What happens when a world breaks? Not its government, its lands, or its people; the world itself. The answer is it begins cracking apart, forming fissures in reality itself, and things fade form existence if they fall into the crack, or even touch them.

The next question: HOW does a world break? For that, you can ask any time traveler. You remove someone important to not only its timeline, but the integrity of the dimension. And by remove, I mean erase from existence, not just kill. There's a near-infinite amount of universes where you can find someone dead from either old age, murder, or a hundred other reasons. So killing the important person or persons just won't do it.

Now for the solution: How do you stop a world from breaking? Well, you have two options. You can either somehow bring that person back, or you can replace them with someone else, and hope they fill the spot right. And that's where I come in.

A/N: Alright, let's get this out of the way before anything else. I've been a horrible person when it comes to sticking with a story for long periods of time. That doesn't mean I'm a bad writer, at least I want to think so. You guys have told me time and time again how much you love my work. But between chronic depression, a full-time job, my own tendency for having multiple projects I wish to do, and my inability to motivate myself some days for any of my projects, I honestly don't have a ton of confidence about this. However, I do feel very strongly about this story, at least as I started writing just for myself and my own desires. With enough work, I got far enough where I think I can share what I've done with all of you. I hope you like this, as I think no one as far as I know has done a self-insert story like this before. And without further ado, welcome to the world of...

One Piece: Broken Locks

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Ability or Technique"

"Author's Notes"

Saga 1: East Blue

Arc 0: Romance Dawn

Chapter 1: Unlock the Door

Alright, lemme start with this: I'm dead. Recently so, and some nut I can't discern aside from a vague human outline brought me here. They say they're a God of Death, and that I can't see them because I couldn't withstand the visage, even as a ghost.

"That's bull, I'm dead, I should totally be able to see what you look like!" I said in a snappy tone. "Even in Greece you could see a God of the Dead in their home terrain, ghost or not!"

"Well, maybe I don't WANT to be seen by you, ever think about that!?" the outline snapped in return to me. "Not all of us Gods are vain and pompous, and you know it!"

"A shy God of Death, that's a new one," I snarked. "I bet you're not even a God of Death, just an assistant."

"SHUT UP OR YOU'RE NOT GETTING REINCARNATED!" the outline yelled in a much more female tone.

'Yep, I struck a nerve.' "Fine, fine, why AM I being reincarnated anyway?" I asked, easing up a bit. "Doesn't that usually take a while or something like that?"

"Well, yes, normally, but you're being called in as a special case," the outline said, pointing a finger at me. "Look, here's the bit: One part of the multiverse is starting to fall apart because a load-bearing person was somehow erased from its history. You just so happen to be compatible with that missing person, so YOU are gonna take their place until either we can get them back or you succeed in their stead. Whichever happens first got it?"

"Okay, so who am I replacing?" I asked as the figure got closer, before placing a faded hand in front of my face.

"Monkey D. Luffy," the figure said as I immediately passed out.

-X-

It's been a year and a half since I had that vision. I thought it was a dream at first, but there was just something in the back of my mind that told me it wasn't a dream. And now, I was Monkey D. Randall, seven years old, born and raised in Foosha Village on Goa, and Grandson of the Hero of the Marines, Monkey D. Garp. I'm also the son of the most Wanted man alive and leader of the Revolutionaries, Monkey D. Dragon, but Grandpa never wants me to say that out loud, for good reason. I swear he named Dragon that cause it sounds cool, which it kinda does. Can you imagine a Marine named Admiral Dragon? That just sounds like a badass coming to get you.

Er, back to my point, the real confirmation for the vision was me knowing some things I wasn't supposed to, like what exactly some of the newspapers said when they talked about wars and such. Believe me, Grandpa was surprised that I was able to read and understand this so quickly. Kept talking about how I was gonna make a smart Marine some day. Man, I didn't realize how annoying he was! And scary too… Luffy was not exaggerating by the training Garp made him, and by this new extension, me do. Who the hell throws a six-year-old into a freaking ravine and expects them to survive!?

But my world changed when Shanks and the Red-Haired Pirates came to town. He immediately took a shine to me, and honestly, he was awesome. He got drunk a lot, but it's really hard to hate him. He's got such a warm personality it's hard for me to see him being a badass, despite knowing very well he could be.

"Come on Shanks, lemme go with you!" I said, begging my new idol. "Give me one good reason I can't go with you!"

"You're an anchor, Randy," Shanks said, pointing out a very good reason. For whatever reason, I was a fantastic swimmer before I died. But now, I couldn't swim my way out of a wet paper bag. "You can't be a sailor if you can't swim, let alone be a pirate."

"That's not the point!" I said, snapping at him. "So what if I can't swim? You guys can just get me out!"

"And what if we're not there?" Shanks said after taking another swig of his mug of ale. "Who's gonna save you if no one's watching?"

"I'll be super careful, honest!" I said, trying my best to at least barter a bit. "Well, what if you train me? Maybe you can just help me learn! My punch is already as strong as a pistol!"

"Randy, we can't stick around and teach a little kid how to fight," Shanks replied. "Here, have a glass of milk." He passed me a glass of milk, courtesy of Makino, and I only looked at him.

"Nice try Shanks, but I know you're just gonna make fun of me for not choosing a man's beverage!" I said, sticking my tongue out and pulling down my eyelid.

"Hey now, you're not gonna waste a drink that Makino got you, are ya?" Shanks said, not missing a beat. "That'd be rude."

"I know that, I'm just beating you to the punch," I said, taking the glass anyway and drinking up.

"Hahaha, that's a good point!" Shanks said, laughing off being "outsmarted". "Look, give it another ten years maybe, and then I'll THINK about taking you out with us."

"Ten years is too long! I could go out on my own by then!" I said, trying to make a point.

"Randy, you're a smart kid," Benn Beckman said, drawing my attention away from Shanks. "Yes, the life of a pirate is one of freedom, but it's also one of danger and hardship. Our captain only has your wellbeing on his mind. He's right, we won't always be able to watch you and save you from falling into the ocean or worse. He's not teasing you because it's funny to him."

"Bullshit, he loves making fun of me!" I snapped at the wise smoker as he blew out a small cloud of smoke.

"Guilty as charged!" Shanks said, laughing. "I love teasing the little anchor!"

"Quit it already!" I grumbled a bit as I turned to Makino and asked for a meal.

-X-

A bit later, the party was dying down and most of the booze had gone as I was still eating. Despite my former normal status, being a D.-bearer meant I had a huge appetite. I had to learn to actually pace myself to not devour five times as much food as I did before.

"Hey Shanks," I asked as I swallowed a bite of some steak.

"Yeah kid?" Shanks asked in return.

"How much longer are you gonna stay at this village?" I asked.

"Let's see… We've been using this town as our base for about a year," Shanks thought aloud, "We'll probably go sailing a few more times, and then we'll head north of here."

"A few more times, huh? I'll have to learn how to swim by then," I said, grinning at Shanks.

"Good luck, kid," said Shanks as he wasn't entirely paying attention to me. "Do what you wanna do."

"Oh right, this is the part where Higuma walks in," I thought as I noticed the open chest beside me. Inside was the Devil Fruit Luffy ate to get his Gomu-Gomu no Mi powers. It looked like a purple melon alright, but the stem looked kind of off to me. I did only get one real look at it like most fans, so maybe it was just seeing it in person. "Alright, do I eat this and basically follow the same path Luffy did, or do I ignore it and try to do it my way?" It didn't take much self-convincing. With Enel, Crocodile, and more on the horizon, I knew I needed to have as many advantages as I could get. So I grabbed it and took a bite, immediately regretting my decision for a moment. The taste was almost unbearable; I felt like I was gargling warm liquid garbage as the flesh of the fruit slid down my throat.

I watched as Higuma complained about not having the ten barrels of booze he wanted and only the bottle Shanks offered him. My jaw dropped as Higuma broke the bottle over Shanks' head, and then he razed the bartop with his sword to try to intimidate Shanks. As he walked out, Makino attended to him before the entire crew burst out laughing at how Higuma had made a joke out of their Captain.

"He's not worth the time," I said, commenting on the scene after I had already polished off the Devil Fruit, much to my displeasure.

"Heh, you're pretty sharp, Randy," Shanks laughed, cleaning up the mess Higuma made. "A blowhard like that isn't worth the booze he just wasted."

"Captain, that Devil Fruit we took from that last battle is gone!" Lucky Roo exclaimed as he held up the chest I found the Devil Fruit in, now empty.

"WHAT!? FIND IT NOW!" Shanks roared as he started frantically searching the area, sending the rest of the crew into a bit of a panic, aside from Benn Beckman.

"Captain, wasn't that chest beside Randy?" he calmly pointed out as Shanks' eyes locked on me.

"Randy," Shanks said very coldly as I felt a very distinct pressure coming from him, his eyes locked on me, "Did you. Eat the fruit. In this chest."

"Y-yes, I'm sorry Shanks!" I apologized frantically. "I didn't mean to take it from you! I thought it was dessert!"

Shanks' expression went from cold and focused to one of concern and compassion. "Randy, do you know what Devil Fruits are?"

"Well, only rumors," I fibbed with a poker face I thought only the Question could pull off, "They're supposed to give amazing powers, but you lose your ability to swim, right?"

"That's right, but you're going to be weak to a lot of other things too," Shanks continued, "And your Devil Fruit was an unknown one. We thought it was the Gum-Gum Fruit, but we checked a guidebook and we saw it was slightly different."

"It was?" I asked, quite confused and scared that I didn't get the Gum-Gum Fruit. "So what does that mean?"

"It means you're going to have to figure out the powers of this yourself," Shanks replied as he smiled at me. "You're a smart kid, so you can do it." It felt weird having Shanks encourage me like that after all the teasing he did. He ruffled my dark brown hair just to spite me though.

-X-

A few days later, I was still trying to figure out exactly what my Devil Fruit did so I could name it at least. As far as I could tell, I didn't eat a Zoan Fruit or a Logia Fruit. I wasn't able to change into an animal or a hybrid of said animal. And I'm pretty sure if I had eaten a Logia fruit, I would have been practically bursting with an element by now. So all that left was Paramecia Fruits, which were random at best. My guess was whatever powers I had were activated by thought, and it was a specific thought.

I was broken out of my thoughts when I heard those mountain bandits again in Makino's tavern.

"Those assholes again?" I commented as I peeked in to see what they were doing. They were getting drunk and bad-mouthing Shanks and his crew, which didn't surprise me. It made me mad, sure, but this was a turning point. Maybe if I could stop Shanks from losing his arm… I know; all the things about Time Travel I'd learned back on Earth said this was a bad idea, but I had to do something. I may be replacing Luffy, but I'm not him. Fate itself said so since I didn't get to eat Gum-Gum Fruit. "Things aren't going to be the same, no matter what I do. If I can, I'm going to try to make things better in the little spots I can."

"Hey, wench! Howza 'bout you an' me get frisky?" I heard Higuma say with a slightly drunken slur.

"Um, thank you, but I'll have to decline," Makino said as she tried to back up behind the counter.

"Decline? Bitch, I am worth ฿8,000,000, and you know it!" Higuma roared as he started to draw his sword.

"That tears it." "Hey, HIGUMA!" I roared myself as I ran inside, causing the drunken bandit to turn away from Makino. "EAT FIST!" Much to everyone's surprise, I had leaped as high as his face and slugged him into a table further way from Makino.

"You little brat!" Higuma growled as he stood up and pushed away one of his followers. "You wanna fight?"

"Sounds good to me!" I returned. "Let's take this outside. I'll fight you one-on-one, unless you don't think you can fight a seven-year-old boy on your own?" Higuma only glowered at me as he realized that I had him. "Thought so."

-X-

I had at least managed to pull Higuma away from the tavern to prevent any further damage. The fight went about as well as I expected. I landed a few good punches on Higuma, but his larger size gave him the advantage. The fact that the spot we were fighting in being blocked off by his men let them do things like trip me up or kick me towards their leader wasn't helping much either.

"Heh, I'll give you this much, you sobered me up quick," Higuma chuckled as he pressed my face into the ground with his foot. "But I think I'll make an example of you." He leveled the tip of his sword to my face, right under my left eye and pressed it a bit into the flesh of my cheek.

"Let the boy go!" the Mayor yelled as he and Makino arrived. "I don't know what Randy did, and I don't want to fight you, but I'm willing to pay." He then started to bow.

"Mayor, don't do it!" I yelled, stopping him mid-bow. "This jackass is beneath you! He insulted Makino as a host and he doesn't deserve anything but an ass-kicking!"

"Randy…" Makino gasped as she covered her mouth.

"Heh, the elder's got the right idea, but you've got a mouth, brat," Higuma commented as he started digging his blade's edge into my flesh. "You've done the unpardonable… you attacked me without warning… you called me names… and you wasted my good time." He punctuated the last part by pushing down and out on the blade, cutting it into my face. I couldn't help but scream as the warm blood trickled down my face and onto the dirt.

"Randy!" The Mayor cried out. "Please, let him go!"

"I was wondering why no one welcomed us at the port…" I heard Shanks say as I saw him appear behind Makino and Woop Slap. "So this is why… and it's the bandits from the other day!"

"Captain…" Makino breathed in relief.

"Hey Randy, what's wrong?" he teased. "Isn't your punch as powerful as a pistol?" He then looked at the roughed-up Higuma and laughed a bit. "On second thought, looks like it is!"

"Pirate… what're you still doing here?" Higuma asked. "Are you gonna clean up the whole town this time?" Shanks ignored him as he kept walking forward. "I suggest you don't get any closer, or I might open fire, you coward."

"Didn't you hear?" a bandit taunted as he leveled a pistol to Shanks' head and cocked it. "Don't come any closer… or I'll blow your head off! Haha!"

"You're putting your life on the line by pointing that gun at me," Shanks answered in a calm voice.

"Huh? What're you on about?" the bandit asked.

"I'm saying it's not safe to point guns," Shanks explained in his calm voice. Lucky Roo moved as fast as a flash and while still eating from his bone-in meat, he shot the bandit in the head.

"He's… he's moving at Soru-speed at least!" I muttered to myself, trying to ignore the bleeding wound on my face.

"Now you've done it, you bastard!" one of the other bandits complained as Shanks' would-be murderer fell to the ground dead. "You're fighting dirty!"

"Dirty?" Benn Beckman asked as he and the rest of the Red-Haired Pirates walked towards the group. "Don't make us laugh. You're not dealing with Saints here."

"We're pirates, and we don't play by the rules!" Shanks declared.

"Shut up!" a bandit ordered. "This is none of your business!"

"Listen well, bandits," Shanks stated, "You can dump food or booze on me… or even spit on me. I can laugh that off, but… GOOD REASON OR NOT, NO ONE MESSES WITH MY FRIENDS!"

"Haha, nice speech," Higuma laughed, "You pirates run away on your little ships, and you think you can stand up to us? KILL THEM!"

"DIE!" the bandits roared as a swarm of them charged at Shanks.

"Captain, let me take care of this," Benn Beckman said as he stepped forward with his rifle. It was pretty amusing to watch Benn use the first bandit's face to douse his cigarette and then club the rest with his rifle. "Don't overestimate yourselves, bandits," Benn said as he lit a fresh cigarette and leveled the rifle's barrel with Higuma's face. "If you wanna fight us, you better get a fleet of Marines to back you up."

"Holy crap…" I uttered as Makino and Woop Slap looked on in awe as well.

"H-hey, wait a minute!" Higuma begged, "The brat started this…"

"Well, that doesn't really matter," Shanks said, "There IS a bounty on your head after all."

Higuma froze for a moment before he reached in his coat and threw that damn smoke bomb to the ground.

"C'mere, brat!" Higuma barked as he grabbed me from under his foot in the chaos.

"Hey, leggo of me, you jackass!" I barked back as Higuma bolted for the shore.

-X-

"Whew, that was a great escape," Higuma congratulated himself, "No one would ever expect a Mountain Bandit to escape to the sea."

"Well, I only used you as a hostage," he said as he turned to me, "But you're useless to me now. I've killed fifty-six people that made me mad. What's one more?"

"Go to hell!" I roared as Higuma lifted his leg back to kick me. As he tried to, I leapt off his leg and towards his face.

"I'm gonna kick your ass so bad your jaw will be locked shut for a month!" I roared as Higuma stumbled back in the boat from my punch, making it rock for a moment. Much to my surprise, he looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't. In my brief realization I might have used my Devil Fruit; he used my distraction to grab my head and throw me out into the sea, looking pleased with himself.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU CALLED SHANKS A COWARD, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE BALLS TO FIGHT THEM!" I yelled at him as I sailed towards the water's surface. As I hit the water, I felt my strength being sapped as I tried desperately to tread water. Higuma looked pleased until a massive eel-like shadow appeared behind him. The last thing I saw on Higuma's face was a look of utter terror, like the kind you feel when you're in a nightmare and can't scream for help.

"No… no… not you!" I gargled as I tried to save myself from drowning. "Someone… help me!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as the Lord of the Coast lunged at me, its fangs bore to devour me. But he never got the chance.

The next thing I knew, I was safely in Shanks' embrace as he bobbed on the water's surface, glaring daggers at the Sea King. "Get lost." The Lord of the Coast flinched at those words and Shanks' glare, and ran for whatever depths it nested in. It was all I could do to try not to cry. "Hey Randy, thanks for helping out Makino. She told me everything." It was then the dam broke and my tears started flooding out, mixing with the blood and seawater that soaked my face. "Hey, what're the tears for? You're a tough kid, remember?"

"But… Shanks…" I bawled, "YOUR ARM! YOU LOST YOUR AAAARRRRMMMM!" All I could do was cry as Shanks patted my head, not even flinching that his left arm had been eaten in exchange for my life.

"It's just an arm, Randy," Shanks said in the comforting tone I heard what felt like so many days ago. "You're alright, and that's all that matters." And that all but cemented why Shanks had turned me down, and how far I needed to go.

-X-

"So… you're going for good this time?" I asked fighting back tears again. It had a few days after Shanks saved me, the cut on my face Higuma gave me had healed and left a wider scar on my face than Luffy's self-inflicted one, with a large triangle shape to its look. Shanks' arm had healed over as well, but I didn't want to look at it. I could barely hold my head up to look at him.

"Yeah, we've stuck around here long enough," Shanks said, not missing a beat. "It's about time we headed out of here. You gonna miss me?"

"Shanks, cut the calm attitude crap," I said as my tears welled up again. "I know… I know you have Haki…"

"Randy?" Shanks asked, confused at what I was saying. "How did…?"

"I KNOW! YOU USED HAOSHOKU HAKI TO STOP THE LORD OF THE COAST!" I yelled in my rage and sadness. "YOU COULD HAVE USED BUSOSHOKU HAKI TO SAVE YOUR ARM AND ME!" As I lifted my head to look at Shanks, I saw his confusion melt to compassion and concern. He could feel what I was feeling, I could just see it. "YOU'RE EVEN SENSING MY FEELINGS WITH KENBUNSHOKU HAKI!"

All I could do was cry. It was my fault he lost his arm again, and in the past few days, it hit me. He could have saved me without losing his arm. And yet he gladly traded it and part of his strength as a swordsman to save me. And I could have stopped it. But I didn't. I couldn't. I hated how weak I was, and all my knowledge of this world did me jack shit.

"YOU COULD HAVE DAMN WELL SAVED ME WITHOUT LOSING YOUR ARM!" I continued to cry as the rest of the Red-Haired Pirates looked at me in awe of what I was saying. "WHY!? WHY DID YOU DO IT!?"

"Randy…" Shanks said as he looked at me, with awe in his own voice at what I was saying, before he smiled. "I said it when that bandit tried to intimidate us. No one messes with my friends. I would gladly help my friends, no matter the cost."

"I… I'm gonna do it…" I hiccuped out.

"Do what?" Shanks asked as he looked him square in the eye, tears rolling down my face.

"I'M GONNA GET A CREW THAT'S STRONGER THAN YOURS!" I continued, "I'M GONNA FIND THE ONE PIECE!" I threw my head back and raised my fists to the heavens. "AND I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!"

I knew the crew was all smiling at me. I didn't see Shanks' reaction, but I could feel it in his voice. "So… you want to be bigger than us, huh? Well then…" He took off the Straw Hat he wore, and placed it over my eyes. "Can you do me a favor? Keep this hat safe for me. This hat means a lot to me." Gol D. Roger's straw hat… Did I really deserve it? "Promise me you'll give it back to me someday… when you've become a great pirate."

I lifted the hat off my face and turned my face to meet Shanks' own. "You bet your red hair I will!" I promised as I put the hat properly on my head. I could feel the smile spreading on my face, my tears of rage and sorrow becoming tears of joy.

"That kid's gonna be big…" Benn Beckman said as Shanks passed him. "He's got something special, I can tell."

"Yeah… I have no doubts about it. Randy reminds me of myself when I was a kid," Shanks said as he climbed aboard his ship. "PULL UP THE ANCHOR! SET SAIL!"

With that, Shanks and the Red-Haired Pirates left my sight, and I renewed my personal vow that day.

-X-

Ten years later, Randy finally set out to sea at age 17. He'd trained diligently for those ten years, and his body was now a toned, lithe fighting machine. He wore an open red vest over a black t-shirt, a pair of blue shorts with a small black leather bag strapped to the right thigh, and straw sandals. Shanks' straw hat sat upon his dark brown locks and Randy wore it with pride in his light brown eyes.

"He finally left Mayor," Makino said as she looked at the docks with the rest of the villagers. "I'm gonna miss that rascal."

"He'll ruin this town's reputation!" Woop Slap complained. "I never thought he was being serious about this!"

A bit later, I had made it out to sea, and was checking a map and compass as I reclined against the barrel in the dinghy. "Let's see… what's my heading now?" I asked no one in particular as I heard the ocean moving. "So, finally decided to see me off, did you… Lord of the Coast?"

The aforementioned Sea King came out of the water, glaring me down. As it hissed, I could only smile.

"Go ahead and try to eat me, I'm gonna show you what I've been doing the past ten years," I said, standing up in the boat and turning to face the Lord of the Coast as it lunged for me. "Hard Air Pistol!"

I jabbed my fist at the air in line with my foe. The sheer force of my punch launched a fist-sized bullet of air right at its face. The Lord of the Coast shot back so hard it might have gotten whiplash, a large bruise forming on its cheek as it flew out of the water.

"And that's for Shanks," I flaunted, beaming as I looked back out to the sea. "Now, all I have to do is find my crew. At least ten people, including those Luffy was going to recruit anyway. Then the Jolly Roger… and we'll be set." I grinned as I looked at the horizon, taking a deep breath. "WATCH OUT WORLD, I'M GONNA BECOME THE KING OF THE PIRATES!"

A/N: Thanks for reading if you made it this far. Please rate, review, and follow if you want to see more! Next time on One Piece: Broken Locks, we meet up with Alvida and a certain chore boy!