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Ace had died. He was gone, there was no bringing him back.
He walked through the pearly gates. A smile on his face. He knew he would miss Luffy and the crew, but he finally could see Sabo again. Pops would be there too, and… His mom. He could finally see his mom again.
He felt tears well in his eyes at the thought of his mom. What would she look like? Would she recognize him? Would she be proud of him for becoming a pirate? These were all the questions he wanted answers to. He looked around, seeing the dead, but no one he knew.
After looking around, and finding some food to eat, he asked where he could find someone named Sabo. No one knew a Sabo.
“Sabo?” someone asked. Ace turned around and nodded his head yes.
“Do you know where I can find him?” He asked eagerly
“I’m afraid the young boy isn’t here,” The person said. “He still has a long way to go before he’ll be up here”
“What do you mean, he died by a celestial dragon” the person shook their head no.
“He was saved by Dragon,” the person said.
Ace was beyond happy to know that Luffy wouldn’t be alone, but sad that he couldn’t see his brother again. He thanked the man, and asked where he could find someone named Portgas D Rouge. The man gave him instructions to a flower field where he could find her. Once again, Ace thanked the man before running there.
Like the man had told him, there sat a beautiful woman, her long blond hair flowing in the wind. Ace was stopped in his tracks. There she was. His mother, sitting there. “Portgas D Rouge?” he asked, his voice quite, almost like he was scared that if he spoke above a whisper she would shatter into a million pieces.
She turned her head to the voice, and in that moment he knew this wasn’t a dream. “Ace?” she asked, her voice was soft and sweet. Ace felt hot tears stream down his face.
“Mom,” He responded.
Her freckled face lit up as she saw her son, all grown up. Ace ran to her, and when he got to her, she held him like a crying kid. “Mom” was all he could say. When she lifted his face to meet hers, she whipped away the tears and smiled.
“Look at you” She said, “you're all grown up”.
He sniffled a little and nodded his head. “I’m a pirate, mom” He started, he wanted to tell her everything about the life he lived.
She smiled at him “Just like your dad” those words hit Ace hard. He hated Roger, but…she seems so proud he couldn't take that away from her. So he simply nodded his head.
“I have two brothers, Sabo and Luffy” He continued, “I-I though one of them was dead, turns out he’s still alive”
“What happened to you?” Rouge finally asked, cutting Ace off before he could rant about Sabo and Luffy.
Ace paused for a moment before speaking, “I had to save my brother,” Rouge looked at him with a sad expression on her face, but she also understood.
“Roger did the same thing,” she says. “He was protecting us, and I was protecting you,” she said.
Ace looked down at the flowers for a moment. “You left us too soon,” He said, picking a flower from the field and tucking it behind her ear. “I missed you,” He added.
“And I missed you” A voice said from behind Ace. He snapped his head around to look at the person, it was none other than Gold D Roger, his father. “Son,” Roger finished.
“You have no right to call my son, I’m the son of Whitebeard, he is my only father” Ace said, only to be pulled into a hug. Roger had tears streaming down his face.
“I’m sorry you were killed for being my son, but know, you were my greatest treasure” Rogers told Ace, who was taken aback by the words.
“I-I was?” He asked.
“Of course you are,” Roger replied.
Rouge walked up behind Ace and hugged him from behind. Ace didn’t know what to do and stood there, eye wide, but it wasn’t before long that he joined his father and mother in tears.
Ace would get the happy ending he deserved.