:note:

I AM SORRY. It's been 11 months since I last updated this, so I can understand if people have lost interest in this story. But I haven't!

I would go into all the details about why it took so long to get this chapter out, but lets just settle with: I've had a busy 11 months.

(P.S: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BOTH MY OLDER SISTER AND LUFFY.)

Chapter 5

"Ace?" Letting the word fall out of his mouth without any thought, the raven-haired teen stared; his pupils growing by the second.

The man he'd expected to be the so-called Ace nodded swiftly, his eyes narrowing in concern. "What is it Luffy? Are you hurt, can you walk?"

Repeating that said-question in his mind, Luffy blinked; his thoughts trying to catch up to what his eyes were seeing.

Wasn't he just on his (other) ship? He was pretty sure he was having a conversation with Robin a second ago, but to his dismay; no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find the archeologist anywhere.

Swallowing harshly, the straw-hat teen tried to calm himself down. He could feel his heart begin to race, the realization that he'd 'travelled' somewhere once again.

And that somewhere happened to be in the middle of the battlefield.

Shaking his head, he ignored the concerned looks and shouts that were penetrating towards him as he looked back up to the man who was named Ace; a man that others said was his brother.

Also, to his surprise- a man who was supposed to be dead.

Feeling something grip his shoulder, Luffy blinked once more; though this time reacting to what was around him. "Luffy!" The man shouted, ignoring the explosions which were happening only feet behind him.

"Eh?" The teen muttered out, somehow coming out of the trance he'd been in.

But before 'Ace' could respond, another man came between the two; his eyes wild and body shaking. "We need to get you two out of here, it won't be long before the Marines catch up to us!"

Marines?

With Ace's eyes widening slightly in agreement, the freckled-man nodded swiftly. Looking back to Luffy, he motioned for them to start running again to which Luffy gulped to.

It was one of the first things he had realised when he 'came' here.

He was in immense pain.

Whatever he had previously been doing was obviously taking it's toll on his body as he struggled to take the first step towards where everyone was running.

Catching this, his 'brother' sent him a look of guilt. Bending down in front of him, the freckled-man showed his back to the teen; peeking over his shoulder as he called out to Luffy. "Come on, I'll carry you."

With his eyebrow raising slightly, Luffy looked down in thought for a split second before nodding; ringing his arms around his 'brother's' shoulders as the freckled-man grinned at the sight. "Let's get out of here, Lu."

As the man began to run, Luffy smiled slightly; instantly concluding that he trusted the man others called his brother.

Speaking of others, where were his crew?

Turning his head both ways, the teen drew a frown on his lips. He didn't exactly know who he was looking for, whether it be the Big Blue Man, Law, the Zoro with one eye or just someone he recognised.

But there was no-one who caught his eye, just the sights of plenty of people fighting around them. The sight wasn't pretty, though, as he lay on this man (he-had-just-met) back; slowly calming down.

It just so happened then, that a previous conversation with Law came to his mind.

/ "You don't remember?" The man asked bluntly, though it made Luffy un-sure of what he was actually asking.

"Remember what?"

Sighing once more, the man leaned against a nearby tree; his hat slowly slipping down his face. "The war Straw-hat- what else would I be talking about." /

"So this was the war that Law guy was going on about." Luffy muttered out loud to himself, ignoring the confused mumble from his 'brother' below.

Peeking down to his chest, the straw-hatted teen raised an eyebrow. He was wearing different clothing for one- a similar outfit to what he was wearing before, this time just yellow. Though that wasn't the thing that caught his attention.

Pulling his vest down slightly, Luffy narrowed his eyes. "Weird." He mumbled, blinking at the sight of a bare chest.

"What is?" Ace muttered back, surprising Luffy out of his thought.

Was I speaking out loud? The teen thought to himself, before remembering the man's question. "My scar is missing." He stated truthfully, as he found no reason to lie to the other.

"Scar?" The freckled-man breathed out, dodging a navy looking?- guy who was swinging his sword towards the two. "You mean the one under your eye?"

Blinking, Luffy tilted his head slightly; oblivious to the events happening around him. "There's a scar under my eye?"

Now that he thought about it, Luffy had never actually seen himself.

How could he not remember what he even looked like? The thought escaped the teen.

Choking out a small laugh- one that was not filled with much amusement, Ace peeked over his shoulder breifly before shaking his own head. "Just how many times have you been hit on the head in the last hour?"

Letting the question pass him by, the teen slowly leaned on the man's neck; a frown forming on his lips.

/ "Witnessing my brother's death?" - "Your brother died in a war you escaped." /

Looking up to stare at the back of the man's head, Luffy swallowed harshly.

Clenching his fists together slightly, the teen bit his lip; his face filled with sadness. He didn't want this guy to die. His thoughts were as simple and clear as that. Despite the fact he didn't know anything about the man other than that he was his 'brother' and that he was going to die; the very thought of him doing nothing about it didn't sit well with him.

But what was he meant to do exactly? All the other times he'd told others about his situation he was called insane and tied to an operating table.

And, as he looked at the area he was in- he figured it didn't look like the right time to explain to his 'brother' he had amnesia and a troubling habit of travelling to different places at any given moment.

Letting a deep sigh escape his mouth, the teen shook his head. "All this thinking is making me tired."

Hearing another confused mumble from Ace, Luffy nodded to himself; concluding he should just come clean and tell the man everything he knows. But before the teen had a chance, someone from behind screamed out to them; terror in their tone.

"LOOK OUT!"

Breifly glancing behind him, Luffy was able to make out an object flying towards them as his eyes widened considerably. "Ace-" He muttered, before the said objected exploded into the ground beside them.

Flying off his 'brother's' back, the teen yelled out; instantly reminded of all the injuries he'd sustained. Groaning in pain, Luffy gritted his teeth; wincing at the sight of blood dripping out of his mouth.

Uh oh. That can't be good.

Still laying on the floor, the teen could just about muster the sight of a reasonably recognisable figure run towards him. But the biggest give away was the colour of his skin.

"Big Blue Man?" Luffy mumbled out, peeking one eye open as a smile formed on his lips.

"Luffy-san! Are you okay?!" The Big Blue Man (wasn't his name Jimbei?) called out, his eyes wild.

Nodding, the teen winced once more, though was able to grudgingly make his way off the floor and onto his feet. "Mm. I'm fine." He lied, throwing the man the biggest grin he could muster at that point.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Jimbei nodded slowly; his eyes easily telling the teen he didn't believe him. "Very well. We should get going again." He stated, turning his back to the teen as he went to run once more.

Blinking, Luffy instantly dropped his grin. Turning around, the teen's eyes searched the battleground; his eyes widening slightly. "Wait!" He called out, halting Jimbei in his steps. "Where's Ace?"

Tilting his head slightly, Jimbei furrowed his eyebrows once more; his own eyes searching the area for a sign of the freckled-man. "Damn, it. I can't see him anywhere."

Instantly not liking the sound of that, Luffy began to slighlty panic; before a chilling yet familiar pain struck his head.

Kneeling over in pain, the teen ignored the shouts of Jimbei behind him as he gripped his head; yelling at the top of his voice. "N-no. Not again, stop it!"

"Luffy-san!" Another shout was yelled towards him, to which Luffy only guessed was Jimbei again.

He was scared to open his eyes. He didn't want to be in another place. He had to find Ace, he had to make sure Big Blue Man was safe, he had to find his crew!

As another strike of pain hit his head, Luffy fell to his knees; ignoring the blood that was now trickling from his nose.

Before Luffy had a chance to finish his thoughts, there was a flash of white; seemingly bringing the teen to a hault, silence surrounding him.

He heard them. There were cries; cries for help. But where?

Looking everywhere around him, the teen was able to make out another person beside him who looked vaguely familiar to himself.

His eyes widening, Luffy stared at the person as he continued to clutch his head; his pupils shaking in confusion. Glancing around, he found he was in a different place, but this time-

Was this a memory?

As the thought crossed his mind, he saw how the person fell onto the floor; reaching out towards a piece of paper that was fluttering on the ground in front of him.

With his mind clearing ever so slightly, the teen quickly concluded that the person was in fact him as he spotted the scar under his eye. "How?" He mumbled out as he slowly let his hands fall beside him. "How am I-" Quickly shaking his head, the teen shook all his thoughts away; concluding that this was just another weird thing that was happening to him.

After all, weird was becoming a common thing for him.

Watching intensely as other him reached out for the piece of paper, the teen couldn't help but hear a vague shout for him; the caller's voice filled with fear.

"LUFFY!"

And then it happened, within a space of a second.

The first thing he caught was for other him to slowly look up in realisation as a man with a glowing fist appeared before him. The said fist was dripping, oozing with a thick magma liquid as it aimed it's way towards other him; an attack that was meant to kill. Then, he saw another figure come between them, instantly colliding with the fist as a horrifying ripping sound echoed it's way into the now silent battlefield.

With his mouth slowly opening in shock, Luffy watched as his eyes focused on the figure; his stomach dropping. "N-no." He muttered out, disbelief in his tone.

He recognised the face instantly- Hell! He'd just been on the person's back not minutes ago.

It was the face of his 'brother', slowly spitting out blood over his other self. Instantly feeling sick, Luffy looked down; gritting his teeth.

"Stop."

He didn't want to see this.

His other self looked up at the freckled-man in horror, his facial expressions frozen. "A-Ace."

"S-stop."

He didn't want to remember any of this.

Hearing the man dropping down from the magma fist and onto the ground, all Luffy could focus on was the scuffling of his other self who was now supporting his brother. "Ace!"

"Stop this." Luffy muttered once more, covering his eyes.

He wanted to go back to his ship, to be with his crew and let them tell him everything was alright.

But where were they now? Had they been hurt?- but that was impossible! If so, that didn't make any sense.

He was sure Law was right when he said the crew he'd met were older, and that was only proven further when he met them not even an hour ago.

And how was he even sure they were his crew? He didn't know them, he didn't even know the man who was currently kneeling in front of him; slowly dying from his injuries.

Who even am I? The teen thought, his nails gritting into his forehead. Everything was confusing, too confusing for the teen the handle.

Hearing the choked sobs of his other self, Luffy lowered his hand, bringing his eyes back to the scene of his brother muttering out what he could only call his last words.

"Thankyou, for loving me."

Staring, Luffy narrowed his eyes; bringing his hands down completely from his now bleeding forehead.

He didn't want the guy to die, whether he remembered him or not.

That much was obvious.

He wanted to see his crew again, even if they were lying to him. He wanted to get out of here now, he'd seen enough.

Finally, Ace began to close his eyes, slipping from his other self's shoulder as he made his way towards the floor.

Clutching his chest, Luffy shook his head; his eyes beginning to shadow over. "S-" Breathing heavily, the teen gritted his teeth for the last time as he took in a deep breath; looking up to the sky determinedly. "STOP IT!"

Silence.

"L-s-n."

Hearing eveything go silent around him, Luffy focused his eyes on to the sky above him, instantly noting it was vaguely different.

"Luf- Sa."

Wincing his eyes, the teen tilted his head down as his eyes met a familiar face.

"Luffy-san!"

Blinking, Luffy once again found himself in front of Jimbei; though now he was kneeling on the floor, his hands shaking as adrenaline was peeked throughout his body. Making his way over to the teen, the Big Blue Man shook Luffy's shoulders; his face contorted with worry.

"Luffy-san! Can you hear me, are you okay?!"

Re-catching his breathes, Luffy swallowed harshly. "A memory." He whispered, his face filled with confusion.

"That was just a... memory." He repeated to himself, unsure of his own words.

"What are you going on about? We need to get out of he-" Jimbei started, though was cut off by the teen suddenly getting to his feet.

"Ace?!" Yelling at the top of his voice, Luffy pushed past Jimbei as his pupils searched the battleground; looking for a semi-familiar face of his 'brother'.

Stumbling forward through the crowds, the teen became shaken; feeling lost through the many battles which were surrounding him. Feeling an arm grabbing the scruff of his shirt, the teen yelped as he came face to face with one of the mean-looking navy people who'd tried to cut him and Ace beforehand.

"Die here, Strawhat!" The furious man screamed out as he took ahold of Luffy's neck and began to smash it into the ground, much to the teen's dismay.

Groaning, Luffy twitched; his thoughts racing as he turned to look the attacker, his eyes narrowing. Jumping up from the floor with as much determination as he could muster, the teen threw his own punch at the furious man.

Blinking, Luffy's eyes widened as the man flew back; disappearing into the crowds which were behind them.

"Woah!" He exclaimed, looking at his fist with a blank yet surprised look. "Did anyone else see that? The guy just 'Psssssh," The teen laughed, throwing his hands into the air. "-into the distance! Who knew I could do that." Proudly speaking to no-one in perticular, the teen continued his way through the crowd.

Calling out for his 'brother' a couple more times, the teen halted in his steps; a certain face peeking up in the distance. With his eyes widening, Luffy began to pick up his steps again as a huge grin plastered to his lips. "Found you!"

Seeing the freckled-man himself was currently in a fight, the teen smirked; once again pulling his arm back and throwing it forward. Though this time-

"Eh?" Luffy muttered to himself, all his facial expression drawing into a blank.

-his arm began to stretch forward.

Blinking, the teen didn't even react as his fist missed his target and instead hit Ace; flinging the very surprised freckled-man into the wall beside them.

The pirates around him instantly halted and stared at the teen with comically wide eyes, including the target, their mouth slightly agape with confusion. Though the teen seemed to be most confused out of all of them, as his arm retracted back to it's normal state.

Pushing himself up from the debris, Ace shook his head before quickly regaining his senses; his eyes instantly darting towards Luffy.

"Luffy, what the hell?!"

Not taking any notice of the freckled-man, Luffy continued to stare at his arm before his mouth dropped to the floor.

"M-my arm." He stuttered, earning a confused glare from his 'brother'. "IT DID SOMETHING WEIRD!"

Blinking himself, Ace blankly stared at the teen. "Yeah. It hit me."

"N-no, not that." The teen started once more, his eyes darting between Ace and his 'mysterious' arm. "I-it," Flinging his arms out dramatically, the teen looked up at the freckled-man with startled eyes. "-grew! Like it was my arm one second-" Ignoring the worried glances his 'brother' was throwing him, Luffy continued on. "-and then it was like this long elastic thingy!"

Silence.

Staring at the teen like he'd just grown three heads, Ace blinked; ignoring the confused murmurs coming from the crowd which was slowly surrounding them. Seeing the scared look in the younger's eyes, Ace took a small step towards him. "O-oi. Luffy, you feeling alright?"

"No! My arm just grew!" The teen exclaimed, confused to why no-one else thought it was weird.

"...And?" Ace questioned, his eyebrows raising.

"And!? Arms aren't meant to do that!"

Shaking his head in disbelief, the freckled-man sighed as he slowly made his way over to Luffy; his eyes narrowing with guilt. "Someone must have knocked you on the head real hard, Lu." He muttered mostly to himself, before staring at the teen once more.

"Let's get out of here quickly, before you start acting more nuts." He stated, throwing Luffy a forced smile.

"...I'm not nuts. You are." Luffy threw back, though his tone was questioning itself.

Letting out a small laugh, the freckled man nodded as he started to run towards a ship?; waving away the statement. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get out of here."

"Mm!" Nodding, the teen began following Ace, wanting to get out of the battlefield as quickly as he could.

After all, if they left- that magma man wouldn't attack them, would he?

Suddenly cursing at the fact he didn't have more memories to rely on, the rubber-teen thought back to the only memory he had; his lips forming a scowl. He was pretty sure the fatal attack happened in the battlefield, so he was more than happy to tag onto his 'brother's' plan of running towards the ship.

Letting a small smile stretch across his lips, the teen shook his head; his eyes directly staring at his brother's back.

Everything was going to fine- he was sure of it.

He was going to make sure Ace stayed well-away from the magma-man and any threat that was had the same goal in mind, which he was finding out was a vast majority of the people in the battlefield, for some reason.

Then he was going to find his crew and let them sort out all the confusion. After all, they seemed smart enough.

That's right. Everything was going to be fine.

Though just as he was catching up with his brother, a hand grabbed his arm from behind; bringing him to a halt.

"Where the hell are you going?"

Looking back at the vaguely familiar voice, Luffy's eyes widened; his stomach dropping instantly.

"N-Nami?" He questioned in disbelief, before frantically looking forward again towards Ace.

However, instead of meeting the sight of his running brother, the teen found himself staring at an ocean.

"N-no." He muttered, letting go of Nami's hand as he took in his surroundings.

"Not again, I- was. I-I just-" The teen stuttered, falling down onto wooden floorboards in shock.

"Oi, what's wrong with him now?" Another familiar voice sounded out, his long-nose causing Luffy's eyes to widen.

Hearing a small chuckle, the teen slowly turned round to stare at the familiar sight of two-eyed Zoro; his breaths becoming shorter. "I wouldn't be surprised if that sea-witch hit him too hard."

The teen watched as the girl yelled in surprise, turning around towards as she raised her fist in the air. "I didn't hit him! I just grabbed him, that's all."

Snorting, the two-eyed Zoro shook his head. "Yeah right."

"Don't dare question Nami-swan!" Quickly indentifying the voice as Sanji's, Luffy gulped; realising what had happened to him again. Choking out his words, Luffy looked down; unconsciously clenching his fists.

"N-no. Not yet. I-i wasn't meant to come back just ye-" He whispered out, though his words were ignored by the others.

Looking over his side, two-eyed Zoro smirked; earning a glare from the blonde. "Or what, curly-brows?"

"You just want me to come over there and kick your ass," Sanji responded as he placed the tray of drinks-? on the table beside him; his tone pissed off. "-don't you?"

Continuing to have a smirk plastered on his face, two-eyed Zoro snorted once more as he shrugged at the question. "I don't want anything. Other than not to be on a ship with an idiot like you."

That seemingly being the last straw for Sanji, Luffy breifly watched the two begin to exchange in a fight; his thoughts still catching up on the current things his eyes were seeing. Parting his lips, the teen went to call out to someone- say something.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't find the words.

Just as he was about to give up on saying anything, an unfamiliar voice whispered next to him, startling him from his thoughts. "Are you okay, Luffy? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Blinking, the teen glanced to the woman beside him; his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Don't bother trying to calm him down, Vivi. He's been running about all morning." Hearing Nami's voice beside him, Luffy continued to stare at the woman in front of him.

Vivi? Who's Vivi?

He quickly questioned in his mind as the woman simply smiled towards him.

Not bothering to reply to the woman, Luffy instantly thought back to where he was before. Feeling panic rising in him, the teen shook his head as he flung himself down to the floor; glancing towards the animal which decorated the ship's heading.

He'd enough of thinking, enough of worrying- he couldn't do anything about it.

The teen had found himself back aboard the sheep ship with his brother nowhere to be found.

Taking in a deep breath, Luffy sighed; feeling his eyes drooping in tiredness.

"Damn it."

In comes Vivi!

We got our first memory! /wooooooo :D

And it was Ace dying! /boooooo D:

PEACE OUT EVERYONE. LOVE YA ALL. /dramatically salutes/

-KayaaHiko