Marco knocked on the door. "Ace...?"

No response.

He slowly opened the door, peering inside the dark room. There he saw Ace, sitting on the floor against the wall, his face blank as he stared at nothing. His eyes...dead.

The whole ship had heard his crying; they had heard it all- his frustration, his anger, his resentment, his guilt...his grief. They had joined in themselves. Many of their allies had died in the Great War, even their own Father, despite his might. Their family had just been killed. They were all upset. Though Ace was grieving another death to top the list. His brother, Straw Hat Luffy. Dead. Akainu went for his brother, and Ace had tried to move as fast as he could...but...he was already wounded from Akainus previous attack. He had stumbled. Marco closed the door. Ace wasn't going to be very co-operative at the moment; he had suspected as much.

Ace sat on the hard ground, his eyes not really focusing on anything. He felt numb. Instead of the dark room, he saw a boy. The boy's smile was shadowed by the straw hat that was too big for him, but the light reflecting from the water behind him radiated his entire being.

It was the same boy who ran through chaos to save him- fists of magma had rained on him, the sea had parted and froze, and beams of light had pierced through him as bullets and canons had aimed for his life, murderous men following. Injured and nearly dead, but he still ran and ran and ran, until he reached his brother.

His lips quivered. He was going to protect this boy. He promised himself he would, that he would never lose someone dear to him again.

The boy, magical and unique, who had cried and smiled all through their memories, laid on the hard cracked ground unmoving. Blood pooled from his chest, sinking his entire being.

Ace had no more tears to cry. At first, he had been quiet from the shock. And then he yelled. He screamed. He broke things and he ripped at what he could, until there was nothing left in the room to break. Then he cried. He always told Luffy not to cry, but he couldn't stop the tears from coming. All he could see was the body of a brother that he had cherished so much.

Luffy was dead.

Luffy died.

Luffy...Luffy wasn't coming back. He wasn't going to laugh or cry, he wasn't going to yell out for food or talk in his sleep.

He wasn't going to be that boy anymore. The one he spent his life with.

Despite all this running through his head, Ace didn't move. His eyes refused to water, his throat was too sore, his hands bloody.

"Ace."

Ace looked up. He was there. That boy. That boy he used to know. He was older, he looked alive. "Ace. Stop it." He said. His eyesbrows were furrowed, his hands were on his hips and he looked the same. Ace couldn't decide if he wanted to smile or cry. "...Lu...Luffy?" Luffy didn't say anything. "Luffy, are you...are you alive? " He stopped. Ace knew he wasn't alive, he wasn't the type to fool himself.

"Ace, get up." Luffy clenched his fist. "This isn't like you. Get up."

Ace looked down, hiding his face under the bangs of his hair. "Luffy...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Luffy, I'm, I'm so sorry. You-"

"ACE!"

Ace's head shot up, and he saw the same boy, angry.

Luffy took a big breath and then yelled; "You didn't lose everything! You still have your Nakama! They're outside of this dark room, waiting for you! So get up!"

For the first time in a while, Aces eyes were huge, lively. He had forgotten his Nakama, his family. He wasn't alone.

Luffys voice quietened, and he smiled, but it didn't reach his sad eyes. "Besides, I promised them I was going to meet my crew at Saboady. My crew are waiting for me. I need someone to tell them... I need someone to tell them that I can't keep my promise. I won't be there. I won't be coming with them anymore. I won't be travelling with them anymore. They need to know that they can go on without me." Suddenly, the boy smiled even greater, and it finally reached his eyes.

"Tell them good luck, I know they can do it. And Ace... good luck, and thank you. I'll be...going on ahead."

Ace reached out for Luffys arm, but he wasn't there anymore. Luffy was gone again. Falling back into his seat on the floor, he smiled. It was a sad smile.

He was going to protect this boy. He promised himself he would.

Except he hadn't.

Getting up, Ace opened the door, and he was instantly blinded by the light that reflected off the water, radiating the bodies of his crew.

It seemed Ace still had more a few more tears he could cry.