Summary: Slightly Modern AU. In a world where the World Government holds the formula to the Devil's Fruit, a substance that could grant anyone great power, freedom is nothing but a dream. Ace, who has known nothing but pain and suffering at the hands of Teach, only strives to survive each day, holding no hope that he could ever be free. But one day two boys become imprisoned with him, and suddenly, Ace wants it, if not for himself, then for the two boys who changed his world.

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"Hurry! We have to hurry!"

"W-wait. Please, wait. My son, my son is-,"

"Rogue, I'm so, so sorry," it hurt him to say it, to say the lie, but they had to leave, had to leave now, "Ace didn't make it. He's gone, Rogue. He's gone."

His protege looked at him in surprise, then anger, hurt, betrayal, disgust... and then understanding, like he knew he would. Ace should have been theirs to protect, and it was cruel, so cruel of them to leave him behind and suffer whatever fate he may have without them to love him, without his parents to love him. But Rogue was much more important. Rogue was important to their Captain, to Roger. And Roger was so important to them, to the cause. Much more important than anything else.

There was no choice.

Ace had to be sacrificed.

Later, after delivering Rogue safely to Roger, after staying with them as they grieved the loss of their son, after making sure that Shanks felt no guilt from his decision, after facing Dragon's wrath upon his recount of the night who later on agreed with him, that he had no choice, that he would have done the same thing, that they would have lost Ace anyway had they stayed and was captured by the World Government, after all of this... Rayleigh would sit heavily on his bed, would claw at his hair in frustration, would cover his face with his hands and cry.

Alone in his room, burdened with the knowledge that he had abandoned a child, his best friend's child to fate, Rayleigh sobbed as he apologized, "I'm so sorry, Ace. I'm so, so sorry."