Author Note: Hey, Mithril! I might have fibbed about when I planned to update ;) Please consider this your moving gift and for generally being such an awesome person!

And to those of you who replied to my SOS plea, thank you so much. Houkiboshi59 is going to beta for me going forward! I encourage you to go check out her fic, they're amazing! Go, go, go!

Unintentionally, this mirrors the first chapter. I didn't realise until I was editing but it works. Also, you have been warned; angsty surprise ahead!

XXX

Chapter 7 - Rusukaina

XXX

"A Warlord is a Revolutionary?"

Sabo sighed heavily as he followed his ranting brother through the thicket in search of Luffy. "You want to scream it any louder," he muttered, "it's not like it's a secret or anything."

Ace whirled around and prodded him hard in the chest. "Not only is a Warlord a Revolutionary but he threw our little brother half way across the Grand Line!" Sabo opened his mouth to object that it wasn't even close to being half way but Ace's furious glare silenced him. "What if Luffy had landed in the ocean?"

"Kuma has excellent aim. It's not the most pleasant of experiences, I'll give you that, but you always land where you're meant to," Sabo said in defence of his colleague – or former colleague. Sabo himself was a little confused at the moment as to which side Kuma was actually on, but the fact that he had sent Luffy and his crew away from an Admiral rather than to Impel Down was a plus in Sabo's book. Unfortunately, Ace didn't seem to see it that way.

"And now Luffy is with Silvers Rayleigh!" Ace shook his head as he continued forwards.

"And that's a problem how?" Sabo asked, rather confused. "Despite his age, he's still one of the strongest men on the Grand Line. You heard what Kuma said, he went up against an Admiral with no problems whatsoever."

"I don't trust him to deal with Luffy, that's all," Ace threw over his shoulder.

Sabo burst into laughter. "Ace, the man was your father's first mate! I think he can handle Luffy!" He was forced to duck sharply as Ace carelessly let a branch snap back. He glared at his brother, tempted to trip him with his pipe.

"Handle Luffy?" Ace repeated in disbelief, coming to a dead stop and brandishing a newspaper in the blond's face. "You call this 'handling' Luffy? The guy took our little brother to Marineford! His face ended up plastered all over the news! And the marines have reported that he's related to Dragon! Everyone will be after him now!" he huffed.

Sabo barely spared a glance at the newspaper being waved in his face. He'd scrutinised the photo of a beaming Luffy (with a very obvious Silvers Rayleigh hovering in the background) numerous times since its original publication last week in a desperate bid to try and see if Luffy was injured in any way. But the only clue it revealed was Luffy had acquired a large tattoo running the length of his upper arm. 3D2Y didn't mean anything to his concerned older brothers and it had been Koala who had suggested - bright spark that she was - that it was probably a message for his crew. She had been able to make contact with Nico Robin, who was currently with their colleagues in East Blue, and she had filled in the blanks; the Straw Hats were to reassemble in two years.

"Ace," said Sabo, trying desperately to hold onto his remaining patience in the face of his brother's justifiable concern. He wasn't happy about the situation either but there was nothing they could do about it now. "We're here now, okay? So will you please calm down," he begged.

Ace grunted but thankfully made no further argument much to Sabo's relief. His brother had been in over-protective mode ever since the call from Kuma nearly three weeks ago. Sabo could understand Ace's concern. With Luffy separated from his crew he was a vulnerable target to anyone. And the anxiety of coming face to face with Gol D. Roger's closest friend was only increasing Ace's stress levels to the point Sabo was seriously considering dunking him in the ocean to try and cool him off.

"Luffy's probably loving this place," Ace grumbled a short while later as they finally stumbled out of the jungle and into an area blotted with crumbling ruins. Sabo nodded his agreement even as he paused to study the old architecture.

"I'm surprised we haven't heard him shouting already," said Sabo with a grin. "He's not exactly quiet."

Ace snorted. "Maybe I should let him know we're here?" he wondered aloud, throwing his brother a cheeky grin as his hand burst into flames.

"No need."

Ace and Sabo both jumped and swung around, stances immediately shifting to cover each other's backs.

A tall, grey haired man, glasses flashing in the dipping sun smiled at them both warmly. Even if the two hadn't already seen photos of the man, there was no mistaking who this person was.

"Silvers Rayleigh, I assume?" Sabo asked, relaxing slightly, trying to discretely nudge Ace and get him to stop glowering. The blond hoped Ace would focus on the fact that the man had helped Luffy rather than on him being Gol D. Roger's first mate because otherwise this could make for an uncomfortable visit.

Rayleigh nodded politely. "I gather you two are the big brothers Luffy won't stop going on about?"

The pair nodded in unison.

"I'm Sabo," said the Revolutionary, offering the former pirate a warm smile as he tipped his hat.

Rayleigh dipped his head in acknowledgement before turning to Ace, who was standing slightly behind Sabo, tension lining his entire body. "There's no need to ask who you are," said Rayleigh and Sabo saw a fond smile flicker across his face before disappearing as quickly as it came.

Ace glared, dark eyes as hard as steel as he stared up into the face of the man who, if circumstances had been different, could well have been a beloved uncle. "Just because you knew the Pirate King doesn't mean you know me," he growled.

Rayleigh snorted in amusement, gaze flickering to Ace's arm.

"Er, Ace," said Sabo, trying to fight back a smile. "I think he's referring to the fact you have your named tattooed on your arm."

"…oh," Ace whispered, a bright red blush staining his cheeks.

"We understand you've been helping our little brother. Thank you," said Sabo, turning away from his bashful brother before he could burst into laughter. "We hope he hasn't been giving you too much trouble."

Rayleigh grinned. "Not at all. He's rather an eager student if you give him the right motivation," he mused.

"Meat," Ace and Sabo chorused. Rayleigh released a gravelly chuckle.

"Indeed," he acknowledged. "He should be nearly finished with this afternoon's training if you wanted to-"

"ACE!"

A blur of red rammed into the Commander, knocking him into Sabo, who only just managed to hold his balance under the combined weight of his two brothers. "You're okay!" Luffy cried with delight, rubbery limbs wrapped tight around Ace's waist.

Sabo had to smile at the slight embarrassment on Ace's face as he failed to extract himself from his brother's back breaking hug. Even after all these years, his heart still ached a little at the surprise that would filter across Ace's face when Luffy showered him with affection as only he could. He held out hope that one day Ace could accept the unconditional love they both had for him without questioning whether or not he actually deserved it.

"Your vivre card was burning," Luffy pulled back with a frown, a slight accusation tingeing his voice. Ace sighed heavily and gently patted his brother's back. "You worried me," Luffy added as an afterthought.

Ace snorted. "I worried you? You couldn't have caused more trouble if you'd tried," he rebutted, waving the newspaper he had somehow managed to keep hold of in Luffy's face. Luffy didn't even have the grace to look repentant.

"Shishishi! Ace had to be rescued by Sabo!" Luffy suddenly snickered, barely flinching as a fist landed hard on his head.

"He didn't rescue me!" Ace scowled as Luffy burst into joyful laughter, not in least convinced by the adamant denial.

Sabo raised an eyebrow. "What would you call it then? Liberating?" he teased with a smirk, completely ignoring the glare aimed his way as Luffy moved to embrace him. Sabo squeezed him tight, pleased to see his little brother looked to be in good spirits despite his recent misadventure. "You doing okay?" he whispered into Luffy's ear.

The captain nodded and flashed a grin before releasing him. "Did Hammock tell you where we were?"

Ace and Sabo shared a puzzled look.

"Hammock? Don't you mean Hancock?" Ace asked, bemused.

"Yeah!" Luffy grinned. "I asked her to give you directions if you turned up at Amazon Lily. Rayleigh said that Kuma guy had talked to Sabo," he explained, eyes darkening slightly as he mentioned the Warlord who had landed him in his current predicament.

Before Sabo could even begin to explain his limited knowledge of Kuma's actions, a soft thud and an obnoxious snore echoed behind them.

"Narcolepsy, by any chance?" Rayleigh asked as he stared down with amusement at the snoring Commander. Luffy crouched down to poke Ace's cheek, trying unsuccessfully to rouse his unconscious brother.

"Yeah," Sabo sighed wearily. He really wasn't surprised it had struck now. Ace had only just recovered from the altercation with Blackbeard and he had hardly slept since receiving the call from Kuma, worry for their little brother taking precedent over his own needs.

"Our camp site isn't far," Rayleigh explained. "It's relatively safer than waiting around here for your brother to wake up."

Sabo couldn't argue with that logic. Rayleigh had obviously offered to train Luffy on this island for a reason and he was rather eager not to run into a fight unless necessary. He gestured for Luffy to grab an arm and together they managed to heave their sleeping brother upright, shouldering his weight between them as they slowly set off after the former pirate, Ace's loud snores the only sound in the quickly gathering twilight.

xxx

"So Robin's going to be staying with you guys?" Luffy asked, idly watching Sabo clean his pipe from his position slumped comfortably against Ace. He had barely moved since they'd dropped Ace down against the tree log the night before and whilst the Commander had grumbled, he'd made no move to push their younger brother away when he'd woken earlier that morning to find himself literally wrapped in a rubbery embrace.

Sabo nodded absently. "She's with Bunny Joe right now. They're escorting her to Baltigo to meet Dragon-san," he said. "Want me to give her a message if I see her?"

Luffy shook his head. "Nope. She knows what we all need to do," he grinned.

Sabo raised his head and carefully set his pipe down. "Speaking of things you need to do," he began, blue eyes leveling his little brother with a serious look. "What was it that I said you had to do if you ever ran into a Celestial Dragon? Hm?" Ace snorted as Luffy gave his brother a perfectly innocent stare. "You promised, Luffy," Sabo sighed, a tinge of despair colouring his voice.

"Actually, I think it was Ace that promised not to-"

"Give it up, Lu, you're not fooling anyone," Ace cut in, nudging the teen.

Luffy's shoulders slumped. "Fine, but I'm not sorry I did it. He was hurting my friends," he said, arms folding across his chest and a defiant pout emerging.

"As if it wasn't bad enough to shoot down the bloody flag at Enies Lobby, you just had to go bodily assault one of the bastards too," Sabo dropped his head into his hands. "What are you planning next? A raid on Mariejois?"

"That sounds fun!" Luffy shot up excitedly.

Sabo stared at his brother in dismay. "Ace, help," he whined, causing the man in question to laugh.

"You brought it up, it's your own fault," Ace threw back with a smirk.

"Hey! I beat Ace!" Luffy shouted abruptly.

Ace frowned, sharing a puzzled look with Sabo. "When did you beat me?"

"You said you wanted to punch a Celestial Dragon but I beat you to it!" Luffy crowed happily, dissolving into giggles at his brother's bemused stare. "You needed Sabo to rescue you instead!"

Ace growled. "He didn't rescue me! How many times-"

"What did you expect, Luffy," Sabo chimed in, a sly grin appearing on his face. "After all, Ace is the dead last of the three of us."

Ace sat up sharply, dislodging Luffy from his resting post with a startled yelp.

"What do you mean 'dead last'?" Ace ground out, eyes narrowing as his brothers both grinned smugly.

"Well, Luffy's Captain and I'm Chief of Staff, which makes me Second in Command, whilst you're only Second Division Commander," said Sabo, making a show of taping his chin thoughtfully. Luffy laughed as Ace frowned. "You answer to both your Captain and Marco the Phoenix, so I suppose that means technically you're dead last," he smirked.

Ace leveled both his brothers with a dark glare.

"I may be dead last but I can still beat the pair of you," he promised as he leapt to his feet and proceeded to show his brothers exactly what the 'dead last' could do to them.

xxx

"That was certainly enlightening," Rayleigh offered with an amused smile as the Revolutionary dropped to the ground beside him, spread eagled and panting heavily.

The old pirate had been out scouting most of the morning for new training sites for Luffy and had given the three brothers only a cursory glance when he had returned to camp to find them lunging at each other with a ferocity which would have alarmed almost anyone else. "Are you three always this lively?" he wondered.

"Pretty much," the blond conceded, although he didn't admit that their recent roughhousing had been practically tame in comparison to the squabbles they would get into as children. Ace had apparently learnt some self-control in the last decade. He'd still left them with some impressive bruises though.

Rayleigh passed over a small mug of fresh water before turning to watch Ace and Luffy as they continued to spar.

"I hope you don't mind us being here, interrupting Luffy's training," Sabo said, taking a small sip of the cool beverage.

Rayleigh smiled warmly, shaking his head slightly. "Not at all," he assured the young man before him. "I've only just realised Luffy's been holding back on me if this is how he acts when he's happy. Despite being thoroughly eager to be here, I can see now he was obviously still a little upset. Training with you and Ace will be good for him and I'll admit, you're saving my old legs by sparring with him," said Rayleigh, before frowning thoughtfully as Luffy went sailing past them into a tree thanks to a well-aimed punch from Ace. "Although, this doesn't look much like sparring as it does a beating," he conceded.

Sabo hummed softly as they watched Luffy tried to untangle himself from the foliage. "Yeah, he's never beaten either one us," he admitted with a fond grin.

A loud squawk from above interrupted anything Rayleigh might have had to say on that admission. Sabo looked up just in time to catch the bundle of papers before they landed on his head. He glared up at the hovering bird Koala had chosen to send his daily reports with. Every time - without fail - his friend managed to pick the most awkwardly behaved one. She swore she never did it on purpose, claiming he was just bad with animals but the blond wasn't so sure.

"Stupid bird," he muttered darkly as it flapped away back to whichever island Koala had decided to dock on. They'd all agreed it would be wise for the Revolutionary ship to move away from Rusukaina and return in a couple of weeks to collect their wayward Chief of Staff. Even though they were in the Calm Belt, they couldn't afford the risk of a ship passing through and recognising them, so Koala had assumed command of the Revolutionaries and gone off to restock at another island. She had refused to allow Sabo to skirt his responsibilities however and was sending him regular reports together with the news.

Sabo honestly didn't mind. He knew what his job was and he enjoyed it. He just hoped she picked a different bird tomorrow or he was going to be feeding the bloody thing to Luffy for lunch.

He unrolled the newspaper, casting aside the reports for the moment. He blinked at the bold headline for several seconds before cursing up a storm and diving for Koala's reports.

Rayleigh stared at him in amazement. Ace and Luffy both froze and turned to him in disbelief as their usually calm and mild mannered brother ranted as he whipped through the sheets of paper.

"What the hell is wrong?" Ace asked, sharing an uneasy look with Luffy as they cautiously approached.

"Blackbeard broke into Impel Down," said Sabo shortly, thrusting the newspaper at Ace who gawked in disbelief. "He's released several Level Six prisoners, including Head Jailor Shiliew – a marine who used such excessive violence on the prisoners he ended up imprisoned himself!" the blond snarled.

"Shit," Ace muttered, quickly scanning the headline article. "Hang on, there's no mention of that in here."

"Of course there isn't," said Sabo, flashing him a slightly impatient look as he waved around the papers in his hand. "You really think the marines want everyone to know high security prisoners are on the loose? No, Ivankov managed to escape with Inazuma and several others, including Crocodile and Buggy the Clown. They stole a marine warship and escaped through the Calm Belt. Ivankov managed to contact Dragon-san and fill him in. Their eyewitness reports confirm it was Blackbeard."

"Never did like that man," Rayleigh muttered, as he carefully cleaned his glasses. Ace had no time to question how Rayleigh knew Blackbeard as Luffy tugged his arm.

"Hey, the Whitebeard Pirates are mentioned here," he chirped, directing Ace's attention to a small column at the bottom of the page.

"Blackbeard has recently been spotted in the New World near the island of Foodvalten, currently under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates," Ace summarised. "That's not too far into the New World, I bet Pops is nearly there, if he isn't already."

"They're certainly rather late reporting this news if your colleagues have already managed to touch base with Dragon," Rayleigh commented. "When did the break out occur?" he asked Sabo.

"Last week," said Sabo, shortly.

"This says the marines managed to re-capture the prisoners," Luffy pointed out, still reading over Ace's shoulder.

"That's a lie," Sabo told him. "We know Ivankov and the others definitely escaped. Unsurprisingly, the marines obviously wanted to keep their shortcoming on the down low," he added, humourlessly.

"I bet Gramps is mad," said Luffy, shuddering slightly at the mental image of an angry Garp. It was a painful enough experience running into the old marine when he was in a good mood.

"There's nothing else in these," said Sabo, finally reaching then end of his reports. "It's just a rehash of what's in the paper." Ace held out a hand and Sabo turned them over without hesitation.

"What the hell is Blackbeard playing at?" Ace muttered, thoroughly confused at the actions of his former crewmate. Sabo shrugged.

"Hey, is this Blackbeard?" Luffy asked, pulling out a wanted poster of Blackbeard which had been inserted into the paper. "I've met this guy!"

Ace's head shot up. "What?! When?"

"Ages ago on Jaya," Luffy explained, unperturbed by his brother's reaction. "He said the pie was good and it really wasn't. Sanji's is definitely better."

Ace and Sabo glanced at each other in concern.

"He didn't try anything, did he?" Ace asked.

Luffy shook his head. "No, he just rattled on about following dreams or something," he shrugged. "I'm not sure I liked him," he admitted.

"Luffy," Ace said, reaching out and gently grasping his brother's chin, forcing the younger to meet his gaze. "If you ever see him again, I want you to turn and around and run as fast as you can in the other direction. No, I mean it," Ace cut off the petulant complaint even as Sabo marvelled at the irony of his words. "Don't even attempt to fight him. He managed to beat me and he nearly killed Sabo, so do not go near him. Understood?"

Luffy cast an alarmed glance in Sabo's direction before nodding as best he could with his jaw still locked in Ace's grip.

"Okay," he whispered softly.

Sabo didn't like seeing such a scared look in his little brother's eyes; he never had. It always reminded him of when Porchmey had gotten a hold of the young boy. But putting the fear into him would ensure that Luffy actually listened to them, if not for his own safety, then for the safety of his crew.

The blond heaved a weary sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

A noise of surprise came from his left and he glanced over to see Rayleigh staring up in mild astonishment.

"What in the world?" the old man muttered.

The three brothers followed his gaze to the sky and stared as a flock of newspaper carrier birds flew over them. There were easily a hundred or so flying straight overhead, with dozens more splitting off into different directions.

They all watched as a bird spied them and broke away, swooping down to drop a paper at Rayleigh's feet before dashing off, the bag on its back bulging to the point they were all surprised it could still fly.

"Breaking news," Rayleigh muttered, reaching for the paper.

"The hell could've happened now?" Ace asked Sabo, snagging Luffy's arm before he could make to catch one of the birds for himself.

"What's it say?" Sabo finally asked Rayleigh, not at all sure he liked the uneasy look that had appeared on the man's face.

"Blackbeard clashed with the Whitebeard Pirates on Foodvalten," Rayleigh explained, voice shaking ever so slightly as he looked up and stared straight at Ace. "Whitebeard is dead."

Time seemed to freeze as the three brothers absorbed the unbelievable statement.

Sabo slowly turned towards Ace who had gone as still as a statue. Luffy's gaze was darting quickly between Ace and Rayleigh, eyes blown wide with shock.

"That can't be true," Ace trailed off as his voice broke.

Rayleigh slowly handed over the newspaper. Ace reached out with shaking hands to take it. Sabo saw his breath hitch as he read the headline.

"Whitebeard died trying to defend the island's inhabitants," said Rayleigh quietly, as if speaking any louder would shatter the young man in front of him. "Eyewitness reports state that Blackbeard killed Whitebeard."

"They shot him," Ace whispered in disbelief.

Heart aching for his brother, Sabo stood and peered at the paper in the Commander's trembling hands. There was a stark black and white photo of Edward Newgate, Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates and strongest man in the world, standing proud but unmistakably dead in the centre of a small town, bullet holes riddling his chest. By far the most disturbing wound however, was the fist-shaped hole in the middle of the man's rib cage, as if someone had reached into his very body and ripped out his soul.

"It's believed ill health played a part. Blackbeard wouldn't have stood a chance otherwise," Rayleigh acknowledged, unshed tears clearly visible in his eyes. Sabo felt a rush of respect for the man who clearly held Whitebeard in such high regard.

"Ace," Luffy called, reaching out for his brother but the Commander stumbled back and Luffy's hand froze mid-air.

"Don't," Ace choked, tears falling silently down his face. "I'll hurt you," he whispered and indeed Sabo could now see steam rolling off the freckled man in waves as his control began to shatter. "Just…just stay away from me," he gasped before whirling around and storming off into the jungle leaving two stunned brothers in his wake.

Sabo jumped as Luffy sidled up next to him and slipped his hand into the Revolutionary's. He looked down to see Luffy was biting his lip worriedly as he stared after Ace.

"The last time Ace looked like that Dadan had to tie him to a tree," said Luffy, so softly the blond nearly missed it.

"Why?" Sabo mused, wincing slightly as a column of fire erupted above the tree line.

"Dogra had just told us about you …" Luffy trailed off, squeezing Sabo's hand tightly.

Sabo swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. Stupidly, he had never really thought about how his brothers had reacted upon hearing the news of his apparent demise and to learn about it now, after so many years, was like a kick to the stomach.

"You'd best follow him," Rayleigh interrupted from behind them. Sabo and Luffy both stared at him dumbly. "I doubt anything on the island would try to attack him right now but better safe than sorry."

"Come on," said Sabo, gently tugging Luffy along next to him although no encouragement was needed as the pair quickly plunged into the jungle after their grief stricken sibling.

xxx

Ace stared at the ocean, the setting sun casting a beautiful glow upon the surface and bathing it a serene yellow. The calmness of it all mocked him, causing another involuntarily burst of flames to escape him. However, even in his current state of mind numbing pain, Ace still had enough sense to direct the angry, flickering flames away from his two most precious people, who he could still feel standing a short distance away.

They hadn't moved and he honestly hadn't expected them too. They were both as stubborn as each other and the pair of them combined easily became an unmovable force as they stood flanking him protectively.

The silence that had fallen over them was almost as suffocating as the heat rolling off of Ace's body. Ace had preferred the yelling. He could fight back against the yelling, he thought absently.

"It should've been me! If you hadn't saved me, none of this would've happened!"

"You're right. It'd be a hell of a lot of worse. You'd have been sentenced to execution, Luffy and I would've tried rescuing you and someone would've been killed!"

Ace shuddered as Sabo's words echoed around his head, fresh tears dripping down his face.

"Ace! Listen to me! Whitebeard's last order was for his crew to retreat! He gave his life so they could escape and if you chase after Blackbeard now that will have all been in vain."

Many people – primarily his brothers - had done some stupid things over the years that had made him angry, but Whitebeard's self-sacrificing actions were by far the worst.

Sabo had managed to wrestle the paper away from him before he could incinerate it and whilst a large part of Ace had rebelled against hearing any more details, he was unbelievably relieved there had only been one casualty and Whitebeard passed away surrounded by his sons. They had refused to leave, only respecting their Captain's order to not interfere. The only one missing from his side had been Ace.

But Ace couldn't regret not being there. He'd chosen to find Luffy rather than meet up with his crew and he would never regret that. He'd made the mistake of not chasing after one of his brothers before and for six long years had thought he'd lost something irreplaceable.

But a part of Ace was screaming at Whitebeard for not allowing anyone to help. He couldn't understand how Marco or anyone else had managed to refrain from stepping in. The larger part was in complete awe of the man he proudly called Pops. He had never asked for more of his crew than he was willing to give himself and it was the man's unwillingness to send those he took under his flag to an early grave that had led to his final order.

It hadn't made acceptance of the facts any easier to bear however, and the brunt of his anger had been felt by the jungle forest, one large swathe of it now only blackened ashes.

A cool sea breeze snatched at the young man, causing his tense and aching body to tremble violently. The unexpected motion finally broke the will power that was keeping him standing. With a strangled sob, his knees collapsed beneath him.

He never hit the ground…

Two pairs of hands latched onto their brother and gently eased him down. Any other day, Ace would've been rather embarrassed to find himself practically sitting in Sabo's lap but as it was he couldn't bring himself to care. Instead, he could only burrow deeper into the welcoming embrace, resting his throbbing head in the hollow of his brother's throat. A second pair of skinny arms moved to wrap tightly around his middle as a warm body curled itself into his side.

As if from a great distance, Ace could vaguely make out his name being whispered like a mantra, Luffy's soft and familiar voice a soothing balm to his broken heart. The rubbery arms tightened unconsciously and Ace had to wonder whether Luffy believed if he kept calling for him it would be enough to keep his brother with them.

Sabo was silent. He offered no condolences or reassurances. There was nothing that could be said to make it better. Rather, his strong arms promised only shelter and an anchor to ground him.

Ace squeezed his eyes shut tight as he slowly moved to grasp his brothers in return, fingers tangling in red and blue.

"Why won't you just let me go?"

"…Because you're our brother."

xxx

Luffy ran a soft hand through dark locks, mindful not to wake his fitfully sleeping brother. It had taken some gentle coaxing from Sabo to encourage Ace to return to their makeshift camp and he had passed out almost as soon as they'd sat him down, exhaustion finally catching up to him.

In their absence, Koala had sent several more reports, which the blond was currently pouring over, each one detailing further attacks on islands under the protection of Whitebeard's flag. News of the Yonko's death had travelled swiftly and the world was in uproar. Pirates from all over the Grand Line were setting sail for the New World after word had gotten out of Whitebeard's declaration of the One Piece's existence.

A soft rustle of paper captured Luffy's attention and he watched with mild interest as a bird swooped down and dropped yet another report onto Sabo's growing pile.

Sabo frowned in displeasure as he reached for it.

"Aren't people going to notice if there's so many delivery birds landing on this island?" Luffy asked curiously.

Sabo shook his head as he began reading. "No one will care right now," he muttered before groaning lightly.

Luffy cocked his head. "What?"

Sabo handed over the report, careful not to jostle Ace as he slept between them.

"They've finally connected the dots between Gol D. Roger and Ace," Sabo explained, as Luffy read. "They're proclaiming Whitebeard was trying to make Ace the next Pirate King."

"I'm gonna be Pirate King," Luffy declared unnecessarily as he returned to petting his brother's hair, report being thrown aside in disinterest.

"We've never doubted that for a second," Sabo assured him.

Luffy returned his grin for a moment before his face fell. Dark eyes were tinged with sorrow as he met his brother's gaze.

"Is Ace gonna be okay?" he asked softly, concerned for his brother's future now everyone knew whose child he was.

Sabo smiled before carefully rearranging his black coat which he'd thrown protectively over Ace. Their brother certainly didn't need it for warmth but it seemed to offer him some comfort seeing as how he'd curled himself up under it.

"Yes," Sabo said firmly. "He may not think so right now, but he's not alone. He has us and his crew. He'll be fine."

xxx

Subdued wasn't a word often associated with Fire Fist Ace but it was the only word that aptly fit him in the days following Whitebeard's demise. He spent most of his time sleeping, only rousing when Sabo set Luffy on him to make him eat.

Ace wasn't above admitting his brothers were his lifeline in the days that followed. One or both were always within arm's reach, helping hands and soothing voices overpowering the endless darkness that threatened to overwhelm him.

So it was a surprise to Ace for him awaken on the fifth day and discover both his brothers were currently absent from camp. Unconcerned, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the bright blue sky, fluffy clouds drifting by lazily.

One even looked like Whitebeard's mustache, a thought that made Ace's chest ache but he was quickly able to damp down the bitter sadness. He refused to succumb to it, he vowed, finally heaving himself upright.

His hand knocked into a precariously stacked pile of papers that wobbled for a single second before tipping over. He quickly gathered them up again, hoping they weren't in any particular order when an island's name caught his eye. He quickly snatched it up.

Annoyance rather than anger filled him as he read. It seemed the world apparently thought now Whitebeard was dead his former territories were now free reign for anyone to pillage.

Ace shook his head as he stacked the report back into the pile. He had no doubt that as soon as Marco was able to regroup, the Whitebeard Pirates would resurface and show the world they weren't to be trifled with. And Ace would be right there with them. He refused to allow the people that his father had offered sanctuary and protection to fall with their Captain. It would've been the last thing Whitebeard wanted and quite frankly, he couldn't wallow forever. If Marco could see him now, he'd kick his arse into shape before you could say 'Moby Dick'.

"Ah, you're awake." Ace looked up as a figure emerged from the jungle. Silvers Rayleigh offered him a pleasant smile as he dropped onto a log beside him. "How are you feeling?"

Ace managed a noncommittal shrug. "Still foolishly hoping this is all a bad dream and Pops will come back like Sabo did four years ago, but I don't think I'm that lucky," he admitted ruefully.

Rayleigh smiled wistfully. "Few ever are," he said softly.

Ace studied the man thoughtfully as, for the first time, he considered how many loved ones the old pirate must have lost over the years.

Rayleigh carefully removed his glasses and began polishing them. "Have you thought about what you want to do next?"

Ace nodded. "I'm going to go back to the Moby Dick. Marco'll need all the help he can get to deal with all that," he said, waving a hand at his brother's reports.

"I imagine so," Rayleigh agreed. "I believe Sabo's friend, Koala, is currently on route to collect him. Apparently their presence has been requested by Dragon."

Ace nodded, pleased. As much as he wanted to spend more time with Luffy as planned, there were more pressing matters to be dealt with. "Where are Sabo and Luffy, anyway?" he asked. They certainly wouldn't have gone far, but Luffy wasn't exactly the quietest person and Ace had yet to hear a peep out of him.

Rayleigh grinned. "Luffy requested Sabo show him how to imbue an object with Haki after your brother gave a demonstration," he said with amusement. "It's very much a case of Luffy trying to run before he can walk but he was most insistent. He's been working very hard the last few days. I wouldn't be surprised if he mastered it all before our time here is up," the old man admitted.

Ace grinned, pride for his little brother welling up. "That's Luffy for ya. Always doing the impossible. Although, if he could do it with a little more thought to his own safety, his big brothers would greatly appreciate it," he added as an afterthought.

Rayleigh chuckled. "They're very lucky, you know," he said, "to have you as a brother."

Ace blinked at the man in surprise before a soft smile spread across his face, chasing away the final hints of despair in his eyes. He shook his head slowly. "I'm the lucky one," he corrected. He didn't want to image his life without Sabo's steadfast presence or Luffy's smile. His world would be a much darker place without them.

A short while later, Ace ambled through the jungle towards the clearing Rayleigh had directed him to with a knowing smile. He grinned as Luffy's indignant squawks and Sabo's light chuckles finally reached his ears. He paused at the edge of the clearing, watching with amusement as Luffy crewed up his face in concentration, tongue poking out the side of his mouth and Sabo's lead pipe clenched tightly in his hands.

Sabo caught sight of him and winked at him over Luffy's head as he once again tried to explain to their little brother he was jumping ahead a little in his training. Luffy, of course, was having none of it.

Ace smiled and rolled his eyes even as he settled back to watch. Yes, he thought, he was the lucky one.

Thank you for loving me.

XXX

I'm a little sad this is over actually, writing this was so much fun!

Thank you for everyone who stuck with me through this, your reviews were much appreciated and I hope the conclusion satisfied you! This isn't the end of the little 'verse, however, as I have an alarmingly long list of one shots to add to it. Expect to see the first of them post summer!

I shan't be gone long however, expect to see me again very shortly when I hope you'll check out my new fics.