A/N:

Summary:

The Strawhats plus Law are sent back in time. Hopefully a different take on a time travel story in the One Piece fandom.

Warnings:

Angst this chapter. Will put warnings on the chapters they apply to.

Pairings:

LawLu, Probably ZoSan, not sure about the rest.

Tell me if you find this interesting or not so far. I have most of chapter 2 written so it should be out in a few days. I have no beta so all mistakes are mine. If anyone wants to chat, PM me. I could use some friends who have similar interests seeing as my only current friend doesn't watch anime. Oh well.

On to the Story!

"Yohohoho, yohohoho"

They were dying.

"Yohohoho, yohohoho"

Eleven bodies, bleeding out.

"Binkusu no sake wo todoke ni yuku yo"

So weak, no sound could be made.

"Umikaze kimakase namimakase"

He watched over them.

"Shio no mukou de yuuhi mo sawagu"

Heard the prayers of their hearts.

"Sora nya wa wo kaku tori no uta"

The fates sang.

"Sayonara minato tsumugi no sato yo"

He listened.

"Don to icchou utao funade no uta"

A chance was given.

"Kinpa-ginpa mo shibuki ni kaete"

Time held her breath.

"Oretachya yuku zo umi no kagiri"

They were gone.

Luffy awoke to the sound of crashing waves and the feeling of wind running through his hair. His eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet, taking a fighting stance, expecting to be surrounded by enemies. What he saw instead knocked the air out of his lungs.

He was standing beneath a tree near the edge of a very familiar cliff. The sun beating down was warm upon his skin, the smell of the sea washed over him, carried by the wind. Luffy would always recognize Dawn Island, his first home.

"What the hell?!"

He blinked in shock. That had definitely been him speaking but the voice was different, too high pitched. Looking down, he noticed his hands were smaller than usual and that he was wearing a white t-shirt with an anchor on the front. Luffy hadn't worn t-shirts since Ace had left to become a pirate.

Ace. Even after so long, just the thought of his brother pained him. But that was something that could be thought about later. For now, he had to figure out when he was. He figured, since he was obviously back in his younger body, sometime before he turned fourteen, and on Dawn Island, some mystery time travel thing must have happened.

Which meant that he had a chance to do his adventures over again. And, maybe, seeing as the rest of his crew and Torao were with him before he was sent back, they came back too. Even Luffy knew it might not be true, that he could be on his own, but he couldn't quite stamp down the hope that rose within him. Later, he would need to find some way to see if they had come back with him or not. But for now, Luffy was barely holding himself together.

He had nearly died, his crew and lover with him, in some dark cave on a random island in the New World. The Marines had cornered them just a few islands away from Raftel. The bastards had created hell on earth for Luffy. Sunny was destroyed by a rain of magma and cannonballs. Marines swarmed the island and, no matter how hard the pirates fought, they never stopped coming.

Eventually, a cave was found and barricaded thanks to Franky, but it was too late. They had taken too many hits. All ten of them were slowly bleeding out, Chopper without any supplies to help them.

Luffy had sat, side by side with his Torao, watching as his crew slowly faded away before him and knowing there was nothing he could do to help. They were all dying. And, as the light started to dim from his eyes, he and Torao whispered their love for each other one last time before everything went black and he woke up on Dawn.

He couldn't help the tears that rolled down his cheeks, couldn't help falling to his knees and screaming out his pain. Luffy didn't know what he'd do if they hadn't come back with him. His crew and Torao meant everything to him. After Ace, he had shattered, only for Torao and Jinbei and Rayleigh to piece him back together again. His crew and lover had helped him keep his sanity through everything, and now, with just the thought that they might not have come back with him...

No. No! They had to be back, he wouldn't accept anything less. They had followed him through hell and back, time travel was nothing compared to all that they'd been through together.

'Please, whoever's watching, let them have come back with me.'

With that thought echoing through his mind, Luffy curled into a ball and sobbed his heart out.

That was how Ace found him, hours later.

When Luffy first sensed his brother, he stiffened. He wasn't ready for this. Not for seeing Ace or for the questions that would inevitably be asked of him. But, he was a captain, no matter what time he was in. If he wanted to find his crew, wanted to find Torao, he needed to pull himself together and get moving. So, that's what he did.

Uncurling himself, Luffy turned to look into his brother's worried eyes. Seeing Ace alive and well almost caused him to break down again, but he stayed strong. Knowing what was going to be asked, Luffy gestured for his brother to sit next to him and began his story.

And he told Ace everything.