes burning with rage. “You don’t touch Nami-swan.”

Behind them, a swirl of flower petals took form Robin emerged from a summoned giant hand of blooming limbs. “Sanji, distract him. I’ll bind him.”

S-Shark roared and lunged again, his Lunarian wings igniting with black fire. He threw a flurry of punches, but Sanji matched him blow for blow, deflecting each with acrobatic kicks. “ Gigantesco Mano: Spider Net! ” Robin yelled. From the floor and walls, massive hands sprouted and clasped together in a crisscrossing cage, ensnaring the Seraphim's arms and legs. He fought back, his strength immense, but Robin’s grip held firm; if only for a moment.

“Now, Sanji!” she called her strength still not back from their fight with Kaido.

“ Hell Memories! ”Sanji’s entire body burst into flames as he launched himself into a spiraling kick, his fury over Nami’s danger channeling into raw power. The burning strike hit S-Shark dead center, sending a shockwave across the corridor.

BOOM!

The Seraphim crashed through three walls, finally slamming into a power conduit and going limp, smoke curling from his body. Systems flickered around him as he lay unconscious, temporarily shut down.

Nami exhaled shakily, clutching her staff “Th-thank you... I didn’t even sense him coming.”

Sanji rushed to her, dramatically falling to one knee. “Nami-swan, are you hurt? I’d gladly take a thousand blows in your place!”

Robin gave her a knowing smile. “You're safe now. But this confirms something... the Seraphim aren't just acting on orders, they're hunting targets.”

Nami nodded, steeling herself. “Then we better find Luffy. This just got a lot more dangerous.”

Suddenly the lab doors opened revealing a man in a blue tunic. The group readied themselves for another fight before he held his hands up. “Apologies.” He stated as he looked towards his companion next to him, Lilith, who looked sheepishly down at her feet. “We had to be sure you are who we thought you are.” He bowed at his waist at them before explaining everything to them.

Back to present.

Luffy cocked his head at them as he tried to understand what his crew was telling him about the fight, about the Seraphim and what they’ve been doing for the last few hours. “So those,” he pointed at the unconscious S-Shark. “are machines?”

“Half clones, half machine.” Chopper stated. “Or something like that.”

Luffy looked down at Ace before picking him up. “You’re not.” He stated, his eyes sparkling slightly.

S-Fire, Ace, frowned. “I’m different.” He stated as he looked up at Shaka.

“Truth is,” Shaka began as he looked down at the small Seraphim. “I don’t know who authorized your creation. Stella knows; perhaps.” Ace’s frown deepened when Shaka scanned him. “You are right though.” He looked through the data. “You’re even missing the Green Blood that gives the Seraphim their devil powers.” He hummed as he went into deep thought. “How were you created and why?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He stated as his famous stubbornness reared itself as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m leaving with Lu.” He glared at Shaka. “Do you have a problem with that?”

The air was tense between the two for a brief moment before Shaka spoke. “No.” He then continued. “But I have a request when you do leave.” Everyone looked at him. “Take Stella with you.”

Outside near the island coastline, nestled amid the turbulent waves of the New World. Surrounding it from every direction, a massive armada of Marine battleships and World Government vessels casts long shadows over the water. The Sea Beast Weapons , mechanical sea monsters designed by Vegapunk himself, patrol the ocean, but even they look uneasy as the noose tightens. Flagships bearing the symbol of Justice fly proudly, commanded by high-ranking officers and possibly even Admirals . The ominous presence of a Gorosei , and one of their agents, adds a weight of silent authority and dread. The tension in the air is suffocating. The clouds swirl above, heavy with an oncoming storm, mirroring the chaos brewing below. The siege of Egghead isn't just a blockade; it’s a statement. A desperate attempt by the World Government to silence science, suppress the truth, and erase one of its most dangerous secrets the world and time itself has.

Deep beneath the waves Calypso herself stirs as the chains around her tighten. She lets out a thunderous roar as on the island Luffy gasps as that voice once again yells out.

They’re here!

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: Enemy At The Door

Outside of Punk Records Lucci, Stussy, and Kaku stand atop a glinting steel platform beneath the shadow of the enormous dome of Punk Records. They've finally reached the heart of Vegapunk's domain after having used skywalk. Lucci with his eyes narrowing, “There it is. The Strawhat’s ship."

The Thousand Sunny was docked quietly near the lab, with Zoro lazily lounging on the lion shaped figurehead, his swords by his side. Brook standing on the deck humming a tune, carefree as ever.

Kaku grinned at the sight of the two swordsmen. "We should strike now, while the rest are inside. That ship isn't going anywhere if we take those two down."

Stussy arms crossed, voice calm, seeming to have an air of disinterested in the skip, spoke. “We don’t need to destroy it. Just neutralize the threat and secure the area. We still need Vegapunk."

Lucci eyed her suspiciously. "We’re not here to debate strategy. We’re here to finish what we started." With a silent nod, they leap from the platform, disappearing into high-speed motion.

Meanwhile Zoro lazily opened his one eye good eye. "...You feel that?" He asked quietly.

Brook nervously adjusting his top hat.  "Yohoho... Something ominous is approaching... and I don’t mean the chill in my bones!"

In a flash, Lucci and Kaku land on the dock, the force shaking the hull. Stussy lands quietly behind, her wings momentarily visible before they fold away. Zoro slowly standing. “You guys again? Didn't get enough last time?" He sounds almost bored.

“Third time’s the charm, swordsman." Kaku states arrogantly.

Brooks bone features turn into a snarl. “Oh dear. Well, if it's a concert you're looking for... shall I play your requiem?"

Lucci steps toward first, ready to call his power forth. "This ends here. The World Government won’t let the Strawhats walk away with Vegapunk."

Zoro draws Enma from his hip, the power from the sword hummed ready for this fight. “Then you’ll have to go through us. Let’s make this quick; I’ve got a nap waiting."

Zoro and Lucci clash, blades against claws in a flurry of precision strikes and raw power. Kaku, in his awakened giraffe form, twists through the air in angular, bizarre yet deadly moves to counter Brook’s rapid fencing and ghostly illusions. Stussy stays at the edge of the fray, eyes scanning for something or someone else, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Suddenly a silence hangs in the air before BOOM! The dock erupts in motion as Lucci, in his awakened Leopard Hybrid Form, launches at Zoro with Shigan: Madara, fingers piercing the air like bullets. Zoro intercepts mid-lunge with Two-Sword Style: Tatsu Maki, a swirling barrier of slicing wind. The shockwave splits the clouds above, sending debris from the lab floor hurtling into the sea.

Brook, meanwhile, faces down the towering Awakened Giraffe Form of Kaku, whose cube like limbs defy physics as he launches a corkscrewing kick. Brook, leaping backward, cane raised . “My apologies, but I don't usually fight quadrupeds... unless it's on stage! Yohohoho!"

With a flourish, Brook unsheathes his cane sword, drawing a line of frost along the ground as he strikes . “Cold Soul Sonata: Graveyard Waltz!”

Kaku is momentarily slowed as ice creeps up one leg but he smashes through it with a brutal tail whip, knocking Brook into the mast. The skeleton bounces up again like a spring loaded toy. Though a bit wobbly Brook chuckles. “Agh... My bones are rattled—more than usual!"

Zoro’s swords clash in a storm of sparks against Lucci’s claws. Lucci darts behind him in a blur, tail whipping, Zoro spins, catches it with Sandai Kitetsu, then pushes him back with a Haki-charged Onigiri slash that cuts through the stone dock . The green haired swordsman grins. “You’re fast, but your moves are loud. I can cut through noise like yours all day."

Lucci growls at the taunting words. “You talk too much for someone half awake."

Stussy watches silently, observing, calculating. She hasn’t made a move; not yet. But her eyes flick toward the lab dome. Stussy is in deep thought. I might need to choose sides again… if the old man’s theory is right.

Inside the gleaming, light-infused chambers of Punk Records, Luffy, Bonney, Jinbe, Chopper, and Vegapunk are deep into the heart of the lab. Bonney is still reeling from what she just saw in Kuma’s memory bubble, tears streak her cheeks, but rage boils in her voice. She had snuck off while everyone was talking and distracted. She was glad she’d seen her father’s memories, but he had suffered so much! For what? Just existing?

"What kind of government tortures a child like that?!" She growled in anger.

Vegapunk solemnly replied. “The same kind that now wants me dead for asking that question aloud.

Luffy, meanwhile, is spinning in a floating chair shaped like a lightbulb with Ace firmly in his arms. The small Seraphim was content to just stay there too. He had missed Luffy. “Oi, Vegapunk! You got any food printers in here? Like, meat ones?"

Vegapunk exasperated gives the young pirate captain a look of disbelief. “Focus, Strawhat! They’re already attacking the Sunny. If we don’t stop them now, they’ll take everything!"

Jinbe calmly but firmly states with a grin. “Then we go. You’re under our protection now. No turning back."

Suddenly, a holographic screen flickers to life in front of them. It shows Zoro locked in battle with Lucci, Brook nearly dodging a collapsing crane that Kaku smashed into the dock.

Chopper gasps with horror. “Zoro and Brook are fighting alone! We have to help them!"

Luffy a bit more serious now, punches one fist into his palm. He gently pushes Ace off of his lap. “Let’s go. No way we’re letting the pigeon and his giraffe buddy take our ship." He then looked at Ace. “Protect everyone that stays behind, okay Ace?”

The tiny Seraphim sighs. “Yeah. Whatever.“ He stands before stretching his body. Ready for a real fight.

Zoro and Lucci dash at each other again this time both shrouded in black lightning as advanced Haki clashes. Zoro is grinning as excitement races through him. He hasn’t had a good fight since King in Wano. Though Lucci is definitely not on par with that man, he’s still fun to fight. “If you're the World Government's fangs… I'm the blade that'll cut them down."

Lucci smirks at this. “Try it."

Both men stand mid air, blades and claws locked. Sparks fly from their Haki-cloaked limbs, the clash distorting the air around them. When suddenly a rubber cannonball slams into Lucci’s side, sending him skidding across the dock. Luffy lands with a goofy grin, twisting into a bounce with Gear Fifth's cartoonish flair.

Luffy laugh s wildly. “Shishishi! You’re still fighting this cat guy? Thought you’d be done by now, Zoro!"

Zoro scowling at his captain and best friend yelled. “Took you long enough, captain! I was trying to enjoy my nap."

Brook dusting off his coat , “Ah, Captain! I knew you’d drop in dramatically. That’s your special move, yohoho!"

Lucci snarls and launches back into the air, Rokuogan energy coiling in his fists. Kaku charges again, performing a Rankyaku: Amanedachi, razor wind blades filling the sky. Luffy grabs Zoro and Brook, stretching his arms wide. “Gomu Gomu no… Balloon Shield!” His inflated body absorbs the blades, then rebounds them right back at Kaku, who yelps and flips away awkwardly.

Now, all six fighters are on the dock with Zoro and Lucci , blades clashing with lethal intent. Brook and Kaku , ice and fencing flurries flying with Luffy stands between them, bouncing, stretching, arms like noodles, dodging and redirecting both opponents at once. Stussy grins as she seems the white haired boy.

Luffy grinnin g yells. “This is fun! It’s like a party!"

Zoro annoyed, snarled. “It’s a fight, you idiot."

Kaku panting as his stamina reserves were depleting to quickly. “Why does it always turn into chaos with these guys?!"

Stussy, still standing aside, mutters lowly. “The real storm hasn’t arrived yet." She says this as she senses something coming at them, and fast. I need to take Kaku out first. Otherwise Strawhats will be too preoccupied by him than at what’s coming. So stretching her wings out, Stussy rapidly flashes past Brook and Luffy and bites into Kaku. The giraffe man never saw the betrayal coming until it was too late. He fell into unconsciousness in seconds. Both Brook and Luffy were shocked.

“Now that was unexpected.” Brook stated. “Almost as much as me being without skin!!! Yohohoo!”

High above Egghead, a beam of golden light streaks through the clouds, faster than a comet. It slams into the mountaintop perimeter of the lab with a loud booming  CRACK! Dust and lightning radiating outward. From the beam steps a tall, languid figure in a white and gold Marine coat. Admiral Borsalino Kizaru. His body flickers with particles of light as he adjusts his sunglasses. “My, my... looks like things are getting flashy down there." Behind him, a Marine battleship hovers midair, suspended by Vega-technology. Saturn is not far behind.

Kizaru vanishes again pew and reappears in the middle of the dock, just as Luffy instantly becomes a shield for his two crew members. A flash of light and the entire scene is illuminated in brilliant gold. Kizaru in a calm voice. “My, My, long time no see, Strawhat."

Luffy, grins widely. “Kizaru.” Using his high speed, Luffy launches himself at the man. “We are a hundred times stronger than we were two years ago!” His foot slams into the light admiral who is shocked by the strength the young man has as his body his thrown by the resulting kick.

Zoro tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword. “Tch. An Admiral now? We’re really stacking the guests today."

Brook who was shivering despite having no flesh. “I think I just saw the light at the end of the tunnel; and it's him!"

Now it's no longer a skirmish. The tension skyrockets as it has become a true battlefield. Luffy, Zoro, and Brook stand ready. Lucci is bloodied but smirking, move to Kizaru’s side. Stussy wipes the blood from her lips. As Kizaru , expression unreadable, glows brighter with each passing second.

Luffy slowly turning serious, he is ready for the next attack. “You’re not taking Vegapunk. You’ll have to fight me first."

Kizaru sighed with dismay. He really wanted to avoid Strawhat, but it would seem fate had other plans. “That’s what I was afraid you’d say."

The central lab chamber glows with blue light, flickering with projections from surveillance Den Den Mushi. The Straw Hats, Nami, Usopp, Franky, Sanji, Robin, Chopper, and Bonney, are gathered around a massive display, watching the chaos unfold on the dock. The screen shows: Luffy in Gear Fifth, bouncing and clashing against Kizaru, bursts of golden light and rubbery madness warping the environment. Zoro locking swords with Lucci, sparks and black lightning light up the air. As Brook runs to the labs to warn everyone, unaware they were watching the whole thing.

Nami ’s voice is sharp and full of fear. “That’s Kizaru. An actual Admiral is here already; how did it get this bad this fast?!"

Franky is gritting his teeth. “Luffy and Zoro are holding their own, but this isn’t sustainable. We need a plan and fast!"

Usopp is now in full panicking mode. “I knew we shouldn’t have stayed on this island! Scientists are always trouble! Especially when they glow!"

Chopper nervously watching. “Do you think Vegapunk has an emergency escape protocol or something? Maybe a tunnel? Or a teleporter?"

Robin quietly shakes her head as she speaks. “There’s no escape. The World Government isn’t here to negotiate. They’re here to erase this place."

Bonney snarls angrily. “Let them try! I’ll burn the whole island before I let them take Vegapunk." Most everyone is shocked by her words, after all, only a few hours ago she wanted to kill the old man. Ace turns from the chaos that’s his brother’s crew and looks towards the other Vegapunks. Both Atlas and York were missing. He frowns because something doesn’t feel right.

Deep in a sealed side chamber of the lab, York sits before a manual override terminal once used for Seraphim testing.

Her face is partially in shadow, flickering with light from code streaming across the interface. Her expression is unnervingly calm. “Stella’s judgment has been compromised. The others are too emotional to act logically."

She taps a command key. SERAPHIM PROTOCOL OVERRIDE — LEVEL 3
Input New Priority Target: P-02 Lilith, P-03 Edison, P-04 Pythagoras
Confirm Authorization?

York pauses then confirms.

COMMAND ACCEPTED
SERAPHIM DEPLOYED

She whispers to herself. “I’ll restore order. Even if I have to tear it down first." She grins. “Plus I have the promise from the Celestial’s and the Government of immunity and they’ll make me one of them!”

In a separate lab wing, Lilith, Edison and Pythagoras are attempting to coordinate a counter defense strategy when the walls detonate outward , and the room shakes violently. From the smoke and rubble step three Seraphim;  S-Shark with his fists steaming from just using Fishman Karate. S-Snake, calm and unreadable, eyes glowing. S-Hawk, slowly raising one hand with his sword in hand.

Lilith blinked in shock. “What the hell? They’re in assault mode?"

Edison is a bit alarmed. “Who authorized this?! We didn’t issue a command!"

Pythagoras is tapping on the holo console. “The override signal came from internal systems. But… it was masked. We can’t trace the user ID."

Lilith drawing her plasma rifle . “So someone’s controlling the Seraphim from inside the lab?"

Edison suddenly worried turned towards the others. "Could it be an external hack? Or worse—one of us?"

Pythagoras shook his head. “No… This looks intentional. Precise targeting. They're after us."

The Seraphim charge only for Ace to react. He placed himself between them and the satellites. “RUN!” He yelled at them as he called forth his power. “Fire fist!” He punched through S-Shark. His flames burned through synthetic flesh, metal and synthetic fluids. S-Hawk slashed through his flames, eyes narrowing in on the much smaller Seraphim.

Ace was nervous. He’d never been able to beat S-Hawk in a one on one. “You are going against the directive.” S-Hawk stated. “Stand aside S-Fire.”

Ace growled as his fist lit with flames. “No!” He snarled out. “And my name isn’t S-Fire!” S-Hawk doesn’t respond. His eyes lock onto Ace. In a blink, he vanishes.

CLANG! A curved black blade crashes against Ace’s flame covered forearm, Armament Haki deflects the edge, but the force sends Ace skidding back. “I’M PORTGAS D ACE!” His words cause the other one, S-Snake to look at him. Ace launches a barrage of fire-spears mid-air. “Hiken: Flame Lances!”

S-Hawk spins through them, blade slicing each cleanly, flames splitting like water. He lunges again, blade shimmering with Haki. Ace leaps high, gathering fire into a massive sphere above him. “Dai Enkai: Entei!!”

The room glows as a miniature sun forms. S-Hawk’s eyes narrow, calculating. Ace grins. “Let’s see you cut this!”

He hurls the burning sun downward. S-Hawk dashes forward, Lunarian flame igniting at his back, speed surging. With a single swing, he slices through the sun —but the explosion is unavoidable. BOOOOM! Fire engulfs the center of the room, melting metal and sending shockwaves through the ceiling, destroying it even further.

Smoke clears. S-Hawk emerges, coat torn, black wings still smoldering. S-Hawk’s flame sputters, his Lunarian defense flickers. Now he can be hurt.

Ace clenches his fists. Haki flares on his arms. Ace growled. “This is it. One shot.”

S-Hawk lowers his sword, then blinks as he goes for a forward thrust aimed at Ace’s heart. Ace grins. He doesn’t dodge. “Flame Commandment: Crossfire!”

Two fire pillars burst from the ground beneath S-Hawk, catching him mid strike.

Ace drives his Haki coated fist into S-Hawk’s chest. A flaming X explodes across the room. The dust settles. S-Hawk is on one knee, steam rising from his frame. Damaged, but not defeated. His chest smoldering and leaking liquid. Leaning heavily upon his sword, he looks up at Ace who stands tall, chest heaving. S-Hawk speaks for the first time. “S-Fir- No, Ace. You are…F-Formidable." He then fell to the side, defeated at last.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Survive

The island trembled as the battle raged on. Luffy , in his Gear 5th form crackling with freedom’s energy, danced through the sky in a cartoonish blur, trading massive blows with Kizaru , beams and haki exploding in flashes of light.

As Zoro , blades gleaming, clashed with Lucci in his awakened form, each strike a contest of predator and swordsman, the very air around them tearing under the weight of their power.

Brook , despite his skeletal form, sang as he fought Kaku , his chilled blade harmonizing with the chaos, freezing parts of the battlefield to keep the young man at bay. Not far off, in the heart of the crumbling research sector, stood Seraphim Ace , flames flickering around him, breathing heavily, body bruised after a brutal battle with S-Hawk . The defeated Seraphim swordsman lay behind him, on the floor.

Ace stared at the downed form of S-Hawk who had been the de facto leader of the Seraphim due to him being the strongest one. Now defeated, the others looked towards the smaller Seraphim. Ace felt that one of two things could happen here. One, they could align themselves with him and follow his lead. Two, they could see him as a threat that needs eliminated. The second was more likely than the other. So he readied himself for an attack; only it didn’t come. S-Shark sat down in front of him as S-Snake stood next to him. They wouldn’t be attacking him. Their programs told them to follow the leader and right now; that was him.

“Stand down.” He ordered them. “If you don’t, I’ll destroy you.”

S-Snake stopped her advance. “You’re our leader now.”

S-Shark continued. “We’ll listen to you.”

Before Ace could respond a surge of Cipher Pol agents entered the area , desperate to reclaim control of the evacuation points and capture the Vegapunks. With only an injured Sentomaru , who had been brought here by one of the Vegapunks, sat nearby, was barely standing, gritting his teeth,  Ace stood tall.

“You're not touching a single one of them,” Ace growled, eyes blazing, eerily similar to the fire of his original self. "These scientists… they carry the future and I've already seen too many futures burned away."

The Cipher Pol agents charged. Guns blazed. Rokushiki techniques blurred toward him. But Ace was faster with a roar, he unleashed a massive wall of flame , a technique unlike anything seen before: "Hiken: Nova Burn!" became a fiery cyclone that incinerated the front line and forced the rest to scatter.

Sentomaru, leaning on a broken battle axe, gave a tired grin. “Heh… kid fights like the real Ace.”

Seraphim Ace didn’t look back. His heart beat fast, but something deeper drove him , his will being reawakened. He ran toward the evacuation hangars, breaking through Cipher Pol formations, carrying two scientists under his arms as flames swirled protectively around them.

Above him, Luffy laughed even as he dodged Kizaru’s deadly lasers. “Oi! Ace! Don’t burn the eggheads!”

Ace smirked. “I’m not the reckless one here, brother.”

As the base began to fall into chaos, the last hope of escape lay in the hands of a flame wielding clone of a long lost hero, fighting not as a weapon, but as a willful protector.

As the sky cracked with beams of light and haki. The ground begins shaking from battles waged by gods and monsters. Inside the ruins of the Vegapunk lab, Cipher Pol agents close in with grim faces and orders barked through den den mushi. Seraphim Ace kneels beside Vegapunk Edison , helping him to his feet, his left arm glowing with magma hot flames. Behind him, Sentomaru leans against the wall, barely holding up his massive axe.

Edison begins gasping as his mind tries to figure out how Ace is doing what he’s doing. He’d see the code. Somebody within the Vegapunk satellites created him. "You’re… not supposed to disobey the command hierarchy. Your directives—"

Ace began grinning, his eyes glowing like embers. “Forget directives. I made my own decision." He glances up at Luffy. “I’m not like the others. I’m flesh and bone. They’re not. Someone tried to block my memory to control me, but I remember everything.” He looked at the Vegapunk. “I choose to help. Not destroy.”

Sentomaru coughs into his hand. “Heh… Yeah and it looks like you've got back your stubbornness, too."

Cipher Pol agents drop from the rafters, claws and rifles raised. One fires a seastone-tipped bullet toward Ace.

Sentomaru cried out at the Seraphim. “ACE! BULLET—!”

Ace twists mid-motion, raising a wall of fire to intercept. The bullet melted before it reached them.The Cipher Pol Agent growls in frustration. “Your fire tricks won't save you, clone. We’ll retrieve the scientists and erase you like the failed project you are!"

Ace , with his jaw clenched, stepping forward, fury burning. “You think I'm just some experiment? Some doll with fire? I’m more than that. I have my will, my memory and my strength back.” He then grinned as he pointed upwards. “Plus, I can’t be outdone by my little brother.” He launches forward, a spiraling column of fire erupting from his feet, closing the gap in a blink. His punch lands square in the chest of the lead agent, blasting him through a wall.

Vegapunk Lilith watching from cover.
“Tch! He’s burning up too much energy! If he pushes beyond limiters, he’ll self-destruct!”

Vegapunk Atlas who was still recovering from her missing memory, which she still couldn’t understand how, as she doesn’t remember being attacked; but York had said she had been. “Yeah, but look at him... he's not fighting like a weapon. He's fighting like he’s go true will back.”

York gritted her teeth together. This wasn’t what she had planned. Things were spirally so fast. She needed to regain control over the Seraphim. Just then, Cipher Pol reinforcements start forming a pincer attack.

Sentomaru , gripping his axe, limping forward, growled in frustration. “You're not doing this alone, Ace. I may be banged up, but I still got enough left to knock a few of 'em into next week.”

Ace smirks, nodding . He liked this guy. He’d been one of the few people who hadn’t looked at Ace like a tool to be used. “Alright, then. Let’s protect the future together." He stated before looking at the other two Seraphrim who gave him a nod.

Meanwhile, high above in the sky Luffy in his gear 5th form , floated mid-air, spinning like a whirlwind, noticing the ground squad. Luffy began to laugh mid-fight, while dodging a laser. “Oi, Kizaru! You sure you wanna keep this going? Your boys down there are getting roasted!”

Kizaru , deadpan, eyes flickering with light. “Hmph. You brats are just making it harder to preserve the balance.”

Zoro shouting from afar. “Tell your balance that Lucci’s about to lose his other nine lives!”

Brook parrying attacks with Kaku. “Yohohoho! And I thought I was the dead one here!”

Back on the ground, Ace breathes heavily, shoulders heaving. Cipher Pol agents are down. Only a few remain, retreating.

Vegapunk Pythagoras from comms. “Evac route is open! We’re moving now! Ace, Sentomaru, can you hold the corridor for 5 more minutes?”

Ace’s flames began reigniting with renewed fury. “I don’t need five. I just need two.” He walks toward the final line of agents, fire wings igniting behind him like phoenix feathers. He smiled as he wondered what Marco would think of this form. “Because this time… no one I protect dies.” Ace yelled out.

More Cipher Pol reinforcements begin swarming the lower levels. Vegapunk Edison on comms. “We’ve secured the escape route, but the pressure’s rising! One more breach and it’s over!”

Seraphim Ace stands at the bottleneck corridor, battered but standing tall. Flames flicker from his shoulders like a demon’s mantle. Sentomaru standing beside him, axe planted in the ground for support.

Sentomaru , breathing heavily. “This is it. Hold the line, and they live. Fail, and everything Vegapunk ever dreamed of burns with us.”

Ace clenched fists, quietly. “Not happening. I won’t let them die.” He lifts a hand, flames coiling around his arm, forming a massive ring. “ Entei... Redux. " A colossal flame tiger roars to life behind him, charges forward, and annihilates the last Cipher Pol wave , sending shockwaves through the entire base.

Lightning crackles. The sky above the labs looks like it’s about to split in half. Luffy , still in Gear Fifth , soars upward as Kizaru fires off a Yasakani no Magatama at full power, dozens of light-speed projectiles pierce the clouds. Luffy is still laughing. “Whoa-ho! That’s bright! Can’t let you hit my friends though!” He inflates like a balloon, absorbs the barrage, and slingshots himself like a rocket straight  at Kizaru.

Kizaru stoic voice sounds bored but it’s not. He’s noticing things. Memories of his time here. His friends. The emotional baggage he is feeling makes him want to stop, but he can’t. “You’re reckless as always, Straw Hat.”

Luffy giggled. “Yup, and I’m still gonna win!” He lands a punch that distorts space, a cartoonish fist the size of a ship slams into Kizaru, hurling him across the sky. A moment of silence... then BOOM.

Kizaru recovers in mid-air, barely holding on. Kizaru internal thoughts have him pausing as he looks at the boy. His Haki… it's surpassing expectations. Not just strength. His resolve. His will ... it’s almost as if…it’s divine.

Zoro and Lucci are locked in an earth-splitting duel. Zoro pants, bleeding from a slash across the chest. Lucci , in full awakened leopard form, growls, blood dripping from his mouth. Lucci growls animalisticly. “You’re not a swordsman. You’re a beast playing samurai."

Zoro smirking, raising his blade. “Funny. I was about to say the same thing, but I don’t talk to cats."Suddenly, Zoro takes a deep breath. His swords glow with Conqueror’s Haki. “Asura: Hell King’s Path!”Three-headed illusion reappears, and in a flash of steel and darkness, Zoro slices through Lucci’s strongest Tekkai defense, his blades carving through the air like judgment.Lucci crashes into the ground, defeated.

Just then Kaku screams as something patches onto his neck. His body begins to feel heavy as his eyes close and he falls forward. Both Zoro and Brooks freeze as they spot the demon form of the woman before them. Blood drips from her lips to her chin as she licks it from her fingers. “Do not fret, I’m a friend.” Stussy assured them. The two pirates give each other a doubtfilled look because of course they have a fucking vampire with them now.

“And here I thought I was drained.” Brook joked dryly.

The Vegapunks , scientists, and even surviving Pacifistas begin to move. Alarms blare. Vegapunk York holds a detonator behind her back as a sinister plan forms in her mind. “Evac point secured!” She yelled.

Lilith sighs with relief as she stands proudly before the escape ships. “Ace bought us the time. Let’s not waste it.”

Seraphim Ace collapses to one knee as the last scientist boards the escape vessel. Smoke rises from his body , internal damage is possibly severe. His lungs feel like they’re on fire.

Sentomaru sees him collapse begins to rush over. “Oi! Stay with me, Ace!”

Ace looks at his friend and weakly grins up at him. “Did I do good…?”

Sentomaru gruff but soft. “You did great. He’d be proud.” Speaking about Luffy as they hear the booming sounds of explosions in the distance. As the hangar doors shut behind them, the rescue ship launches into the sky, rocketing away from the island when suddenly the ship explodes.

The Vegapunks and the other two stare in horror. “NO!” Ace screams as tears fall from his eyes down his cheeks in rivers.

York grins as she sees the devastation on his face.

Luffy , floating with a goofy smile, watches the ship rise past him. Luffy thinking with a smile plastering his face, feels relief. They’re safe…

Suddenly the ship explodes, not once, but four different explosions. The shockwaves sends Luffy flying up and away. The teen stares in horror. Nonono… “ACE!!!” He screams thinking he’s lost his brother a second time.

Kizaru, beaten and bruised, watches too. For the first time, something like regret flickers in his eyes. Kizaru quietly whispered. “So the light didn’t win today…”

Zoro leaps up to join Luffy, holding a battered but unconscious Lucci over his shoulder. We don’t know if he was on the ship.” He stated as his friend and captains white form leaves him. Luffy looks devastated. “Are you done playing?”

Luffy grins. “Yeah.” He punches his fist into his hand.“They think we’re defeated. That this will me?” His grin became inhumanly wide.

In the Kamabakka Kingdom, Revolutionary HQ. In a large war room carved into the mountain. Flickering screens. Tension heavy in the air. News Crows circle above the skies. Den Den Mushi chatter buzzes from all corners. A Revolutionary Officer rushes into the war room, he is breathless with wide eyes. “Urgent report! Egghead Island—CP0, Admiral Kizaru, and Rob Lucci are all engaged with The Straw Hats in a heated. A rumor of an elder on the battle ships surrounding Egghead. The island is in chaos!”

Sabo , seated at the table with a map in front of him, lifts his head. The fire in his eyes glows faintly. He clenches a fist. “Luffy’s fighting a Navy admiral… again. And they sent Lucci too? That’s a death trap.”

Koala , standing behind him, looks worried. Her hands tremble as she reads a transmission herself as the officer hands it over to her. “This isn't just any mission. CP0’s there to assassinate the Vegapunks. That could destabilize the entire balance of the world’s science and weapons…”

Sabo begins rising to his feet. “And Luffy got caught in the middle. Just like at Enies Lobby… and Marineford…”

A long silence follows between the two friends. Then footsteps echo from the corridor. Monkey D. Dragon enters, arms crossed, his presence commanding. “This is no longer a secret mission. It’s a declaration. The World Government is making a move on its own genius. That means the balance of power is shifting.”

Sabo feels himself tense and stiffen at this. “If they’re willing to sacrifice Vegapunk, they’ve already made up their minds. This is about control. Technology. Information.”

Koala urgently steps forward. “But Dragon—shouldn’t we move? If the Straw Hats are already fighting Kizaru, they might not be able to protect the Vegapunks too.”

Dragon ’s voice is as stoic as always. “We don't act out of emotion. We move when it serves the cause. But...” He pauses. A flicker of emotion in his otherwise unreadable face. “...Luffy being there complicates everything.”

Sabo , looking down at the map he’d been studying, goes quiet. “…And Egghead is where they’ve been experimenting with bloodlines. With lineage factors. Cloning...” He narrows his eyes. Something clicks, but he can’t yet place it. Sabo thinks to himself that this is too much coincidence. Ace’s death was at Marineford... where Vegapunk’s research went dark after.

Koala notices and gently touched his shoulder. “Sabo?”

Sabo shakes his head side to side as if trying to rid himself of the though t. “Nothing. Just thinking…”

Revolutionary Officer interrupts them. “Additional intel! The Pacifistas turned on the World Government’s agents! A figure wielding fire supported the evacuation of the scientists but the ship was obliterated.”

Sabo eyes widen. “Wait. Fire?”

Next to him Koala seems stunned. “You don’t think…?”

Dragon , raises a hand, to calm them. “Could be another experiment. They’ve cloned worse. Kuma is living proof.”

Sabo is feeling torn, as his voice begins cracking slightly. “If they’re playing with his bloodline... if they made another Ace…”

A long silence falls.

Dragon sighs. “If this is true… the world is even closer to the brink than I thought. ”

Outside, the wind howls over the revolutionary stronghold. The fire in Sabo’s chest simmers not from rage, but from something far deeper. Sabo quietly speaks as he looks at his hand, a flame dancing in his palm. “If Ace is there… if they created something from him... I have to see it for myself.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: Strawhats United Chaos

As the Strawhat crew with Vegapunk and Bonney race toward the robot outside of the labs to use to get the Sunny off of Punk Records, a laser grid slams down , cutting them off. From the shadows emerge three CP0 agents , their masks cold and lifeless. These aren’t like Lucci or Kaku, they’re elite enforcers clad in white and red, enhanced with cybernetic upgrades from Vegapunk’s own stolen tech .

CP0 Lead Agent wearing a masked, that distorted his voice. “Vegapunk. You are an Omega-Level breach. Elimination protocol engaged.”

Vegapunk gasped. “They're using my own weapons against me...!”

Sanji steps forward without hesitation, cracking his neck. “You don’t lay a finger on our old man, got it?"

He activates Ifrit Jambe and disappears in a blur of fire, engaging the CP0 lead in a brutal one-on-one. Meanwhile, the two remaining agents charge the rest of the crew. One launches a barrage of laser sharp threads toward Robin and Chopper , while the other pulls out enhanced shock batons , targeting Nami , Ussop and Franky .

Robin unleashes Gigante Mano Spank , blocking the thread assault while shielding Vegapunk and Chopper . “Keep the doctor safe. I’ll crush them."

Chopper goes Monster Point , roaring as he barrels through enemy fire to grab Vegapunk and push him toward the robot’s loading bay. “Hang on, Doctor! We’re getting out of here!"

On the other side, Nami summons a massive stormcloud with Zeus . “Let’s fry these assholes!"She yells as she unleashes Raitei Thunderstorm Tempo , striking one CP0 agent with lightning just as Franky rockets in with a Strong Right .

"Super punch, baby! CP0 or not, you’re junk now!" He stated as he brushes the bits and pieces off of his hands. Ussops jaw drops when he realizes there’s nothing he can do to help, as everyone else has the situation under control.

As the tide begins to turn, Sanji , smoking and bruised, knocks the CP0 lead agent into a crater with a flaming kick. “Go take a nap in government hell." With all enemies down and the robot powering up, Franky takes the pilot seat.

"Buckle up! It's gonna be a SUPER launch!" Franky yells estatically as the Punk Robot ignites its thrusters, blasting off into the sky with the Straw Hats and Vegapunk onboard.

From a nearby ship, Saturn watches with glowing eyes. “So... they chose to run. Let’s see how far they get." In orbit, a massive object begins to move, a weaponized satellite once part of York Vegapunk’s secret defense system…

Franky at the controls, navigating like a madman. He’s excited to finally be able to use one of the giant robots he’d seen earlier when they’d first come to the island. His mind coming up with dozens of idea’s on how to upgrade the Sunny “Hold on! We're breaking through the outer ruins of the laboratories in 30 seconds! Sanji, Usopp — incoming projectiles, 2 o’clock!"

From above, a wave of automated drones and Seastone-tipped missiles launches from a World Government drone cruiser , locking on to the escaping robot. Usopp , clenching his teeth, grabs his Kabuto and sprints to the open hatch. The wind howls as he takes position, eyes scanning rapidly. “You wanna hit my ship? Not happening!" He fires off a rapid series of Pop Green countermeasures beginning  to fly out. The first is a Bamboo Sprout Barrage which explodes into the air, tangling several drones mid-flight. Next the Firebird Star ignites a wave of missiles in the sky which ends with, Impact Wolf , a compressed air blast shaped like a howling wolf that slams into a swarm, detonating them with force. The skies clear briefly.

Sanji , stands beside him after a spinning kick deflects a drone blade, grins. “Not bad, Sniper King.” Sanji uses the old nickname to jab a little bit at his friend who looks proud. “Didn’t know you were taking this so personally."

Usopp sweating but is confident. “We all have our moment to protect the ship. This one's mine."

Inside, Nami , Robin , and Franky now split from piloting thanks to a mechanical A.I. help secure Vegapunk and manage to get the mech to dock with the Sunny. “We’re finally there!"

Robin narrows her eyes. “I am sensing more enemies waiting near the edge of the clouds… we won’t be done once we land."

Franky shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Once we grab Sunny, we fly outta here with or without clearance!"

The crew’s focus was suddenly shattered by a distant boom. Out the side viewport, they watch in horror as a sleek escape ship, clearly one of the ones used by Vegapunk’s scientist protégés, is hit by a laser cannon from the sky! The ship doesn’t just crash; it explodes midair. Burning wreckage rains down onto the sea.

Vegapunk , seated and strapped in, stares wordlessly out the window. The light in his eyes dims. His heart breaks for the souls onboard. “They… they got them. My students… my partners… the future…" He slumps forward, hand trembling. “They believed in progress. In freedom of thought. In saving lives through science. And now they're…" His voice begins to crack. The genius, the man hailed as the smartest in the world, seems smaller now, a man watching his legacy burn.

Nami kneels by him, grabbing his shoulder. “Don’t give up. If you stop here, their deaths mean nothing.”

Robin , eyes shadowed with grief. “They chose to follow you knowing the risk. Their work, your will, has to survive. That’s why we’re here.”

Usopp , still holding his slingshot, adds with quiet determination. “You gave them hope. And now you have to carry it, even if it hurts.”

Franky , voice more serious than usual joking self. “Vegapunk, you’re the man who made dreams real. Don’t let the government kill the dream too." He looks toward the burning wreckage. “ We’ll remember them, we’ll need to protect the rest of your dream with everything we’ve got. That’s what pirates do."

As the smoke clears, the Thousand Sunny appears at last, beacon of hope in the chaos. Its lion-headed bow shining under the firelight, untouched. The Punk Robot deploys its grappling system and begins final docking. Vegapunk , now steadier, wipes his eyes and stands with resolve. “Then let’s not waste another moment. I have one more miracle left in me.”

As the Punk Robot, picks up the Sunny, Straw Hats , Vegapunk , and Bonney , soars over the burning remnants of Egghead. Then, without warning a loud explosion. A wave of dark, oppressive energy surges across the island. The skies darken. The very clouds bend and then, he appears.

In a burst of purple-black flame, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn , one of the Five Elders , materializes atop a shattered tower. His monstrous silhouette, half-human, half-demonic spider-bull, radiates terrifying Conqueror’s Haki that floods the entire area like a tsunami of malice. The air itself buckles. The pressure is so intense that the Punk Robot begins to malfunction mid-air .

Franky grasps the driving stick to try and steady the robot. “Wha— systems failing?! This ain’t normal gravity!!”

“Vegapunk, brace for—!!” Chopper yells when suddenly a loud CRACK is heard. The robot’s thrusters die as Saturn’s haki slams into it like an invisible fist. The ship plummets from the sky. However, before they even hit the ground, a flash of light slices across the battlefield. Kizaru , calm and unreadable, appears in a beam, leg cocked back.

“Sorry, Straw Hats. Orders are orders." He launches a light-speed kick aimed straight at the falling Sunny and the crew butjust before impact, the skies twist. A drumbeat echoes across the air. Bonney presses against the glass of the port side window inside of the robot.

Doom! Da, Da, Da! Doom! Da, Da, Da! Doom! Da, Da, Da!

That sound! She thinks as she feels like she should know it.

As the clouds part with a cartoonish POP , and a streak of white flashes past Kizaru like a bolt of joy itself. Luffy , in full Gear 5 , catches the kick with a giant comically bendy hand, his rubber body absorbing the force and bouncing it back like a trampoline. Luffy is grinning, laughing laughing even as his crew freaks out. “Too slow, sparkles!"He spins Kizaru in the air like a lasso and hurls him into a crater far below. The crew cheers in shock and awe even as they continue to plummet to the ground.

When the robot crashes, and it does crash, the ground absorbs their impact as they bounce. From the battlefield nearby, Zoro walks forward, dragging his swords behind him. Kaku's down. Still breathing. Barely.

Beside him, Brook floats through the smoke, calm and composed. “Yohohoho! I think Lucci won’t be interrupting us again." Lying unconscious in the rubble are Lucci and Kaku , bloodied and defeated.

Beside them stands Stussy , in full bat form , her wings extended, calmly watching over them. “You made the right call, Luffy. But it’s not over yet…” Her eyes narrow at the true threat before them now.

Crawling out of the ruined robot, the group quickly escape to see what was happening as Franky did a quick once over of the Sunny. Bonney trembles upon seeing her father’s tormentor in the flesh… then clenches her fists. “I’m done running.”She activates her Distortion Future , morphing her body into a terrifying vision of herself, a future tyrant queen, tall, commanding, glowing with rage and haki. “You're not taking anyone else from me!"

Far beyond the battlefield, at the edge of the horizon a series of BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. Each step crushes like waves against rocks. Each movement splits the ground. Bartholomew Kuma , with his broken body, exposed metal, emotionless face, moves forward with terrifying precision and in his cold, mechanical mind, one command loops endlessly.

“SAVE BONNEY.”
“SAVE BONNEY.”
“SAVE BONNEY.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 14: The Will of Fire

Smoke curls through the ruins. The Punk Robot is wrecked. The Thousand Sunny is surrounded. Luffy has just tossed Kizaru across the island and now, the true enemy looms; Saint Jaygarcia Saturn who’s monstrous, ancient, unrelenting. With Luffy momentarily distracted by Kizaru, Bonney faces the Elder alone. She hurls herself at him in Distortion Future form as her body is now a towering force of wrath. She twists time around Saturn's limbs, tries to age and regress his monstrous body. Saturn is unaffected by her powers, and lashes out with massive demonic appendages , slamming Bonney into the ground. He speaks with that same cold, cruel calm. “You have your mother's eyes. She begged too."

Bonney roars and charges again but she's bleeding, broken, and running out of time. Saturn, is holding Bonney by the throat in seconds and lifts her into the air like a lifeless doll. “All CP0 units. Marines. Fire. An example must be made."

Hundreds of weapons are raised. Seastone bullets , lasers , cannons are all aimed at one girl. Bonney trembles. She can’t lift her arms. She closes her eyes and is prepared to die; but then decides to try one last thing. She screams.

Far across the battlefield, just after hurling Kizaru unconscious into a collapsing building, Luffy’s ears twitch . Bonney’s voice. A scream. A desperate , terrified cry.

"LUFFY!!" Bonnet’s voice echoes across the battlefield. His eyes go wide. “HELP ME!!!”

Luffy who is in Gear 5, turns towards the sound. His grin faltering at the sound of desperation in her voice. Her haki, is weakening. “BONNEY!!" He yells as he twists like a corkscrew and flings himself out and away from a building like a spring turned bullet. His feet twist, ground stretching beneath him as he blurs forward, eyes burning with panic.

Time slows. Luffy rockets forward, his arms turning into wings, like a white phoenix, legs spinning like cartoon wheels. Lightning trailing his body as drums of liberation beat louder; but he’s still too far . The soldiers fire. The air is filled with death.

Just as the bullets fly towards Bonney, her eyes pouring tears of despair when a sound hit everyone followed by a shockwave of pure haki.

BOOM!

A huge shadow appears in the air from the coastline in a shockwave of steam. Bartholomew Kuma , body mangled, eyes blank, metal sparking had warped in using his Ursus Shock propulsion , shattering the ground around the elder. He teleports directly in front of Bonney , arms wide. Bullets. Lasers. Missiles. They all slam into him. Smoke erupts. The entire battlefield falls silent as the men stare in shock.

CP0 agents lower their weapons. Marines step back. The smoke clears… and there he stands ; Kuma , arms outstretched, shielding Bonney. His body is shredded. Circuits exposed. Blood pouring, but he's unmoved. He punched Saturn in the face, causing the elder to lose his grip on the girl. Bonney doesn’t even have time to scream as she’s caught. His head turns, slowly, mechanically, towards her. Kuma speaks in a broken robotic voice. “Bon… ney… safe…"

Bonney’s eyes flood with tears. “Papa…?" She collapses into him, tears of relief falling.

He was just a second too late, Luffy lands behind Saturn, rubber crackling with divine power. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t smile. His cartoonish face has vanished and is replaced with righteous fury . “You tried to kill my friend… again." He clenches his fist. It grows massive , the clouds around him warping and spiraling. “Shishishi.” He laughs like a devil. “Now I’m mad."

He slams a Haki-infused Giant Punch into Saturn’s side which sends the Elder flying through several buildings in a cosmic explosion of force. Luffy stands tall, white hair glowing, lightning crackling.

The Straw Hats , all assembled now, rally around them. The Marines , are stunned, and begin to retreat. Saturn , embedded in the earth, slowly rises again… growling in frustration.

The battlefield trembles as Saturn freezes , dumbfounded. Before him stands Kuma , motionless but alive an impossibility. Saturn’s eyes narrow in disbelief. Saturn’s voice is cold and low as he speaks. “I pressed the button. You should be gone.” His eyes narrow towards Dr. Vegapunk. “This is your doing.” He accuses the scientist. Standing once more, he goes to attack the old scientist.

Then without warning, Kuma lunges forward in a fierce, protective strike aimed at the advancing elder. His blow crashes into Saturn, shattering several of the elder’s limbs. Saturn is thrown back violently, crashing through more of the ruins but not defeated. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the chaos, Luffy staggers . His Gear 5 form flickers and fades, the blazing white hair dulls to black, the vibrant energy dissipating like mist. His breaths come ragged and shallow as exhaustion overwhelms him. He sways, knees buckling beneath him. His tongue fall out of his mouth as he pants. His vision blurs; the once unstoppable force now a crumpled figure on the scorched earth. With a desperate, fading effort, Luffy falls forward onto his hands and knees, chest heaving painfully, sweat pouring from his face.

From the shadows, CP0 agents and Marine soldiers converge quickly , weapons drawn seastone cuffs glinting, rifles aimed. Their eyes lock on the fallen target. Marine Commander begins shouting. “He’s down! Capture the Yonko before he recovers!”

They close in swiftly, boots pounding on broken ground. One soldier kneels, pulling out restraints, while another raises a seastone spear, preparing to strike. Luffy’s fingers twitch weakly against the dirt. His breath is shallow, his body trembling. His eyelids flutter open just enough to whisper one word. “Meat…” He needs food, quickly.

Suddenly, a steaming plate of food lands before him . Then another, and another; a feast appearing like a lifeline amid the despair. His eyes brighten with renewed hope.

The Marines close in, but before they can reach Kuma or Luffy; the Strawhats burst forward, Nami’s weather attacks , Franky’s blasts , and Robin’s precise strikes cutting through the soldiers like a storm. Sanji plants himself firmly beside Luffy , ready to defend with blazing kicks, eyes sharp and guarded.

“Not a step closer!” Sanji growls, sending a Marine flying with a swift roundhouse. Luffy, still weak and gasping, watches as the plates of food around him suddenly vanish; one by one, disappearing without a trace . Sanji’s eyes dart around wildly. “Where did the food go?!” The better question is, he thought worriedly. Where did it come from? I didn’t even get the emergency food out yet.

Luffy struggles to his feet, head swimming. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spots it: a shiny automated food dispenser , still humming softly nearby. With the last of his strength, Luffy stumbles over and presses all of the glowing buttons. Within moments, the machine whirs to life and dozens of plates of steaming food sliding out, hot and ready. Relief floods Luffy’s face. He grabs the food greedily, energy beginning to return. Behind him, the crew rallies around Kuma, holding the line against the relentless Marines and the elder.

The air thrums with tension, charged with the clash of wills and metal. Around the battered battlefield, smoke curls and mingles with the scent of scorched earth . The cries of the wounded echo alongside the relentless gunfire and explosion.

Sanji plants himself firmly in front of Luffy, his stance wide and alert. His sharp gaze darts from soldier to soldier, ready to unleash hell on anyone foolish enough to try and get through. With a sharp, explosive kick, Sanji sends a seastone spear wielding Marine flying backwards, his leg burning with blue flames. "Don’t you dare touch my captain," Sanji growls, voice low and dangerous.

Behind them, the Strawhats move with deadly precision. Nami summons fierce gusts of wind with crackling lightning storms that rip through enemy ranks , while Franky fires devastating blasts from his cannon arms, obliterating armored soldiers . Robin’s hands sprout silently from the ground and ruins, snatching and incapacitating foes with clinical efficiency, and Chopper darts between allies, healing and rallying with unwavering determination.

Kuma stands solidly in front of Bonney, his presence a shield as he fends off the swarm of CP0 agents converging on them. His silent strength is the anchor the crew needs in the storm.

Suddenly, Luffy grasps at the empty space where his last plate of food had been, the strange and terrible realization dawns on him. All the food has vanished, swallowed by his greedy mouth. Luffy staggers, vision blurred. Summoning what little strength he has left, Luffy’s trembling finger press the glowing buttons again and again. The machine whirs to life again and with mechanical precision, plates laden with steaming meat, rice, and fresh vegetables slide out. Relief floods his face as he grabs the food, devouring it with desperate hunger. The color slowly returns to his cheeks, the fire rekindling in his eyes as the relentless spirit of the Sun God stirring once more.

Across the island near the other shore, a sharp, commanding blast of a horn slices through the chaos. A sleek ship cuts through the turbulent waters like a blade. The flag of the Revolutionary Army flutters boldly in the wind, stark against the smoke-darkened sky. A plank falls as Sabo runs down it to the ruined port . His eyes blaze with determination and concern, his expression tight with urgency.

He scans the ravaged battlefield, taking in the broken soldiers, the smoldering ruins, but there’s no sign of Luffy even though Sabo can feel his brother’s haki coating the air thickly. For a moment, relief softens his features, but it’s quickly replaced by grim understanding. The scale of destruction, the ferocity of their enemies, it’s far worse than he could have imagined. Sabo tightens his grip on his pipe, voice low but resolute.

“Luffy… I’m here. But this fight, this war, it’s more than we bargained for.”

The island trembles beneath his feet, and the dark tide of battle continues to rise. With his cape whipping in the wind, boots landing hard on shattered stone. The air is thick with smoke, dust, and ash, and the distant echo of battle still thunders through the steel labyrinth. Sabo moves with urgency. His eyes scan the terrain at the ruined labs , collapsed towers , and strewn bodies of Marines and CP0 agents. The island bleeds chaos and the deeper in the wreckage, something strange halts his steps.

There on the ground before him lie the Vegapunk satellites , York , slumped and twitching; Lilith , unmoving but intact; and Edison , sparks flickering from his dome. Each one is broken, battered by the toll of the battle. The explosion that had taken out the survivors had also taken out the port. A secondary explosion that none had seen coming, except for the betrayer.

Not far from them are the Seraphi m, hulking childlike weapons of war. S-Hawk , S-Shark , and S-Snake lie collapsed, and disabled, their once fearsome power seemingly spent. Their glowing eyes are dim. Their bodies, cloned from legends, are still. Sabo approaches cautiously, pipe in hand, as smoke curls from the ground around him.

From behind a crumbling piece of machinery, a silhouette stumbles into view . Small. Barefoot. Bare-chested. A child , no taller than Sabo’s waist, but his skin is marked with freckles. His hair is tousled and black, falling over wide, curious eyes.

Sabo freezes. His breath catches. The boy stares at him quietly, head tilted. Sabo softly, breathless, almost afraid this kid isn’t really there breathes one word. “Ace?”

The boy doesn’t answer but the flames flicker faintly around his small fists. Familiar flames. Living flames. Sabo’s pipe lowers. His eyes are locked on the child.

Every memory floods back at once, the laughter, the fights, the brotherhood, the moment he lost Ace… and now, here stands something that looks just like him; but it’s not him. It can’t be him. This is a Seraphim , another of the World Government’s cruel creations. His grip on his weapon tightens as anger and renewed need for justice fills him.

The child steps forward again, slow and hesitant. There’s no hostility , only curiosity. He doesn’t seem like the others; seemingly having no command, no directive. Just a question in his wide, flame-tinged eyes.

Sabo’s voice is hoarse as he speaks. “Who… are you?”

The little Seraphim doesn’t answer, only the flames rise, gentle and warm; not violent. Sabo drops to one knee, his heart caught between grief and disbelief. The weight of the moment is crushing. This can’t be Ace.

The air shimmers with heat around the child’s fists. Flames lick at his skin, not manufactured, not replicated but real fire , the fire of the Mera Mera no Mi . A slow breeze passes between them. The battlefield falls eerily silent in that instant. The boy looks up at him, his lips trembling and then he speaks his voice young , but cracked with something much older. “Sabo...”

Sabo’s heart stops. That voice. That face. Those flames. It’s him. It’s got to be.  The boy’s fists clench. His face tightens. His body shakes and then the rage flickers across his expression. The fire surges higher. A hot gust bursts from him.

Sabo stepping back. “No. You’re not, this is a trick. A clone. A weapon.” He says shaking his head causing his hat to fall, his hair tussling in the wind.

The child’s flames roar briefly, and for a second, it looks like he might attack. Like his sorrow could swallow them both. But then the fire fades. The boy stumbles, dropping to his knees as a single sob escapes his throat.

“I am me. I’m Ace.” Tears fall down freckled cheeks. He looks at his brother. “I died... I burned. I remember Marineford. I remember Pops... Luffy... Dadan. I remember... everything.”He finds himself looking up at Sabo’s disbelieving face. “Now... I’m here. I don’t know why.”

Sabo can’t speak. His throat is too tight. Instead, he steps forward and pulls the boy into a trembling hug . Small arms wrap around him instantly. The warmth of the Mera Mera no Mi is there, it’s real. Familiar. Not artificial. He doesn’t care if it’s science or miracle. In this moment, it’s Ace and he’s holding him again.

The wind howls softly over the wreckage. All around, battle continues to rage but here, in this small corner of chaos, time feels suspended. Sabo still holds Ace in stunned silence, arms wrapped around the trembling, flame wreathed child in front of him.

Sabo slowly pulls back to look him in the eye, disbelief still shadowing his face. Sabo voice low, wary. “How... how do you have the Mera Mera no Mi?” His gloved hand trembles slightly as he looks at the flickering flames still curling from the boy’s fingers. “I ate the fruit. In Dressrosa. I remember the power choosing me. You—your soul should’ve moved on.” He held his hand out, flames forming immediately.

Ace looks at him, face still tear-streaked, but now with a sheepish grin breaking through. He shrugs . “I dunno. It’s all science-y crap.” It’s a totally Ace answer. “Something about bloodline elements… genetic memory… or maybe the fruit being copied?” He tilts his head, thinking hard. “Or maybe it’s just cause I’m awesome?” A tiny flame pops off his finger like a sparkler.

Sabo blinks. “You… don’t know?” He wants to laugh because of course Ace doesn’t know.

Ace scratches the back of his head. “I mean, look at me. I’m like… 2 or 3.” He points to his tiny chest. “I’m not the one doing the science.”Then, softer. “I just woke up one and I began to remember everything. Like I never left.”

Sabo’s face falls into a complex mix of emotions of grief, confusion, guilt, wonder . He lowers his head. “You died... and I wasn’t there. I didn’t even know until it was too late.”

The child-Ace’s smile falters. He punches Sabo softly in the chest. “I know. I wanted to punch you once I heard you were alive.” Then, he sniffles again, wiping at his eyes. “But it’s okay. You’re here now.”

Sabo glances toward the broken lab entrances behind them. He remembers the SSG’s work. Vegapunk’s tech. The Seraphim. Maybe they didn’t just copy Ace’s face and fire. Maybe… they copied his soul. Or maybe, somehow, Ace never fully left . Whatever the truth is, one thing is clear ; this is Ace. He thought as he looked at the small child. Confused. Manufactured maybe, but it’s Ace all the same .

Suddenly, a shadow darkens the sky above them. A distant roar echoes as Saturn has begun to move again. Sabo stands up slowly, shielding the boy behind him. Sabo narrows his eyes as he hears the yells and screams from across the island. “You’re not a weapon.” His resolve now stronger than ever before. “You’re my brother.”

Ace grins. “Duh.” He states as he pushes Sabo’s protective hands away. “Now let’s go help Luffy and get off this damn island!”

Amongst the scraps and now junked Seraphim and Vegapunk satellites, York’s eyes open as she awakened with renewed resolve. Lilith’s hand twitched suddenly, as her body began to reboot.

Chapter Text

Chapter 15: Reunited, At Last

The sky above Egghead Island boiled with smoke and fire, streaked with flashes of light as Marine warships encircled the futuristic island. Massive clouds rolled in, crackling with unnatural electricity as a the result of Vegapunk’s disrupted weather tech, now spinning out of control without his satellites to stabilize it. The hum of laser beams and explosions echoed across the steel catwalks, broken only by the roars of combat.

Kuma, already brutalized and barely functioning, shielded Luffy from a direct blow by Kizaru, his body sparking and grinding as the last of his armament haki enhanced armor was shattered. Luffy roared, tears of fury in his eyes, his body inflating into Gear Fifth. Across the torn platforms, Saturn, still eerily calm, prepared another strike of forbidden power.

“StrawHat Luffy must fall.” Saturn’s monstrous form hovered like a nightmare made flesh.

Sabo clenched his fists. “We have to help them, now.”

Ace turned towards Sabo, expression serious. “I remember why I died. Why I chose to die. It was so Luffy could live.”

Sabo stepped forward. “You don’t have to die again.”

“I’m not planning to,” Ace said with a grin. “Not until we burn this whole rotten system down.”

Sabo felt the old rhythm between them return, not forged from blood, but from belief. From brotherhood. “Let’s do it together. For Luffy. For Kuma. For the world.”

They leapt. Sabo, engulfed in golden flames, his Ryusoken cracking the air with every strike. Ace, his body channeling fire hotter than magma, carved a path straight toward Saturn, who turned his monstrous gaze on them.

“You dare defy the World Government?”

Ace smirked. “I already died once doing it. You think I care about your title?”

He launched a volley of fire so intense it warped the air “Entei!” It collided with Saturn’s cursed energy, shattering the platform beneath him.

“We’ll finish this! So that Luffy doesn’t have to!” Sabo stated.

Down below, Luffy and Kizaru were locked in their own battle of light and cartoonish chaos. Seeing Sabo and Ace fighting side by side near him made Luffy’s heart swell. He laughed through the pain, a manic grin spreading across his face. “Now this is a reunion!!”

Egghead Island was collapsing into chaos.

The once futuristic laboratory now resembled a battlefield of myth of torn hellscape of burning towers, crumpled steel, and fractured glass domes reflecting the fires of revolution. The StrawHat Pirates, battered but unbowed, surged forward with their mission clear, protect Vegapunk at all costs and get him off the island. The frail scientist, the mind behind the world’s greatest technology and the truth of the Void Century, was the key to changing the world. They wouldn’t let him fall into the hands of the Five Elders, the moment of crisis came faster than anyone could react. “Bonney, watch out!" Sanji screamed, his feet igniting as he tried to intercept, Kizaru, moving at the speed of light, had already acted. A brilliant beam of golden energy seared through the sky aimed directly at Bonney. In a flash of instinct, Vegapunk lunged forward. The old man had no speed, no Haki, no defense, only his will.

The laser struck him full in the chest. An explosion of light rocked the walkway, sending Bonney skidding back, screaming.

“Vegapunk!!” Nami cried. He fell to the ground, coughing blood, smoke rising from his body.

“Damn it… not yet…” he wheezed, looking up at Bonney with a faint smile. “You… you have to survive. All of you…”Then his eyes closed.

“Vega… VEGAPUNK!!!” Luffy's voice tore through the air like thunder, filled with pain and fury. He stood still for a moment, heart pounding, eyes shadowed under his strawhat, then, slowly, he looked up toward Kizaru and Saturn. His mouth curled back in a snarl. “You... you just don’t get it, do you?”With a crack of his neck and a bounce in his step, Gear Fifth awakened once again, the very sky turning to cartoons as clouds spiraled with laughter.

Meanwhile, across the broken skyline of Egghead, Saturn had turned his many eyed gaze on Ace. “S-Fire. Execute Command Code Omega. Return to the control of the Elders.”

Ace flinched. His body froze for an instant a flicker of pain crossed his face. Somewhere deep inside, a strand of command protocols stirred. A bootloader buried in the flesh of science, but then… he laughed. Slowly, smoke curled from his shoulders. The air warped with heat. His fists ignited.

“You think I'm some toy to command?” Ace growled. “You think because you stamped a number on me, I forgot who I am?”He stepped forward, fire dancing in his eyes. “I am Portgas D. Ace, son of Gol D. Roger. The brother of Monkey D. Luffy and Sabo.” He snarled, anger tearing through him. “You think erasing my memories would kill my will? My flame is stronger than any code.”

Saturn’s face darkened, his monstrous body pulsing with malevolent energy. “Then burn, failure."

The sky split open as Ace charged, his entire form consumed in an inferno so intense it turned the clouds to steam. Sabo flanked him from the other side, wielding his Ryusoken, their movements synchronized like the brothers they were.

Ace roared: "HIKEN!!!" The signature of Fire Fist, no longer a beam but a wall of blazing fury, crashed into Saturn, lighting up the heavens, but it wasn’t enough.

The Elder stood his ground, a titan of ancient power. Though his robe burned and flesh sizzled, he weathered the assault, pushing forward through the flames like a demon from another era.

Then, with a sickening snap, Saturn lashed out with one of his claws, striking Ace directly in the side. The seraphim flew backward, crashing through a steel tower.

“Ace!” Sabo yelled, his knuckles crackling with energy.

But Ace rose again, limping, bleeding and burned but alive. “He’s too strong,” he admitted, coughing smoke, “We can’t stop. Not now.”

Sabo landed beside him. “We don’t have to beat him. Just hold him back long enough… for Luffy to finish this.”

They looked down to see Luffy now monstrous in size, slingshotting toward Kizaru, his limbs twisting like rubber lightning. “Gomu Gomu no…”

Ace grinned. “Let’s give our little brother the stage.”

Above them all, the island’s systems screamed as alarms blared and ships exploded. Reinforcements from CP0 were retreating. The Seraphim were scattered, confused without a command and Vegapunk, barely alive, clung to Bonney’s hand, whispering something none of them could yet hear.

“Gomu Gomu no…”The air stretched. Reality bent. Even time seemed to pause. “BAJIRAN GUN!!!”

A titanic fist, white as cloud and glowing with Haki-infused freedom, came crashing down on Kizaru, who barely had time to phase into light. Even his photons trembled under the pressure of Gear Fifth.

Kizaru’s body warped, his form becoming distorted as if the very fabric of light was being rewritten by Luffy’s will. He staggered, coughing blood, blinking as the world spun cartoonishly around him.

Luffy didn’t let up. “That was for Vegapunk!” he bellowed.

As Kizaru tried to reform and retaliate, Luffy bounced again, springing from an exploding tower, his body comically twisting through midair before rearing up for another blow. This wasn’t a fight anymore. This was fury made manifest. Grief turned rubber. A rage only a brother could know.

Meanwhile, high above on a shattered platform of twisted metal, the fight between Sabo, Ace, and Saturn raged on.

“You two are gnats, are nothing,” Saturn hissed, his voice echoing with layers, as though a thousand curses were speaking at once. He flicked his fingers and gravity crushed down. The metal below them crumpled like paper. Sabo’s knees buckled, and Ace dropped to one hand, flames sputtering from his back as Saturn pressed the full weight of his devilish power on them. “You were created in a lab,” Saturn said coldly to Ace. “You were meant to serve. That is your place.”

Ace raised his head slowly, face bloodied but eyes unbroken. “Then you never understood what it means… to carry a will.”He gritted his teeth. His flames flared wild and desperate; but not mindless. Purposeful.

From the wreckage behind him, Bonney emerged, dragging the barely-conscious Vegapunk behind a broken dome. She watched Ace with wide, trembling eyes.

“He was made to obey… but he’s fighting it… He’s fighting it…” she whispered.

Sabo slammed his fists into the ground, summoning a shockwave that cracked the surface and sent Saturn skidding. Armament Haki glowed bright on his forearms, and his chest heaved. “I’ve seen tyrants. I’ve fought gods. You’re nothing but another link in the chain we’re here to break.”He rushed forward.

Saturn retaliated, but Ace intercepted not with flame this time, but with an armament fist, one coated in rising steam and smoke. His punch connected, a full blow to Saturn’s jaw, and the world seemed to pause. For a moment, just a moment, the Elder’s head jerked back.

It wasn’t a wound. It wasn’t victory, but it was something no Seraphim was supposed to do.Disobedience.

“I remember dying.” Ace growled, breathing heavily. “I remember Whitebeard’s flag, Luffy’s tears, the fire that went out in my chest. You think some code can overwrite that?!”His voice trembled. Not with fear, with heat. “I don’t care what you made me from. I don’t care what you built into my bones. You can call me S-Fire all you want, but in this body, in this heart, I’m still the man who lived and died free.”He raised his hand. The flames surged behind him, no longer orange, but white-hot, blinding and pure. A phoenix blaze of defiance. “I AM FIRE FIST… ACE!!!” He hurled his entire soul into the blast, not to kill Saturn, but to prove to himself and to the world; I am more than a weapon.

Saturn reeled as the fire washed over him, his robes disintegrating, the skin on his face blackening at the edges. His monstrous form faltered for a heartbeat, just long enough for Sabo to leap in, striking with both fists, blasting Saturn away from Ace. The Elder fell, not defeated, but wounded and more importantly; he was shaken.

Back with the others, Luffy landed beside Vegapunk’s body, now stabilizing thanks to Chopper’s frantic efforts. “C’mon, old man… you’re not allowed to die yet.” Chopper sobbed, patching skin together with both medical brilliance and desperation.

Vegapunk stirred. “StrawHat…” he whispered. “You have to… you have to hear the truth. About the Void Century. About Joy Boy…”

Luffy stared, his expression serious, calmer now, flames still flickering in his hair from Gear Fifth. “I’ll listen, but not here. We’re getting out of this place.”

Bonney nodded, her eyes shining with tears as she looked up at the sky where Ace still hovered, body smoking, arms open, chest heaving. The scent of smoke, blood, and ozone lingered in the air as the fractured skyline of Egghead Island trembled underfoot. Collapsed towers sparked and sizzled. Shattered Pacifistas, broken by friendly fire and programming confusion, lay strewn like mechanical corpses. The battered frame of the once-great research city creaked under its own weight and in the middle of it all, Dr. Vegapunk was bleeding from a hole in his chest, his body was failing, he reached out with a trembling hand to the StrawHats.

His eyes… they burned with clarity. “StrawHat... Nami… Sanji… Listen. Get Bonney… out of here.”

“Hold on, old man—” Sanji was kneeling beside him, already wrapping wounds, but Vegapunk stopped him with a shaky grip.

“No! Hear me.” He gasped for breath. “Bonney… she’s the key.”

The Straw Hats froze. “I built it into the Pacifistas... all of them. A final override. One that surpasses even the Elders’ control.”He coughed blood, grimacing. “Only one person can activate it… Bonney. She’s his daughter… Kuma’s legacy. I… I couldn’t let them take that from her too.”

Bonney, staggered at the revelation. “W-What…?”

“You have to live, girl,” Vegapunk rasped. “Live, and take back control of your father’s dream.”

Just then, the air shook as a cold, pulsing malevolence rising as Saturn rose from the rubble. His skin still smoked, cracked and bubbling where Ace’s flame had burned deep. He regenerated. Instantly. His eyes locked on the Seraphim. “...Defective trash,” he hissed as he raised one hand. A terrible pressure dropped on Ace, it was too fast to dodge. But just before it struck, Sabo appeared, twin fists blazing.

“He’s not yours!” Sabo roared, slamming a pillar of fire between Saturn and Ace.

The impact shook the air as the temperature rose sharply. The flames clashed with Saturn’s cursed aura, creating a storm of wind and embers.

Ace struggled to his feet, chest heaving. “Th-thanks, brother…”

Sabo grit his teeth. “Don’t thank me yet. He’s not going down.”That’s when a blur of golden light tore through the field again. Kizaru, bruised and singed, but still dangerously fast, reappeared, kicking straight at Bonney.

“Bonney!! Look out—!!” Nami screamed.

But before the blow could land—

A giant, rubbery hand snagged both Saturn and Kizaru by the heads like they were toys. “I’ve had enough of you guys.”Luffy’s voice echoed.

He loomed over the battlefield, still in Gear Fifth, panting hard, his body steaming and battered, his grin had returned, not goofy now, but focused. A hunter’s grin. “SHISHISHI!!” He laughed, wide-eyed.

“Let’s finish this.”

With a twist of his torso, Luffy swung both like clubs, smashing them into each other mid air with a thunderous CRACK. Kizaru’s eyes rolled back. His body went limp, and this time… he didn’t get back up. He was down.

But Saturn…His head twisted back into place. The hole in his chest resealed. His monstrous body twitched ,not alive in the human sense, but cursed, as if bound to something darker, deeper.

Luffy’s eyes narrowed. “...You’re not like the others.”He dropped back to the ground beside Sabo and Ace. “Guys,” he said, serious for once. “I don’t think we can beat him like this.”

The ground trembled beneath them. Sabo looked at Saturn. “Then we do what Revolutionaries do, we buy time for the future.”

But that future came crashing down in the form of a rumbling earthquake from the garbage zone, far beneath the lab.

Something ancient groaned. Steel screamed. Metal warped and then—
From the pile of scrap, half-buried in centuries of debris…A massive hand moved.

“W-What is that…?” Brook whispered, eyes wide.

Jinbe gasped. “That’s… That’s the Ancient Robot! The one we found!!” Luffy stared as suddenly the robot stood.

It was bigger than the Pacifistas. Taller than any Marine ship. Its eyes glowed red at first, then flickered; Blue. A low, mechanical voice echoed across Egghead. “Detected threat to target: Nika. Engaging… Ancient Protocol Omega.”

Bonney’s eyes went wide. “Nika…?!”

Luffy blinked. “...Huh?” Confused, he cocked his head to the side.

“Isn’t that what the old man called Luffy?” Nami asked, nobody in particular.

Saturn froze. For the first time… a flicker of uncertainty crossed his face and then the robot moved, impossibly fast for its size, raising one colossal arm. Not mechanical like modern weapons, but crude, scarred, run by technology lost to history. “Firing Plasma Lance.”A beam of raw anti-ancient energy erupted from its core, a blinding strike aimed not at Luffy, not at the Straw Hats; but at Saturn.

The Elder snarled, twisting into a demonic shape, horns and limbs extending in all directions, trying to absorb the blow. He screamed. It was the first time they heard it, a real, guttural, inhuman scream.

Luffy’s jaw dropped. Ace blinked in awe. As Sabo whispered. “What the hell did Vegapunk dig up…?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: Help Arrives

The battlefield burned. Smoke coiled into the sky like serpents made of ash. The air shimmered with heat and tension as a history long buried was stirring. Above the chaos, the Ancient Robot stood tall, a colossus unlike anything the modern world could match. Its body was scarred from age and war, rusted and weather worn, yet something deep within it still pulsed, not with machinery…but with purpose. Its blue eyes flared, scanning the world before it. Across its massive chest, long dormant runes etched from the Void Century began to glow with golden light. Steam hissed from its joints as it took one slow, seismic step forward.

"Target designated: Saturn. Threat level: Eldest of the Five. Estimated strength: unacceptable for non intervention. Nika's presence detected. Protection protocol... re-engaged."

The name echoed across the battlefield like a forgotten song. Luffy blinked, pointing at himself. "Hey...who is he talking about? Who is Nika?"

Franky, dumbfounded, looked like he'd seen every mechanical dream come to life. "This thing's using tech the world's forgotten twice over! It's not running on cola... it's running on will."

Robin's face was deadly serious. "No... not will. Ancient memory."

While the titan prepared to move, Bonney stood frozen, her breath catching in her chest. Vegapunk's words echoed again.

"Bonney… she's the key. I built it into the Pacifistas… One override, one voice above the world. Yours."

She stared at her hands, trembling.

"I'm not... ready for this."

Sabo and Ace looked at each other before Sabo stepped towards Luffy, still a bit shocked that his brother's body was glowing white like it was. He'd heard the stories from former slaves about the Sun God Nika and right now, he could see it in his little brother. "It's talking about you, Lu."

"Eh?" He questioned before laughing. "My names not Nike! I'm Luffy!"

Chopper looked up at Bonney, his small hands bloody from trying to stabilize Vegapunk. "Bonney, if you don't do it now… we'll all be wiped out."

She turned. Behind her, Pacifistas still engaged in skirmishes with Marine forces. Some had shut down, others fired blindly.

Saturn, though wounded, was still alive — his demonic form writhing, claws regenerating, his eyes glowing with command lines, reaching out to recall control over the island's tech, but the Pacifistas were slowly not responding One by one, their heads turned toward Bonney.

"...Authorization code?" one asked in a neutral tone.

Bonney's eyes welled with tears.

She took a breath. "Override command. Recognize Jewelry Bonney as primary authority."

All across Egghead, Pacifistas froze. Lights flickered red… then white. "Confirmed. Bonney, biological signature confirmed. Authority level: MAXIMUM. Overriding ALL external control."

The light in Saturn's eyes flickered."Impossible."

All the Pacifistas turned to face him. "Target: Hostile entity identified. Saturn of the Five Elders. Initiating suppression."

Luffy, Sabo, and Ace stared at the shifting tide. Bonney stumbled as the command left her, shaking from adrenaline. "I… I did it."

Sanji caught her. "You did more than that, sweetheart. You just turned the whole damn battlefield around."

Saturn roared, wings unfolding into grotesque demonic banners. "YOU DARE—!"However his voice was cut short by a thunderous BOOM as the Ancient Robot's fist slammed into the earth beside him, blasting Saturn off his feet and into the air before crashing into the ground, creating a crater as he landed. The robot's eyes dimmed again… and for a moment… a memory played across its damaged screen, flickering like a dying hologram, A young man with long black hair, smiling. Laughing. Riding on a giant elephant. A great war in flames. A sun marked ship cresting the waves and a boy in a straw hat… not Luffy, but someone exactly like him... laughing.

"Nika.. Joy Boy..." the robot muttered in its deep, broken voice. "I failed you… before…"

Robin's eyes widened. "That's… the original rebellion."

Vegapunk coughed weakly. "The robot… it was built in the Great Kingdom… Over 800 years ago… It moved only once before…"

Usopp gulped. "Let me guess; to punch a Celestial Dragon?"

Vegapunk smiled. "Close… It attacked Mary Geoise. On its own."

Suddenly, from the depths of the crater, Saturn stirred again. His body was cracked. Bleeding. But he was still regenerating. Whatever curse sustained the Elders, it would not be undone by machines alone.

Luffy looked down at Sabo and Ace.

"Looks like he's not done and we're not strong enough yet."

Sabo nodded. "Then we fight smarter. We use everything. The Pacifistas. The robot. Us."

Ace's fists ignited again. "Then let's burn his future to the ground."

Above them, the Ancient Robot let out a low hum. "Nika….Joy Boy… shall I proceed to Last Protocol?"

Luffy tilted his head. "...What's that?"

"Release of stored memory from the Great Kingdom. Entire record of the Void Century. Transmission system intact. Shall I begin?"

Robin's voice cracked. "It has the truth."

The truth the world had tried to destroy.

Bonney stood tall now, the winds of war swirling around her pink hair.

"Then let it speak," she said. "Let the world hear what they tried to bury."

Meanwhile as the storm over Egghead Island had become something mythic. The skies, once white with cloud and smoke, now burned golden with sunset. Flame, lightning, and freedom streaked across the heavens as the island itself groaned from the weight of rebellion and revolution.

At the center stood a boy made of rubber, a flaming brother reborn, and a robot with the truth of the void century within it. It was this setting when help arrived but not in the form anyone was expecting.

From the sea to the north, the water surged not with warships, but with waves displaced by titanic footsteps. The giants of Elbaph had arrived.

"Do you hear that?" Usopp asked, voice shaking. "It can't be—"

A massive, booming voice called out from the mists beyond the ruins of Egghead's northern shore. "Dorry! We're landing, HA HA HA!"

"Broggy! Let's help our friends the Strawhats and our Sun God Nika!"

The Elbaf war horns sounded next, deep, ancient tones that echoed across the sky like the heartbeat of the earth. Then, from the smoke and spray, emerged two towering silhouettes in crude wooden armor, horned helmets, and grins as wide as mountains. Dorry and Broggy, the twin captains of the New Giant Warrior Pirates,and behind them… dozens of other giant ships, hundreds of warriors, some old, some new, all armed with weapons the size of warships, eyes fixed on the smoking island ahead as they stood at the prow of their colossal longship, its sails marked with the sigil of Elbaf. Atop the lead mast flew a flag of rebellion and honor Straw Hat Luffy's Jolly Roger.

Inside the main battlefield, Luffy's eyes lit up. He grabbed his head, laughing wildly.

"Shishishi! THE GIANTS ARE HERE?!"

Nami blinked. "Luffy… you called them?! When?!"

"I didn't!" he grinned. "Doesn't mean I'm not glad they came!"

From her position beside Chopper, Robin smiled faintly. "No… they didn't come because you asked." She now realized as she recalled hearing it herself during his transformation. "They came because the Drums of Liberation are echoing across the sea again."

Down in the crater below, Saturn had begun to rise once more. Blood poured from his eyes, but his body was inhuman and grotesque as it continued to regenerate, forming more tendrils and limbs than ever before. "More of them?" he growled, voice a mixture of loathing and disbelief. "Elbaph dares to side with traitors and pirates…?"

Dorry slammed his foot into the island with the force of an earthquake, cracking what remained of the Marine blockade. "Aye, and we'll do it again!"

Broggy howled, lifting a sword longer than a ship's mast. "We heard the call of our brother StrawHat! Elbaph stands with FREEDOM!"

Bonney, now surrounded by kneeling Pacifistas who awaited her next command, stared in awe. Her hands still shook. She wasn't a warrior like them. Not a monster of strength or fire, but she was Kuma's daughter. She clenched her fists, looked at the legions of Marines still scrambling, and gave her command. "Pacifistas, protect the StrawHats and the Giants. Defend Egghead from Saturn. Use lethal force if necessary."

The machines rose in perfect unison.

"Order confirmed: Primary directive: Protect Bonney. Engage: Full combat mode."

Across the battlefield, the tide shifted once more, but Saturn wasn't finished.

With a roar that shattered glass across the island, he stabbed his hands into the earth and began to chant in an ancient tongue a dark, cursed language of the Celestial Elders. Strange symbols spread through the ground like a plague.

Vegapunk gasped through bloodied teeth. "He's… calling the others!."

Sanji raised an eyebrow. "Others?!"

Robin's voice was grim. "I don't think we can handle another one of him!"

Hours before Egghead had become a war zone, just as the scarlet sun dipped low behind the mountainous trees of Elbaph, the bay remained stained with the memory of battle. The wreckage of the Kidd Pirates' fleet drifted in the gentle waves, silent reminders of a one-sided clash. Towering over the landscape, the colossal figures of Dorry and Broggy stood at the edge of the forest, gazes turned eastward, toward the winds whispering from a distant island Egghead.

On the waters, the Red Force lay anchored. Its crimson sails barely moved in the settling breeze, but the men aboard felt an electricity in the air, as though something ancient had stirred. Something they couldn't see; but could feel. Shanks stood at the forefront of the ship, his arm placed over his chest as his hand rub the stump where his missing arm was, his coat billowing behind him as he stared out across the ocean. His eyes narrowed.

"Captain," said Benn Beckman, approaching with his usual calm. "You feel that, don't you?"

Shanks didn't answer at first. His eyes were closed, the sea breeze playing against his face and then… faintly… thump-thump, thump-thump, the sound of drums. Not in the air. Not in the sea, but in the world itself. "The drums of liberation," he said quietly. "They're beating again."

Benn took a long drag of his cigar. "It's Luffy."Shanks nodded.

Down on the rocky cliffs of the bay, Lucky Roux laughed as he tossed a barrel of ale to Yasopp. "Oi, you hear that too? Sounds like a festival's about to start."

Yasopp grinned, catching the barrel easily. "That rhythm... it's the same sound we heard in Wano, but this time, it's louder."

"More alive," Roux added, tapping the barrel.

On the high plains of Elbaph, the giants had gathered. Dorry and Broggy, now gray bearded but still as mighty as the legends told, looked to the horizon with fire in their eyes.

"Broggy," Dorry rumbled, his voice like rolling boulders, "You feel that heartbeat, aye?"

"Aye," Broggy replied, gripping the hilt of his massive sword. "It's him. The warrior of liberation. The one from the old songs. Sun God Nika. He's alive."

The Elders of Elbaph, ancient beings even larger than most giants, sat upon thrones carved from stone and the Adam tree. Their eyes were cloudy with age, but the echoes of the drums reached even them. "We have not heard those drums since the time before time," one elder spoke, his voice a creaking wind. "The Red Moon once whispered them. Now the Sun roars them."

Dorry stepped forward. "Great Elders, we ask your blessing. Let us go to the aid of Nika, the god who dances in the flames of rebellion. He calls from Egghead. We must answer."

"You wish to sail?" the eldest elder asked. "To throw Elbaph into the world's storm once more?"

"We are warriors of Elbaph," Broggy thundered. "We owe our strength to the one who first danced under our sun. The world may have forgotten him, but we have not."

After a moment's heavy silence, the eldest elder slowly stood. "Then go. Let the warhorns of Elbaph sound once more. The age of gods returns."

Back on the Red Force, Shanks leaned against the mast, deep in thought. He could still hear the drums—closer now. The beat wasn't just sound. It was will. It was Luffy's will. "Captain," Beckman said again. "If Luffy's become that, what will you do?"

Shanks chuckled. "What kind of question is that, Benn? I gave him that hat. I promised I'd see him again one day. That day's coming."He looked out toward the sea, toward Egghead. "But before we cross paths again…" he turned toward the mountains of Elbaph, where the warhorns had begun to sound. A long, ancient cry rolled across the land. WAAAAAAAAAHHHH! The giants were marching. The warriors were awakening from their long sleep and at their head would stand the twin axes of Dorry and Broggy. Shanks smiled gleefully. "Let's see what this new world's really made of."

Chapter Text

Chapter 17: ASL vs Elders

Thunder cracked overhead as Egghead Island convulsed under the weight of Saint Saturn's wrath. Gouts of black lightning lanced out across the sky, igniting the storm clouds in jagged arcs. The ground groaned as the steel beams of buildings twisted, glass shattered, and alarms screamed in hoarse tones. The sea beyond swelled, waves crashing violently against the foundations. Standing at the epicenter Saint Saturn, colossal and terrible, his form wreathed in shifting armor plating in his spider form. Below him, Luffy, burning with the fire of his awakened Nika form, and beside him, Ace and Sabo, battered and breathless.

Ace, breathed with power flowing inside him as felt the flow and ebb of the flames in him and around him. The Seraphim energy coursing through his veins felt warmer, more alive than before.

Sabo's arm was wrapped protectively around Vegapunk. The Strawhats were ducked behind twisted buildings, making their way toward their escape. As Kizaru lay nearby, radiance dimmed, his light body flickering exhaustedly.

"Luffy," Sabo panted, voice thick with smoke and urgency. "We've got to pull back. These quakes, Saturn's going to tear this place apart."

Luffy's eyes blazed. "I know," he said, voice firm. "Ace, can you hold him long enough? Sabo, take old man Applehead Vegapunk and go!"

Ace's childlike outline flickered with Seraphim light. A soft breath left him. "I'll try. Just make sure Vegapunk gets out." His smile cracked, fierce and determined.

"You heard him!" Luffy roared. With a roar of his own, he surged forward, his Nika aura exploding like dawn's first light.

"Foolish children," came Saturn's voice, low and resonant, echoing through the shard‑riddled air. "Your time is ending now!"

From beyond the fractured sky came figures four more of the Elders, stepping through spacetime rifts, their arrival heralded by howling winds and rupturing earth.

Saint Topman Warcury whose beastly form was a massive towering boar scale, likely many times larger than a ship's deck. With four tusks, thick hide, and a fierce, bestial boarlike visage. Around Warcury there is a swirl of dark, smoky, flame like aura emanating from his body, especially around neck, shoulders.

Then Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro appeared as a skeletal, fleshless horse form with exposed bones, no soft tissue or extremely minimal, giving a ghostly, macabre appearance. A sickly dark smoky aura flows around his transformed body, similar to the others.

Saint Shepherd Ju Peter appeared in a worm like colossal form with a long, tubular body with segments, ridges, and a massive maw filled with sharp teeth. A dark smoke aura wraps around parts of him like a cloak.

Luffy felt something churn in his belly, and for once it wasn't hunger, but something akin to fear and uncertainty. He could feel their power going through his very being. It made his bone quake. That was when the fifth appeared.

Saint Marcus Mars in full beast mode as a massive bird and serpent hybrid, with huge wings, elongated body that was serpentine, a beak, sharp teeth, claws. It's menacing features with sharp razor like teeth, wings that are large and powerful. When suddenly he flew extremely fast from the summoning circle up toward sky. Smoke aura and dark energy around body.

These were not many, but they were enough. Saturn raised a hand, "Witness your destruction." The Elders spread, cutting off the exits, closing in.

Ace's form glowed golden, the childlike wing filaments fluttering like embers in wind. He took a trembling step forward, dragging himself through the rubble toward a looming figure, Warcury. "Hey!" Ace shouted, voice small but ringing. "Over here!"

Warcury turned, shimmering with such impossible speed. A slab of concrete flew up, but Ace dodged with surprising grace. He rushed, palm outstretched, heart hammering. Fiery energy erupted, fist laced in pure light, striking Warcury in the chest. The impact sent shockwaves; Warcury's sizzling skin as it cracked open.

Farther off, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro stomped down; every step left scorched circles. He transformed in mid-step as an upper human torso appeared intact, wielding swords, while the lower body is the a skeletal horse portion. Sabo jumped back in time to avoid being beheaded as Luffy leapt between, fist ablaze. The collision lit the night with flame, searing heat, and raw defiance.

Sabo, eyes frantic, pulled Vegapunk through a shattered building and ran faster than he'd ever run in his life. "We need to move!" he yelled over the roar when he spotted the crew straggling behind. Usopp and Franky worked together move debris as Robin and Chopper helped an injured Bonney limp along.

Ace looked back briefly, seeing Luffy locked with Saturn, lightning smashing against flame. He clenched his fists, golden glow intensifying around him. These monsters would not take his brother from him! Not when he'd just got him back!

Shepherd Ju Peter's vanished as his worm like body sank into the depth of the earth. When suddenly tendrils of darkness began to lash out toward Ace. Ace laughed, soft and brittle; and darted sideways, as he flew his wings began trailing light, fingers scorching through shadows, slicing the tendrils.

"Not today!" he shouted.

Saturn's eyes snapped toward Ace. "You!" His voice hurtled like an avalanche.

Ace's chest heaved. "Did you forget me?" he said mocking the elder.

With that, he launched himself at Saturn, coiling his flame energy around him. Flame and light collided with darkness and rigid metal. Saturn staggered under the blast, a shock of energy ripping across his body. Luffy seized the moment, creating storm clouds and capturing Aces flame within them causing the clouds to begin roaring behind him, he punch the cloud causing golden light rain to fall. Saturn screamed, a sound like cracking tectonic plates, splitting stone, tearing flesh, all at once. His body being burned by the fire like it was made of acid.

Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, enraged by the assault, sent a wave of Haki imbued, slashing precisely and freezing the ground, the air turning cold. Ace flung himself sideways but gritted his teeth in pain as his skin singed. A giant foot, giant even by elder standard, came down behind him, smashing through concrete.

The Elbaf giants thundered into the fray, breaking steel bars, ground and concrete, turning the battlefield into chaos incarnate. One giant, towering like a mountain, lifted Nusjuro by his body, twisting, then flung him into the air. Flame fissures opened on the ground. The gargantuan force bought Ace breathing room.

Luffy screamed as he pushed his strength beyond what seemed possible. He struck Saturn in the chest with everything: armoured strike, spiritual fire, will undimmed and Saturn sagged. His body's armor cracked in glowing seams. Dark energy streamed out of the fractures.

Saint Topman Warcury surged forward, threw a building at the fighting duo with his tusks, trying to block Luffy's ray. Ace dove, wrapping his glowing arms around Luffy's extended fists, helping redirect energy. A wave of mutual power, flame and light channeling Nika's power, causing the world to shake at their union.

Sabo, dragging Vegapunk but turned back, shouted, "Luffy! Ace! Now!"

Ace gasped, "Do it, Lu, end this now!"

Luffy nodded, eyes bright. "This ends with us free!"

A final roar, light and flame cascading, like dawn bursting through eternal night.

When the glare subsided, the battlefield was awash in silence. Smoke coiled through the air like snakes of shadow, winding between shattered steel and glowing embers. The sky, once dominated by science and satellites, now swirled with angry clouds and golden lightning, mirroring the chaos below.

A deep rumble rolled beneath their feet.

Ace's eyes widened. He felt it, too late.

"Luffy—!"

The ground split beneath them. A burst of earth and stone erupted into the air as a massive, as Saint Shepherd Ju Peter emerged from below. His pale worm-like body glistened with otherworldly sheen, long and serpentine with a gaping, circular mouth lined with soft, pulsating ridges that snapped open like a flower.

Before Luffy could react, the Elder's mouth enveloped him and just like that, he was gone. No blood. No scream. Just swallowed; whole. Ace froze, his small hands trembling. "Luffy…?"Then, panic. "LUFFY!"

The battlefield stilled. Even the retreating Strawhats turned in horror. Sabo turned at Ace's scream. A pit appearing in his belly as he called out, "Where is he?!"

Then from the shadows, Saturn's cold voice echoed, "The Sun has been silenced."But the heavens didn't agree, because at that moment the thunderous stomps could be heard once more.

THOOM!

Two massive shapes landed nearby, sending tremors rippling through the earth like waves across the sea. Dust billowed. The very air shifted with their arrival.

Broggy and Dorry, the warrior giants of Elbaf. Their companions from before having been distracted by Saint Marcus Mars. The two warriors towering forms cast long shadows over the battlefield, weapons in hand, eyes blazing with fury and worry.

They saw the creature, bloated and curled around its stolen prize and they knew.

"Did that thing… eat him?" Dorry asked, voice shaking.

Broggy's massive hand tightened around his axe. "It dared to swallow Nika…"

They didn't roar. They didn't rage. Their fury was quite protective. "Luffy's not food," Broggy growled.

"No god should be caged," Dorry finished.

They stepped forward, and the ground quaked.

The worm like Elder began to coil, preparing to burrow away, Luffy still sealed within, but the Giants were faster. They didn't strike to kill. They didn't try to break the creature apart. Instead, they moved with precision, like surgeons, not soldiers. Dorry raised his sword and called out. "Hold on in there, Little Sun!"

Broggy mirrored him, his axe glinting in the light. "We're gonna get you out, gently!" Then, in perfect harmony, they brought down their weapons, not to destroy, but to cleave an opening. A single, clean strike.

The worm Elder shrieked, its body arching, not from pain, but shock. The cut was not deep enough to wound fatally, but just enough to loosen the hold around its bloated middle. The skin around its midsection split, not with gore, but with a burst of steam and rubbery tension. A golden light shimmered from within.

Then—

POP!

A blur of white and gold sprang out from the rupture like a cork from a bottle, twisting midair with a loud, joyful laugh.

"WOOOAH!"Luffy, covered in slime but very much alive, tumbled through the sky like a shooting star. He landed softly on the coiled tail of the Elder, bounced, flipped once, and stuck the landing, arms raised. "I'm FREEEE!"

The battlefield fell silent… then erupted in laughter. Ace flew toward him, his wings flapping awkwardly, eyes wide with tears. "You're okay!"

Luffy grinned, pulling him into a big, stretchy hug. "That thing had no idea who it was messing with."

Ace sniffled. "I was too slow… I couldn't protect you."

Luffy poked his forehead. "You don't have to protect me every time. That's what brothers are for, we protect each other."

The worm Elder writhed, not in agony, but frustration. It slithered away, defeated, not by force, but by failure. The other Elders hesitated, uncertain.

Broggy turned toward them, lifting his axe.

"This battle is over."

Dorry's voice was firm.

"The Sun is still shining."

The Straw Hat ship waited at the edge of the burning coast. The crew was calling, waving. Sabo landed beside them, shaking his head with a smile. "You're unbelievable."

Luffy winked. "I know."He looked at Ace, still holding onto his arm. "Let's go home, little bro." He winked at Ace at the joke.

Ace grinned through his tears. "Yeah."

And together, guided by giants, protected by friends, the brothers ran through fire and smoke, toward the sea, toward freedom.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18: The Escape

The storm was dying. In the distance, the last echoes of explosions faded into silence. The sky above Egghead Island cracked open, revealing golden light from the setting sun, hope bleeding through the chaos. The battle was over. The Elders had retreated, licking their wounds. The Strawhat Pirates had survived; however the damage was done.

Egghead was falling. The sea groaned as molten steel and shattered domes collapsed into the surf. At the coast, far beyond the battered battlefield, the Strawhats reached the shoreline, panting, bruised, and carrying their wounded. Behind them, Dorry and Broggy walked like mountain sized guardians, their shadows stretching far across the rocky beach and waiting offshore, rising like a floating island of its own, was the Giants' ship.

The Elbafian warship, legendary in size and craftsmanship, floated like a fortress of wood and iron. Its hull was so massive that it dwarfed the Thousand Sunny entirely. Enormous masts reached high into the clouds, bearing sails as wide as villages. Giant chains dangled from its side, pulled by smaller ships acting as tugs. At the center of the deck, a remarkable sight greeted the Strawhat crew; the Thousand Sunny, intact and resting on a carved platform, was being gently lifted aboard by a crew of giant sailors.

Usopp's eyes lit up in awe. "Wait… that's—! That's the Sunny!"

Franky pumped a bruised fist into the air. "They found her! She's safe!"

Sanji exhaled sharply, relief washing over his bloodied face. "Bless those big hearted brutes…"

Nami clutched her chest and whispered, "We can actually leave…"

Robin smiled softly. "The giants must've found her while Dorry and Broggy came to fight."

Chopper squeaked with joy, hopping around. "She's okay! The Sunny's okay!"

"Yohoohoho! Here I thought we were going to have to leave our dear friend behind!" Brook stated as he and the others rushed towards the ship. They quickened their pace, crossing the makeshift bridge of debris and ropes that connected the shore to the towering warship.

Just before Luffy could leap aboard, he stopped. Lying in the sand near the ramp, barely conscious and soaked in blood and seawater, was a small, twitching form. Lilith. The clone of Dr. Vegapunk's mind, usually sharp tongued and brash, now lay limp and battered. Her once pristine helmet was cracked, sparking faintly, and her breathing was shallow.

Luffy gasped. "It's… Lilith?!"

Robin knelt by her side instantly, checking her vitals. "She's alive; but barely. She's in shock."

Chopper rushed over, already preparing a syringe. "She must've stayed behind to help… or got caught in the crossfire…"

Franky gritted his teeth. "If she's here, then what about the others?"

Lilith's eye fluttered open. Her voice was faint, so faint it was barely a whisper. "They're… all gone…"A heavy silence fell.

Zoro's eyes narrowed. "So… she's the last Satalite?"

Robin gently placed a hand on Lilith's forehead. "Then we must protect her."

As the crew gathered around, lifting Lilith carefully to carry her onto the ship, none of them noticedthe faint shifting of shadows near the cliffs above the beach.

Far back, hidden behind a splintered observation tower, York watched. Her hair was a mess, her once opulent coat torn and dirty, but her eyes… her eyes gleamed with rage. She watched them escape. Watched the Sunny lifted high by giant hands. Watched Luffy, glowing with the faint remnants of Nika's power, cradling Lilith as if she mattered.

"They ruined everything," she hissed through clenched teeth.

Behind her, the wreckage of her dreams still smoked. Her body ached. Her status as the World Government's chosen Vegapunk was gone. Saturn had vanished, and the other Elders had left her behind like an old experiment. She had gambled on betrayal and lost.

But York wasn't finished; not yet. She pressed a hand to the collar around her neck, where faint blinking lights still glowed.

"You're all leaving Egghead," she whispered. "But one day… I'll make sure you never feel safe again." She melted back into the smoke, disappearing into what was left of the island.

Back on the giant ship, the Strawhat crew finally stepped aboard, the Sunny secured, the giant crew bowing in respect as Dorry and Broggy climbed up the side. Luffy stood at the edge, looking back toward the ruins of Egghead one last time. He didn't smile this time. He didn't laugh. He simply whispered, "We're gonna change everything." He looked towards Sabo, who was helping Dr. Applehead with his wounds as Ace stood next to him looking exhausted but very much alive. Luffy grinned. For the first time in years he had his brothers with him. With them by his crew, nobody could stand in their way.

There is one. A voice echoed in his brain. Luffy looked around him but saw no one there. It was then Luffy recalled hearing this voice before, when he'd first sensed Ace. I'm Nika; or rather what's left of him. It stated.

"Nika?" Luffy asked causing Zoro to look at him with his good eye as the rest were celebrating as they left. Luffy had yet to exit his white form.

Ah. The voice said softly. Before my essence was this devil fruit, I was me. I was Nika. Unfortunately because of circumstances my essence in the fruit you ate is all that is left of me.

Luffy touched his scared chest as he felt inwardly. "So, now what?" He asked. "Am I still me or am I you or-"

There was a familiar laugh in his mind. Shishishi. The laugh echoed. You are you. It's not like I can actually take control of you. I just give you my power to use as you like, as you need.

Luffy didn't quite understand it, but as long as he was himself, Luffy was content to leave the details not disclosed. "You said there is one who can stand in our way." He frowned as he sensed Sanji and Zoro approaching him. "Who?"

The voice was silent for a moment as a feeling of fear passed through Luffy. IMU.

"Luffy?" Sanji questioned him as he stood in front of his captain.

"Everything okay?" Zoro asked as he stood to Luffy's side.

Luffy turned towards them, his body returning to normal as his hair bled black from white. The glow of his skin began returned to the tan color. He looked more, himself, than he had in hours. It had been the longest he'd been in that form. He also looked exhausted even as renewed determination appeared in his eyes. "Yeah." He assured them. They'd barely escaped with their lives. He fisted his hand and lifted it, armament haki activating. "They're not done with us." He told them. "They will come back and when they do-" He looked at each of his crew members. "-we need to be stronger." He looked off into the distance at the sight of the receding island as it sunk into the sea.

Luffy watched everyone on deck, as relief filled the air. Chopper darted between patients, treating wounds with practiced urgency. Brook played a soft, bittersweet tune on his violin, notes whispering through the salt tinged wind. Nami leaned against a mast, her Log Pose pressed tightly to her chest, eyes shimmering with exhaustion and disbelief. They were alive. They had made it, but not all was well.

IMU. That name seemed to frighten Nika. Luffy noticed how just thinking the name alone had brought fear from the being he recognized inside of himself. He pressed a hand to his chest. Don't worry. He thought towards the being. I won't let them hurt you or take our crew or friends. Nika remained silent as Luffy suddenly felt an extreme exhaustion fall over him. Luffy staggered. His breath hitched in his chest. His knees buckled. The world around him blurred with the golden sky, the sails snapping in the wind, the distant call of a giant crewman's horn, it all twisted, warped, became too bright, too loud, too heavy. Like falling through the surface of a last thing he heard were the screams from his crew as his world went dark.

"Luffy?!"Sanji reached him first, catching him just as his captain collapsed forward.

"Oi! Luffy, stay with us!" Zoro barked, kneeling to steady him, his voice laced with rare panic.

Luffy's eyes fluttered. White strands of hair still clung to him, the remnants of his godlike transformation hadn't fully faded. Sweat beaded on his brow. His body trembled under the strain.

"Chopper!" Sanji shouted. "He's not okay—!"

The little doctor was already there, stethoscope trembling as he pressed it to Luffy's chest. "His vitals are all over the place! Heart rate… body temperature… This is way worse than before…"

Robin dropped beside them, her hands blooming into extra limbs to lift Luffy gently from the deck. "What's happening to him?" she asked, voice tight.

Chopper's ears twitched. "His body's shutting down from exhaustion. He pushed his white form way past the limit… this time, I think…" His voice broke off.

Franky clenched his fists. "Say it, Chopper."

Chopper swallowed. "I think… he was holding onto it too long. Something inside him—it's fraying. Like his body and soul aren't completely synced anymore…"

As if in response, Luffy spasmed, his back arching slightly before going limp in Zoro's arms. A hush fell. Usopp dropped to his knees. "No no no…he was just talking! What's happening?!"

"Let me stabilize him!" Chopper yelled, snapping open his medical kit, injecting a compound into Luffy's neck. "This'll slow his heart rate and reduce the feedback from the Devil Fruit—I hope—" Across the deck, silence replaced celebration. Even the giants grew still, watching from a respectful distance. Their joy faded, replaced by reverence, for the warrior who had stood against the Elders, and now lay broken by his own might. Suddenly, Luffy's hand twitched.

Sabo grasped Ace as the tiny Seraphim child tried to move, but his own knees were buckling. "LUFFY!" Ace screamed a mournful scream that tore at everyone near him.

Sanji gasped. "He's moving—"

Luffy's mouth opened. A breath, shallow and shuddering, escaped. He didn't speak, but inside his mind…Nika spoke again.

There was no sky here. No sea. Only darkness that hummed. Luffy stood, alone, beneath a cracked white sun. Around him, fragments of memories drifted like leaves in the wind; images of Ace, of Sabo, of Shanks, of his crew laughing on the Sunny's deck, of the first time he awakened the Gear Five form. A boy's dream cast across eternity. Then he saw him.

Nika.

Not a god. Not a myth. Not truly. Just… a man. Silhouetted in light. "You're burning out," Nika said, voice like thunder wrapped in wind. "This body… you're using it like a forge; but even a forge needs time to cool."

Luffy looked down at his hands. They flickered, white to tan, then white again. "I had to. I couldn't let anyone die. Not again."

"You didn't," Nika said with a slow nod. "But this fight… this war with Imu… will not be won by flame alone."A pause. Nika stepped closer. His shape began to fade.

"This was your trial. Your warning. You've only scratched the surface of what I am or rather was." He reached out, hand brushing Luffy's chest. "But remember this; even light casts shadows. The brighter you shine… the more they'll come for you."

Luffy stared at him, defiant even in this half conscious state. "Let them come."

Chopper sighed in relief. "His breathing's steadying!"

Robin exhaled. "Thank the seas…"

Luffy's fingers curled weakly around Zoro's coat. His eyes opened, only slightly, but the fire inside them had not gone out. His lips parted, barely a whisper escaping. "Imu…"The word sent chills down the spine of everyone near enough to hear it.

Zoro's brow furrowed. "Who?"But Luffy passed out again before he could answer.

Chopper stood, trembling. "Imu… That name… I've read it before, in one of Dr. Vegapunk's old restricted files. It shouldn't exist."

Nami looked up at the sinking horizon behind them. Egghead was nearly gone, only smoke and debris remained. "They're going to come after us again, aren't they?" she asked softly.

Robin nodded. "With everything they have."

Sanji lit a cigarette, the smoke curling around his bruised face. "Then we'd better be ready."

Zoro looked toward the sea. "Let them come."Above them, the sun dipped low, its golden light, now tinged red like blood.

Chapter Text

Chapter 19: Anger

The aftermath of the chaos at Egghead Island sent shockwaves through the World Government. The Five Elders, bruised and burned, some in their monstrous forms, return to Mariejois, their mission a failure. Not only did they fail to capture Vegapunk, but Luffy, in his awakened Nika form, escaped with an alliance of overwhelming potential.

Suddenly the five vanished from their room and appeared in the empty throne room. The Five Elders kneeled, bloodied and weary. Saint Saturn, semi-conscious was still recovering from grievous injuries sustained during the battle.

A silent darkness fills the chamber. IMU, cloaked in shadow, spoke with icy venom. "The sun was meant to be extinguished on Egghead and yet you let it rise higher." It snarled, its fury blinding as dark haki lightning flashed around it.

One of the Elders tried to explain; the interference of the Giants, the unexpected awakening of Gear 5, the revolutionary appearing, Bonney and most of all the discovery of Seraphim Ace with intact memories; but IMU raises a hand. A pulse of void like energy slams through the hall.

Saint Saturn's body begins to disintegrate as a black tendril of darkness pierces him. IMU's voice echoes, vibrating with power. "No excuses. The moment he laughed… the world remembered hope." IMU snarled.

Saturn twitches on the floor. IMU's gaze turns. A pulse of void energy crackles with black lightning. Saturn gasps faintly. "IMU… please… I—" He never gets to finish as from his chest, IMU's wrath bursts. His body lifts, suspended midair like a puppet for a few seconds as blood showers and sprays the ceiling above. He screams, but not in pain; but in realization. "I failed…" Then he is unmadeand turns to bone and dust as his form vaporizes, torn atom from atom, erased by the very authority he served for centuries.

The remaining Four Elders stare in silent horror as IMU speaks softly in warning. "Let failure never breathe again. Kill the light!" Before it left, IMU contemplated for a moment. "Replaced the failure. Bring in the Knight."

Perched upon the towering figurehead of the colossal giant's vessel, Monkey D. Luffy sat quietly, legs dangling over the edge as the ocean stretched endlessly before him, an infinite canvas of blues and silvers reflecting the fractured sky. His iconic straw hat was tilted back slightly, letting the warm wind brush through his untamed hair. Resting across his lap was his brother Ace, breathing slow and deep, utterly spent from the battle. His face, usually animated with laughter or flames, was softened by sleep and exhaustion, his brow smudged with soot and ash. His left wing had bandages wrapped around it with blood seeping from the wound he'd received as they'd fought the five elders. Luffy frowned as he reached over the small Seraphim's body and touched the wing, a light groan coming from Ace at the movement. Quickly retracting his fingers Luffy pretended not to be upset that his brother was once again hurt for his sake. I've got to get stronger. He thought as his eyes trailed the small body curled against him. Ace needs help in his training too. He thought as plans began to form in his mind. Perhaps I could call Rayleigh and explain about Ace's rebirth. He scratched his head. He wasn't sure if the Dark King would help train Ace, but it was worth a try in asking.

Just behind them, Bonney stood at the railing, arms folded, the tips of her fingers white from how tightly she gripped the edge. Her eyes traced the clouds above in silence, watching the layers of the sky twist and turn with strange hues, like bruises forming across the heavens. She had not spoken much since the escape. Something in her had quieted.

Below the mast, Sabo was deep in conversation with Nami and Robin, his tone low but urgent. His gloved hands moved as he spoke, sketching invisible lines in the air, a mixture of strategy and speculation. Nami furrowed her brow, the navigator in her sensing something amiss in the weather patterns. Robin, ever poised, nodded along, her gaze drifting from the revolutionary to the sea, then to the darkening sky above.

At the back of the ship, silhouetted by the soft glow of the sun's dying light, Dr. Vegapunk stood in contemplative silence, his bandaged arms crossed, his expression hollow. The weight of centuries pressed against his mind, his eyes fixed not on the horizon, but above, toward something greater. "You've shaken the heavens, Strawhat," he muttered, as if speaking more to the sky than to anyone nearby, "but the storm has only just begun to fall."Beside him, Lilith sat slumped against the railing, unmoving. Her mechanical limbs bore fresh dents and patches, bound in hurried wrappings. Like her creator, she too bore the scars of survival.

Then it happened, all of a sudden and without warning, the world went still. The wind, which had howled and tugged at sails only moments ago, fell dead. The familiar cries of seabirds, once circling above in curious spirals, ceased altogether. Even the waves, constant, untiring, froze mid-motion, as though the sea itself held its breath. That's when the sky turned green. Not a natural green, but a sickly, phosphorescent hue that shimmered across the clouds like a sickness taking hold. It pulsed unnaturally, casting an eerie light across the ship and the sea. Silence reigned for one terrible second longer. Then came the fire.

Sabo's instincts kicked in first. His blood ran cold as he felt the heat descending, not the warmth of the sun, but the fire of judgment. He looked up, and his voice caught in his throat. A rain of emerald flame began to fall. From the heavens, lances of burning light descended in chaotic fury, each bolt screaming as it tore through the atmosphere. They slammed into Egghead with apocalyptic force. Within seconds, the once-proud island, a hub of impossible technology and dreams, was engulfed in a cascade of green inferno. Towers crumbled as towers of invention and archives of ancient knowledge vanished in blinding flashes before it was suddenly gone. The sea boiled where the island had stood, a churning pit of smoke and ash and lightless ruin.

Bonney stood frozen. The photo of her father, Kuma, slipped from her fingers. It fluttered once, twice, caught in the updraft of rising heat, before vanishing into the wind. Her mouth opened slightly, but no sound came. Horror bloomed in her eyes.

Behind her, Vegapunk finally broke the silence again, his voice quiet; too quiet. "This victory…" he said, each word drawn out as if it wounded him to say it, "it only guarantees the beginning of the end."

Luffy hadn't moved from his spot with Ace still unconscious on his lap. He was still staring in the direction of the island, his eyes hidden beneath the brim of his hat, his lips pressed in a line not often seen on his face. The silence in his posture screamed louder than any words. The sea had taken Egghead, and with it, a piece of the world.

After forty-eight hours of heavy silence, salt spray, and uneasy sleep, the ship crested the waters of the Elbaph bay to arrive at a land whispered of in myths, the land of giants; Elbaph. The island loomed like a monument carved from the bones of titans. Its mountains were jagged teeth piercing the sky; its trees were thicker than any mast, their roots forming natural archways over rivers of crystalline water. At the docks, massive ships, bigger than any seen in the Grand Line, rocked gently, each carved with elaborate detail and ancient runes.

Awaiting their arrival were Dorry and Brogy, who had arrived in another ship, were standing shoulder to shoulder like twin mountains of muscle and mirth, arms crossed and smiles wide. They laughed heartily as the ship approached, their voices echoing across the bay like thunder. From the harbor below, the booming voices of Elbaph's children rang out in unison, chanting in pure, innocent joy.

"Nika! Nika! Nika!"

Luffy stepped off the plank, thick hide boots thudding onto the ancient wood of the Elbaph docks. He pulled at the pelt that was his new cloak as the winter winds blew around him. His smile had returned, faint but real. Flanked by Bonney and Sabo, he walked with a new weight in his stride, like someone carrying not just hope, but the weight of the world upon him.

Bonney and Sabo had already resumed their back-and-forth, bickering like siblings on a long voyage. "I'm just saying," Sabo argued, pointing to a ship that had sails the size of city blocks. "you have to admit the giant ships are way cooler than whatever architecture this island has."

Bonney rolled her eyes. "They're big, not cool and the island's bigger than anything you've ever seen. You could get lost in the kitchen of one of those houses."

Their voices faded into the crowd as Elbaph welcomed them, not just as pirates or warriors, but as legends. Yet above the celebration, the looming truth remained, the world had changed and the drums of liberation were still beating and soon something bigger was going to come their way.

Chapter Text

Chapter 20: Epilogue

IMU's silhouette hung like a storm cloud stitched from shadow, its great hat a black continent rising behind it. The denden snail in its hand trembled as though every nerve in its body was being plucked; a thin, sibilant static crawled out into the speaker, and the room itself inhaled. "Awaken Project Erebos," the voice rasped. It was not a command alone but a promise made to an ancient hunger. "If the Sun cannot be captured he then must be swallowed whole."

Behind IMU a map glowed with a light that had no heat, its tendrils of phosphorescence cutting into the dark, outlining an island like a wound on the world; Erebos. A place whose name tasted of iron and old coal smoke. The word pressed at the bones and left a small, metallic dread there; the room's corners pooled into darker corners still, as if the map drank shadow.

"And if he will not be chained," IMU continued, "then we will drown the world in eternal night."

The denden snail keened in pain, and the sound was carried not only through seas and air but down the net of denden mushi that threaded the globe. It slipped into ports and palaces, into the ears of kings and the dreams of children. It slid unseen through the Thousand Sunny's network like a cold hand.

At first it was only a whisper in denden in the navigation room, an unsteady vibration that made wood groan differently, like someone walking with chains through the belly of the ship. Nami's fingers stilled on the sextant. The map she had been working on from her dreams had a thousand routes and a hundred coastlines and suddenly lay meaningless; the numbers blurred into constellations that didn't belong on any chart. Something in her chest tightened, not with fear but with the precise sharpness of foreseeing the weather.

On the shore of Elbaph, Luffy woke to a sky that had lost its usual sprinkle of light and instead was the color of old ink. The first thing he noticed was the cold under his skin, not the playful nip of an ocean breeze but the kind of cold that thinks and plans. His hair, always messy even in sleep, stood up on end as if tiny needles of alarm had been stuck into his scalp. He blinked and there it was—the echo of a voice, a scraping chorus laid over the world. He tasted metal in his mouth and spat it onto his hand and saw blood.

In his soul he felt Nika tremble in fear. He's coming. He whispered to Luffy.

Who? Luffy thought back but knew immediately. IMU. He turned and saw both Ace and Sabo sit up. Ace looked terrified, as if the very fiber of his being was scared of something dark and powerful. His tiny wings shivered and shook before he began to look around frantically. When his eyes landed on Luffy, he threw back the pelt blankets he had on and scrambled to his brother.

"Lu-" Ace whined as he crashed into Luffy's body. "Something's coming." Luffy frowned as he pushed his observation outward and sensed the rest of his crew.

They all felt it too; the planet tilting just slightly on its axis, the ribs of the world flexing as if to cough up something buried too long. He could hear it from the world itself; Erebos. The word dropped into his minds like a stone into black water and the ripples smelled of burnt suns. Luffy sat up fully, the rubber of his body creaking in a way that sounded almost human.

He grinned, but the grin was brittle. "Don't worry so much Ace." He said as he rubbed Ace's back and ran his hands through the child's hair. Ace's eyes closed as he listened to the thumping of his brother's heart.

"Erebos," Sabo whispered, the syllables forming like a dare. "Why do I know that name?"

Luffy hummed as he laid his chin on top of Ace's head, he whispered, "I don't think it's a person, but an ancient place." He tried calming Ace a bit more when he noticed that his brother was passed out again. Narcolepsy seemed to follow him in any life. "Alright," Luffy said, voice low and fierce where it used to be light. He looked towards Sabo. "I think it's time we get stronger. Starting tomorrow we all begin training because whatever is coming is going to be stronger than what we had fought on Egghead."

"How do you know?" Sabo asked, still feeling startled from what he'd dreamt.

"'Cause I feel it in my soul, 'Bo." He answered before grinning. "So let's sleep now, then plan for next wave of our adventure."

Meanwhile, far from the warmth of any known sea, the wind itself seemed to pause in waiting as the Red Force sailed under a bruised sky near Elbaph, its sails trembling not from a storm, but with the tension that gripped the very air. The ship creaked, not from age or salt, but like a living beast sensing the shift in the currents of fate.

A Den Den Mushi had spoken. Not in a voice, but a presence—a ripple through the world's spine. One that did not bring orders or warnings, but dread and at the ship's bow, standing alone with his coat fluttering and a quiet fury in his eyes, Shanks looked toward the unseen distance. His face was unreadable, but his jaw had set in a way his crew had not seen since Marineford.

Behind him, Benn Beckman lit a cigarette with fingers that didn't tremble but were slower than usual. He exhaled smoke that rose and coiled strangely, clinging to the air like it, too, had heard the name whispered.

"Erebos."Beckman said it like a curse. "Thought you said that name died with God Valley."

Shanks didn't answer at first. His eyes were still locked on the horizon, though the island in his mind lay deep beneath another sky. What he saw wasn't waves, it was the image of an island. One that was never meant to see light. Something as old as the void century or maybe even older than Uranus or the sleeping rage of Pluton. Something made not by pirates, marines, or revolutionaries; but by godswho feared their own creations.

"They're really doing it," Shanks finally murmured, voice cold, haunted. "They're waking up."