Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Eiichiro Oda does.

Just a random idea floating around my head that I decided to write down. Time-traveling in an odd way :P

The world around him blinked off, then on, then he was standing on the white sand, facing a bright blue horizon in perfect silence.

But everything around him was far from perfect.

Behind him were seven freshly covered grave.

"Captain."

He turned ever so slowly to look at his bandaged swords man standing twenty feet away, arms crossed, lips flat and gaze steady.

"Zoro." He shifted his gaze back towards the horizon, eyes dull. "We made it. We fulfilled our dreams."

The world's greatest swords man remained silent for a moment. "Do you regret it, Captain?"

Silence.

"Gol D. Roger buried all the treasures and riches he had in this Island, it only seems fitting that the new Pirate King buried his most precious treasures here as well. They would have liked it here, don't you think so Zoro?"

Zoro looked at him for several seconds, then shifted his eyes to the horizon. "Yes, Captain. They would have liked it."

Luffy gripped his straw-hat tightly in his hands. "Shanks...Ace, I did it. I kept my promise." Silent tears dripped down his face.

He placed the hat on top of the short pole on which the Straw hat flag proudly swayed with the wind.

"Come Zoro, it's getting late. We leave in the morning." Luffy walked away from the grave site and

walked inland towards a cave where they would sleep for the night.

"Yes Captain." Zoro followed a step behind and cast one last glance at the resting place of his crewmates and bowed his head. Farewell. My friends..my family.

Zoro sat with his back against the wall at the entrance of the cave and his swords at his side, listening to the soft rhythm of his captain's heart beats. He checked their surrounding one last time and then he too welcomed sleep.

Luffy dreamed.

He dreamed of the time when he was with his brothers, a time when they were care-free and careless. A time when all the mattered to them was getting strong, eating and dreaming about becoming pirates. When Ace was still alive.

That dream shattered when his mind exploded with black light that seared his nerves. He jerked up and opened his mouth in a silent scream. He wasn't sure if the pain came from the darkness itself or from his sudden movement. The darkness was in front of him, striding forward from a surreal world, reaching for him.

A groan met his ears and he jerked towards the sound.

Zoro.

Then the pain was gone. And the darkness had vanished.

Luffy wanted it all to be gone, wanted to wake up -if this was a dream-, maybe even wanted to die, but darkness still fogged the corners of his vision. He could hear his breathing, long and heavy, echoing in the cave.

"Pirate King."

Luffy froze at the sound and looked behind him. A dim light shone further into the cave.

"Come."

He stood up and hesitated, but the light was too alluring. He moved towards it, his feet light and steady.

"Luffy." A child's voice whispered ahead of him.

"Hello?"

The voice giggled.

Luffy smiled. He ran faster and further into the cave and stopped in front of a lake. "Hello?"

"Luffy, up here."

He snapped his head up and saw that the lake further in was brighter.

"Come up here, Luffy."

He ran across the rocks that littered the lake, desperate to be with the one whose voice spoke. He knew the sound. He knew this voice.

"Luffy."

"Ace?" He began to cry spontaneously. "ACE!" He was weeping and laughing at once, as if his mind had forgotten how to separate the emotions that caused each.

In his desperate attempt to reach the voice he miscalculated his step and fell into the shallow end of the lake. "Ace! Ace! WAIT!" he cried.

"I'm right here, Luffy. Still a crybaby I see."

He jumped out of the lake and searched the area for the boy. There in front of the lake ahead of him was a small boy, with his back to Luffy, staring over the edge.

He was young, with black hair and tanned skin, standing less than five feet tall. He turned and grinned at him. Luffy's heart forgot how to pump in that moment. It was Ace as he remembered him at twelve.

He walked up and approached the boy's side. He wanted to speak but he was having difficulty thinking clearly. If this was a dream, then he doesn't want to wake up. And then Luffy saw the tears that darkened the boy's cheeks and he felt blood drain from his face.

Luffy sank to one knee, smothered by a great sadness. He didn't know why little Ace was crying, but the sight of it flogged his mind.

"Luffy, you promised! YOU PROMISED!"

Luffy you promised. Luffy knew what he meant. A promise to live a life without regrets.

Do you regret it Captain? Zoro asked that. And yes, sometimes he did.

Then Ace moved forward and dove into the bright water.

Luffy took a step forward and merely stared at the disappearing form of his brother.

"Ace! Aceeeee!." He kicked off his sandals and started to tread in the deep water. He felt himself getting weak but he didn't care. Luffy took a deep breath and plunged under.

Luffy stroked with his arms and kicked, swimming quickly so he wouldn't change his mind. Deeper, deeper. Gradually the water became warm. It occurred to him that the pool could be fed by an underground river.

If he swam deep enough he might be sucked in.

Beneath the surface of the water was dark.

He swam deeper. Eyes searching for a sign of his brother.

His lungs started to burn.

Luffy let himself float for a moment, eyes closed, adrenaline racing and mind reeling. Then he was sinking again. This was a mistake. A very bad idea.

He couldn't make himself swallow water. He couldn't! Even if he tried his body would rebel. His mind rebelled at the mere thought.

And then he was out of air.

On instinct he exhaled and then inhaled.

The mouthful of water made him sputter. Sparks filled his vision and he clutched his throat, kicking toward what he thought was the surface then realized wasn't.

Luffy sucked in another breath to scream. Choking on water, he now knew he'd never make it. This cursed lake was determined to have him and would take him straight into its gullet.

Death had come. So be it. At least he got to see Ace one last time.

He breathed out, pursed his lips and glared into the dark.

Then opened his mouth and took in a long, gluttonous breath.

Water scraped down his lungs like sharp claws, and yellow and red and blue tinged his sight. He didn't fight it.

Against all urge to struggle, Luffy curled up his rubbery limbs together and took another defiant drag of killing water.

His heart stopped, his lungs no longer cried for air and begged him to relieve them of water. His limbs did not move. He did not blink. He was suspended in the water in a dead man's float.

Someone's screams and yells penetrated the water and he opened his eyes to see the shadow of a hand reaching for him. He smiled.

You came for me.

And all went black.