This is my first One Piece fanfic, so I hope you all like it! Takes place after the Whitebeard War. Slightly AU.

A big thank-you to my beta, moonlit starry sky, for giving me excellent feedback and suggestions. I couldn't have finished this without her! –gives her a gigantic hug-

Diclaimer: I do not own One Piece, which belongs to Eiichiro Oda. If I did, Ace would never have died, and I wouldn't have to write this story. ):

For Ace, dying was hell. His charred insides didn't help ease his suffering much. At least it was quick. And he was able to say what he really wanted to Luffy and the old man. "…thank you for loving me!" And then it was all over. He smiled…

…and fell flat on his back with a very loud, very painful THUMP. Ace sat up and groaned. "What the heck was that for…?" The back of his head throbbed, and so did nearly every other part of his body that landed on the unforgiving floor. Where the heck am I…? A white emptiness seemed to stretch out as far as the eye could see. He was sitting on something solid and flat, but couldn't say what it was. He sighed. He had expected the afterlife to be more fantastic and less painful. Apparently, he was wrong.

He quickly looked himself over. No signs of injuries, not even that giant hole that Akainu punched in him. The only pain he felt was where he had landed on the floor earlier. Picking himself up, he glanced around. Now that he looked closely, his surroundings weren't exactly white. They were a blend of colors mixed together, constantly shifting, so he could never say exactly what color it was. There was no one there, so he decided to take a walk and try to see if he could find anyone in the godforsaken place. A faint breeze ruffled through his hair. He reflexively reached up to pull his orange cowboy hat more firmly onto his head, and discovered that the world had ended. His hat was gone. His HAT was GONE.

Where. Is. My. Hat? He finally remembered that it had fallen off during his battle with Teach. Heck, EVERYTHING went to hell ever since that bastard killed Thatch. He loved that hat… Gritting his teeth, he vowed that the day he met Teach again would be the day Teach turned into a human barbeque. An overdone human barbeque.

"…Ace?" called a very familiar voice, tinted with disbelief.

No way… Ace turned around, hardly daring to believe his ears. He saw Thatch-Thatch- standing right in front of him with a horrified expression on his face. "Ace-you too-?" Thatch seemed just as stunned to see Ace there with him, his face twisted up in pain.

Ace grinned at the sight of his friend. He couldn't help it. Thatch looked the same as he remembered him: a heap of brown hair in a pompadour on top of that familiar face, now only lacking the usual goofy grin. "Yeah, apparently," he replied, answering Thatch's question.

"But how-?"

"Teach." Ace muttered darkly. "And that admiral, Akainu. Long story."

The two stared at each other. And simultaneously burst into laughter. "Looks like we got our butts thoroughly walloped by that bastard."

"And permanently, too," agreed Ace, still chuckling. Hell with it all. Their deaths were certainly less than entertaining, but they were both dead. Besides the desire to kick Teach's ass, there was no point in dwelling in the past. Nothing would change what had happened to them. So why not have a laugh over it? "I've missed you over the past few months, Thatch."

The two quickly fell back into their old patterns, reminiscing about memories they had of their old life on board the Moby Dick. "Do you remember that time Marco had to dress in one of Izou's kimonos because he lost that bet to Vista ?" asked Thatch, grinning at the memory.

"Oh yeah…our phoenix wasn't very happy, especially after Izou found out and tried to shoot him."

" Vista laughed so hard, I was surprised that he didn't pee in his pants."

"Even Oyaji was amused…poor Marco."

"I also seem to recall that you once fell asleep on top of Jozu's birthday cake right when he was about to cut it."

"Hah…Jozu tried to put seagull droppings into my food for days afterward. I had to convince the cooks to stop letting him near the kitchen."

"I can't blame him," said Thatch dryly. "Your narcolepsy always kicks in at the worst moments: a feast, a party…"

Ace snorted. It DID happen quite often, more than he would've liked to admit it. "I just hope it doesn't happen here."

"You know, I've been wondering…where'd your hat go?" asked Thatch innocently.

Ace glared at his old friend, who smirked. If looks could kill, Thatch would've been dead. Again. "You don't need to know."

"So you lost it, huh?" Thatch snickered, knowing that Ace was ticked off.

Ace smacked him on the head. "No, I didn't, you idiot, it was-"

A sudden flash of light in the distance interrupted them. "Someone else is here, and they're looking for us," said Thatch, suddenly looking unhappy. "I wonder who it is."

The two walked off toward the light. As they got closer, an awful thought dawned on them. "That better not be oyaji," muttered Ace. Thatch didn't answer, his rapid breathing betraying his fear.

A few steps closer made it impossible to deny the truth. The giant figure of Whitebeard was there, along with many of his crew-members behind him. Thatch looked shell-shocked. "What-Oyaji-?" He looked wildly around himself, as if expecting more dead friends to pop up. "No way-"

Ace just sighed. He wasn't that surprised. Oyaji, too…guess that was to be expected. He was pretty badly injured at Marineford. Scanning the crowd, he saw many familiar faces, but breathed another sigh of relief that Marco, Jozu, and Vista weren't among them. But that was still a lot of nakama dead in one day.

Whitebeard's eyes lit up when he saw his sons there. "Ah, so you made it here alright."

Thatch swayed on his feet. "So many of you…" he whispered, eyes widened with shock.

"It's all my fault, you guys shouldn't have gone to Marineford because of me…" said Ace, looking at his "family" with shame in his eyes. He still couldn't forget that the reason the Whitebeard Pirates went to Marineford in the first place was to save him.

Whitebeard shrugged. "It was all for a good cause, Ace, so don't beat yourself up. You're my son; of course I would've gone after you. Besides, it doesn't matter anymore. It's all over for us, for better or worse. So I'd rather enjoy myself here than to think about what might have been." He laid a comforting hand on Thatch's shoulders. "It's good to see you again, Thatch." Looking around, he asked, "So where are all the other wandering souls?"

Ace started. He just noticed that it was very unnatural for them to be the only ones here, wherever "here" was. Thatch seemed to have recovered. "Oh, there's a trip down to Hell today, and a lot of people went to visit their old acquaintances who weren't as lucky. I didn't go because I had already been there. Not pretty. Usually only really messed up people are sent there, you know, like those crazy bounty hunters who kill everyone they see," he said, the old playful glint coming back to his eyes. "But they do have the best sake down there. Those lucky bastards."

Whitebeard looked thoughtful. "Hmm…maybe I should go there and check it out for myself."

"OYAJI! Don't go to Hell just for the booze!"

"How dare you tell me what to do! I'm the great Whitebeard! You're my sons!" His eyes narrowed dangerously, as if daring his sons to try to stop him.

Ace could tell that a battle was brewing. Whitebeard never listened to his nurses when they told him to stop drinking, and he sure wasn't going to listen to his sons. He shook his head, smiling slightly at the familiarity of the argument. Oyaji loves sake as much as Luffy loves meat…LUFFY! A spike of fear shot through him, and he impatiently cut in with a burning question that had just occurred to him. "Oyaji…do you know what happened to Luffy…?" Surely oyaji would know…

"Eh? What's that?" Whitebeard looked at Ace. "You mean that little greenhorn? He was still alive the last time I saw him." His eyes crinkled into a smile. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. That kid's got guts. He'll make it."

"What? Ace, you saw your brother?" queried Thatch excitedly. He had heard a lot about Monkey D. Luffy and came to expect very entertaining stories when it came to Ace's little brother.

"Yeah. He got a lot stronger." Ace perked up after hearing that Luffy was okay. He started to tell Thatch about Teach and the war. Thatch listened with an unusual silence.

After a while, he finally spoke. "That's some brother you have there, Ace. He's exactly like you, and you aren't even blood relatives! How did you two first meet?"

"That's another long story," laughed Ace. "It was when I was ten, living on Dawn Island on the outskirts of a kingdom called Goa . A mountain bandit named Dadan raised me from infancy. Gramps brought Luffy to her so he could go back to the Grand Line and beat up more pirates. But Sabo and I-" A sudden thought struck him, and he stopped dead.

"Hey, Ace…? You okay?"

"Thatch. Do you know anyone named Sabo up here?"

Thatch was surprised by the sudden intensity of the question. "Sabo? Who's that?"

"He's my other brother." Seeing Thatch's mouth open to form a question, Ace plowed on impatiently. "Never mind that. Is he here? Do you know?"

"I don't know anyone named Sabo," frowned Thatch, thinking hard. "But then again, I'm fairly new here. How long ago would he have arrived?"

"Ten years ago."

Thatch whistled through his teeth. "That's a long time ago…he must've died young. Unless he was older than you?"

"Same age."

"Huh. In any case, go ask Tom. He was a famous shipwright from Water Seven. Tom's been around longer, and knows all the new folk. He also knows all the recent news, so we always ask him for information. Go talk to him."

"Where can I find him? This whole damn place is endless!" Ace could feel his patience wearing paper-thin.

Thatch chuckled at Ace's annoyance. "Just keep walking in any direction you choose and think about the person you're looking for. The cool thing about this place is that you can find people if you look for them hard enough. You can find anyone here! Dead, of course," he added with a devious grin.

So Ace set off. He first tried to "find" Sabo, but to no avail. Now what could that mean…? He decided to go to the shipwright and ask for more precise info. Thatch didn't go with him because he had months of catching up to do with Whitebeard, telling him all about how the afterlife system worked. After wandering around a bit, he finally found a giant cowfish fishman poring over a bunch of blueprints on an elaborately carved wooden cabinet. "Are you Tom the shipwright?"

Tom looked up, just noticing him. "That's me! Although no one has bothered to call me 'the shipwright' ever since I've got here. It's just Tom. Tahahahahahahaha!" He peered curiously at Ace's face. "Ho! Aren't you Portgas D. Ace?"

Ace started. "You know who I am?"

"Sure! I've heard a lot about you! And besides, only Rouge's son could've inherited her freckles."

"You know my mother?" gaped Ace, staring at the fishman.

"I don't only know your mother, I also know you father, Roger, as well! You know about the Pirate King's famous ship, the Oro Jackson, right?" Ace could only nod. Even the Moby Dick couldn't compare to that magnificent ship. "Well, I built it-built it with a DON! I was mighty proud of that ship, too! Tahahahahahaha!"

Ace's brain felt that its circuits had been fried. There was way too much information to process at once. A sudden thought struck him. "Wait-is he here? My d-the Pirate King?" He couldn't say the word "dad". Didn't he once swear that Whitebeard was his only father? Nevertheless, he felt terrified that he might meet his biological father, even if it was only because he didn't know how he would respond to that. It could turn out to be very violent just as easily as diplomatic. All he knew was that he wasn't ready, not now. Maybe not ever.

"Hm? Roger? He's not here now. He took Rouge off on vacation! Being the Pirate King, he's seen all the wonders of the Grand Line, so he took her on a little tour. They won't be back for a good while."

Ace breathed a sigh of relief. Good, he thought, unaware that he had spoken out loud.

"Not too anxious to see him, eh, lad? I don't blame you. But Roger's a good man, you'll warm up to him," said Tom.

"Warm up to him? You expect me to actually like him?" sputtered Ace. No way was he going to warm up to that sorry excuse for a parent! "All my life, I had to live under the shadow of the fact that HE was my dad!" I was hated just because I had HIS blood in my veins! His emotions and words clashed, and he felt like he would explode from all the anger and confusion.

Tom, seeing him struggle, patted him on the back. "There, now. You got plenty of time before he comes back. Before he left, I told him that important events were unfolding: Whitebeard was planning to fight in a war! But Roger just laughed, and said that if Whitebeard's time was up, he'd go and have a drink with him when he comes back!" Tom shook his head at him. "I didn't tell Roger why Whitebeard was fighting the war, since I never expected you to come here! You're a bit too young, lad." He heaved a sigh. "But it's too late for all of that." Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the fishman looked back at Ace, a smile on his face. "So what can I do for you, Ace?"

By now, Ace was completely bewildered. His thoughts were zooming around in his head, refusing to organize themselves. He forced himself to think. "Hey, Tom, do you know anyone here named Sabo?" His voice took a tone of urgency.

Tom frowned. "Sabo…? I don't know any Sabos here…"

"Are you sure? He'd have come here ten years ago."

Tom shook his head. "No, I'm sure. I know everyone who came after me, and no Sabo here."

Ace felt his heart plummet. "What? He's not here? But I thought…I thought everyone came either here or Hell after…unless…" His eyes widened. "Unless…but no way, he wouldn't have…" That's not possible. There's no way he-

Tom guessed what he was thinking and hastily cut in. "Now, I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. There's another possibility."

"But-there were only two places he could've gone! If not here, then…" protested Ace, still trying to wrap his brain around the horrifying thought.

"You don't know that, you-"

Sudden anger flared through him. "WHAT DON'T I KNOW? Sabo was gone; he has to be here, he-"

Tom, seeing that he wasn't getting through to the young man in front of him, cut in with a question of his own. "Did you ever consider the fact that he may still be alive?"

Shock flooded though Ace.

"W-what?"

"He may not have died. He's not here."

To Tom's surprise, Ace didn't look even slightly hopeful at the news. Instead, he covered his head with his arms, shaking his head. "No, Tom, please, please don't mess with me, don't mess with my head, there's no way Sabo could still be alive, or else he would've found some way to tell us—"

"It's a possibility; he's not here," repeated Tom.

Ace snapped. What would Tom know? He wasn't there. He didn't know what had happened. "THERE'S NO WAY HE COULD STILL BE ALIVE! IF HE REALLY WAS, HE WOULD'VE FOUND SOME WAY TO TELL ME AND LUFFY! HE WOULDN'T HAVE HELD OUT ON US!" His anger diminishing, he looked back down. "I'm sorry Tom, it's just that, after all these years, I really wanted to see him again…make sure he's okay…" he said despairingly.

"It's okay, Ace, I've seen worse," Tom reassured him. "I'm not exactly sure how this afterlife system works, but Sabo isn't here. He isn't in that other place, either. I just went today for a little trip. Hell doesn't have a lot of nice people; I'm sure your friend didn't end up there."

"I've tried looking for him, y'know, by 'thinking' about him," said Ace hopelessly. "It didn't work. I tried so hard." After all these years of missing his other brother, he was completely crushed to find out that he couldn't even see him after he died. Fate was too cruel.

Tom's eyes were kind. "There may have been a chance that he was unable to contact you. There might have been some circumstances that had stopped him. But if he's really alive, I do have a way for you to find him."

Ace's head snapped up. "Really?" he asked, hardly daring to hope. If this failed…

Tom opened one of his cabinet doors and reached inside, grunting. "Now where is it…Oh! Tahaha, I found it!" He drew out what seemed like a wooden cane, very thin and very long. He handed it to Ace. "Here you go, lad."

Upon close inspection, Ace saw that the object wasn't a cane; it was a telescope, with very thin lens on both ends. Tom beamed at the telescope. "I made that my third year here, to keep an eye on my apprentices. Later on, I used it to gather news on what was happening on the Grand Line. That's how I knew about the war! You can use it to find your friend. Tahahahahahaha!"

Ace was skeptical. Weren't they technically not in the world of the living? "So I just…stick this into the ground?"

"Good heavens, no, lad! There's a little tear in the fabric of this place that exposes it to the real world. I made the telescope just small enough to fit through the hole."

"And then I just search the whole Grand Line and surrounding seas for one person." That would take a while. Most likely years.

"Oh!" said Tom, slapping his forehead. "I forgot to mention how it worked! Now…when I first came here, I was fascinated by how I could find Roger just by 'calling' for him! I studied that system, and managed to unravel parts of how it worked. So I took some of that technology and infused it into my telescope. All you have to do is to put your eye to the lens and 'look' for that person-you'll find him."

Ace stared at the telescope in his hands. "If this really works…I own you one, Tom. Thank you so much!"

Tom chuckled at waved his hand at the freckled-face young man. "Oh, it's nothing. I'll show you where it is, that tiny little hole…wait…I'm forgetting something." He frowned, deep in thought, then brightened. "Ah! I think I have something that belongs to you, Ace!" He opened another cabinet door and took out a very familiar looking bright orange cowboy hat.

Ace stared. It's my hat. IT'S MY HAT! He scooped up his beloved hat and examined it, sporting a grin a mile wide. It looked just as he remembered it. "Thanks, Tom! Where did you find it? I've been looking everywhere for it."

"Tahahahahahaha! It was in a midst of flames in Hell! I found it today, and fished it out. Strange that it didn't burn. Hell's flames are very hot."

Putting his hat back on his head, Ace smiled. "It's fireproof! It had to be, or it wouldn't have lasted very long with me. Thank you Tom! For both my hat and the telescope!"

"Na, it's nothing. Here, lemme show you that hole…"

Ace sat cross-legged on the floor peering into the lens. Tom had gone back to his cabinet/table. "Return it to me when you're done! Tahahahahahaha!"

"I will," he replied as he focused back on the lens. Pressing his eye so firmly to the telescope that it hurt, he thought about Sabo with all his might.

Curly blond hair. Tall hat with goggles in the front. A sly thief. Loved to invade Goa kingdom with me and Luffy. Hated being a noble. Always wanted to become a pirate.

At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, ever so slowly that Ace didn't even notice when the changes began, a picture started to form on the other end. Not just a picture; the figures inside were moving! And it was so large that it seemed like Ace was watching everything through his own eyes, just that a heavy clear veil hung between them.

It was inside a ship's cabin, not unlike the one he used to sleep in on the Moby Dick: plain wooden walls, with no excess decoration, but with an air of elegance about it. The only thing on the walls was a giant map of the Grand Line and the surrounding seas, with thumbtacks stuck on certain locations. There was a dresser made of black polished wood, and two one-person beds laid side-by-side with a few feet of space between them, neatly made. Next to the bed was a large table, stacked with papers and detailed maps of various islands. A man sat in the chair in front of the table, writing something down on a piece of paper. The man was wearing a plain white button up shirt, with simple black pants, but Ace could tell that the materials were quite expensive. His blond hair, long but looking quite tidy, dangled in front of his eyes as he wrote.

Ace stared at the man. Could it be…? Could this be his long-lost brother, the one he and Luffy had cried over when they heard of his shattered dream? Looking at the surroundings, Ace's eyes landed on a tatter of black cloth tacked to the dresser that he didn't notice before, since it blended in so well. The black cloth was ragged and clearly old, looking out of place in the neat and organized room. He didn't find this odd, though. Ace's entire attention was fixed on what was written on the cloth: crossbones over an "S" in white.

…Sabo!

Before Ace could even register his astonishment that his brother was alive and in front of him, the door burst open and a harried-looking boy in his late teens dashed in. "Vice-commander! There is an urgent meeting in the Council Hall that you must attend to! After the deaths of the pirate Whitebeard and his second division commander Portgas D. Ace, we must discuss our next move! The whole world is unstable, and Dragon believes that he can use this to our advantage!"

The blond-haired man didn't even turn around. He put down his quill and let out a breath, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. "Okay. Thanks for letting me know, Quill."

Quill, seeing that he wasn't going to leave any time soon, closed the door. "Please hurry, Vice-commander," he said.

Sabo showed no signs of moving. His eyes still closed, he let out one word. "Ace…"

Ace wanted to answer. He almost did. But he knew that he was seeing everything through a telescope, so Sabo wouldn't be able to hear him anyway. For the moment, he was content. Sabo was clearly alive and well, although he seemed to be a member of the Revolutionary Army. Ace didn't care. Sabo's well-being was all that he could ask for, and even as those unanswered questions burned in his mind, he felt an immense relief just to know that Sabo was safe.

A hand on his shoulder brought Ace out of his stupor. "Ah…so this is where you've been all this time. And I see that you've found your hat."

Looking up, Ace saw Thatch's grinning face looking down at him. "Huh? Did I miss something?"

"Yes, you did. Oyaji found an old friend of his from when he was young and they threw a party. Sake and food for all of us! I wanted just leave you out of it, but Oyaji insisted that you go," chuckled Thatch, winking. "Would've served you right if you missed it!"

Ace found himself laughing as well. "A party? Well, what are we waiting for?" He let Thatch pull him up, the telescope still clutched in his hand.

Thatch spotted the long thin object. "Hmmm? What is that?"

"Just…something I borrowed from Tom. I was using it to find my brother." Looking down at the precious instrument that had given him his peace of mind, he added, "I should go return it to him."

"Hmmm…" said Thatch, eyeing the telescope skeptically. Ace could tell that Thatch had guessed more than he let on.

The two slowly meandered around, finding Tom without much difficulty. Seeing them, the kind fishman let out a booming laugh. "Tahahahahahahahaha! So, Ace, did you like using my invention?"

Ace grinned. "Yeah, Tom, it helped me a lot. Thank you again!"

"You're welcome to it at anytime! You're a good lad, Ace. Now aren't you heading to Whitebeard's party? I heard the sake was almost as good as Hell's."

"Well…Tom, could you do me a favor first?"

"Sure, as long as it's possible!" smiled Tom.

"Would you…would you help me deliver something to Sabo?" asked Ace, not sure of what the answer would be. After all, the dead didn't contact the living…right?

Tom was startled by the request. "A delivery? To your friend?" Even Thatch looked surprised.

Ace nodded, then rushed on. "This was the first time I saw him in ten years…I would like to leave him with a final message. Please, Tom."

Tom frowned and studied the young man in front of him. "Well, Ace…I don't know, but…I'll see what I can do. I might be able to bend the rules for you somehow…" he said slowly. "But only this once. Don't tell anyone else, either. I probably won't be able to do it again."

He looked hard at Thatch, who held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "I won't say anything."

Tom let out a breath. "Fine, then…what are you planning to do, Ace?"

He had been working on the files for the North Blue when Quill had barged into his room, announcing that the inevitable post-war meeting was about to start. He really, really didn't want to go. However, being a vice-commander meant that he had to set an example for his subordinates, and so he forced himself to stand up, walk down the hall to the Council Hall, and sit down at his seat among other top leaders of the Army.

He usually was a very active participant in the meetings, very involved in the Revolutionary cause. After rescuing him off the shores of Dawn Island, Dragon noticed the boy's intelligence and kept him under his wing, placing him inside his inner circle. The young man quickly shot up the ranks in the army. He was a natural strategist, and his quick wits and sharp observations had saved him more than once. In time, even Dragon acknowledged that he was an invaluable voice in the meetings. Those who used to be skeptical of his suggestions now listened without doubt, seeing how carefully he had analyzed the situation before making his comment.

But during this particular meeting, Sabo was as silent as a rock. He listened without expression as the Revolutionaries discussed the events that happened during the Whitebeard War, relating how the Yonkou Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace had been killed, how Dragon's identity had been revealed to the world, and how his son Monkey D. Luffy had made such an unpredictable entrance into the war. The Revolutionaries debated about what their next move should be, hopeful that this sudden tip of the scale may prove advantageous to them. Throughout the meeting, glances were directed at him, pleading for him to offer an insightful opinion. Sabo just shook his head at them, his expressionless mask not wavering for a second.

They didn't know that the giant storm of emotion inside him was threatening to break loose. They couldn't see through his façade.

No one knew about Sabo's past, except for Dragon, the only person he trusted enough to tell. He didn't want to remember his life as a noble, so he stopped mentioning it altogether, just like he did at the Gray Terminal. He never mentioned his brothers since that would bring up questions he didn't want to answer. So the other Revolutionaries had no idea how much it hurt Sabo to be at this meeting, listening to how both his brothers went through hell at Marineford. They couldn't tell that Sabo was suffering inside as they scrutinized every detail of the Whitebeard War in horrific detail. After first hearing about the outcome of the war, he had kept to his room, working frantically, doing anything to keep his mind from thinking. And here they were at the meeting, hacking away at Sabo's only defense against feeling.

The Revolutionaries didn't know that. Sabo's acting was much too good. He had to learn to hide his emotions with the Revolutionaries, as that was a valuable tool in dealing with missions: to not show fear or confusion.

Or pain.

Today, it was more than he could stand.

Thankfully, the meeting ended before Sabo had done anything drastic. He managed to keep up his act all the way back to his room. After shutting the door and locking it, he slowly walked back to his desk and practically fell into his chair. He stared into space, roughly shoving his hands though his hair, bracing himself as reality hit him with the force of a bomb.

Ace was gone.

His brother, his first true friend, was gone. And he wasn't coming back.

He closed his eyes as memories rushed into his head…

…the first time they met, when they nearly killed each other in a fight…

…the days hoarding treasure for their ship…

…when Luffy first entered their lives as a lovable ball of energy…

…those days raiding Goa together, finally getting caught by his father…

…the fire at the Gray Terminal, and his escape from nobility on his tiny ship that was then blasted to smithereens…

After Dragon had rescued him and landed on Baltigo, Sabo had begged to send a letter to Ace and Luffy to let them know where he was. Dragon forbade it, saying that the Revolutionaries had to keep to utmost secrecy. A letter could be intercepted very easily and it was too risky to go back to Dawn Island.

So Sabo waited for the day that he would once again meet Ace and Luffy. After all, he HAD promised them.

When Sabo first heard that Ace was going to be executed at Marineford, he had gone straight to Dragon, pleading for a ship. Naturally, Dragon had refused. It would've drawn unneeded attention to the Revolutionary Army, and Dragon didn't want to deal with it. He did, however, install an intercepting Den Den Mushi at Sabaody Archipelago so they could see what was going on in Marineford.

Sabo had known that Dragon was right. Even so, that didn't stop him from jumping up and tearing off to the ships when he saw Luffy fall from the sky into Marineford. It took five people to take him down. They tied him up and dragged him back to his room, releasing him only after the war was over.

Dragon himself came to tell Sabo the news. "The war had resulted in heavy casualties on both sides," he had said, looking oddly solemn, and not at all as pleased as Sabo would've thought he would've been.

"Ace and Luffy?" Sabo had been afraid to ask.

"Luffy was badly injured, but he should still be alive. And Ace…Ace is dead. He died saving Luffy. Whitebeard also died shortly after," said Dragon, looking at Sabo's sudden bleak expression with pity in his eyes. War always ended in tragedy, but Dragon knew how hard it was on Sabo. He had just lost a brother.

Sabo didn't cry, not then. He had wholly devoted himself to his work, to escape reality or just a little while longer…

…then came the meeting.

Tears ran down his face as the world crashed down around him. Dammit, Ace! He thought furiously. I made a promise that we would all see each other again…why did you make me break it? The tears came down harder. Why did you have to be the first to leave?

A knock on the door shook Sabo out of his misery. "Vice-commander…may I come in?"

It was Quill. Sabo hastily wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and walked over to unlock the door for the boy, who was carrying a paper-wrapped package. "Sorry for barring you from our room. I just needed some…alone time."

Quill's eyes widened as he saw Sabo's tear-stained face. "Are…are you okay? Is this a bad time? I mean-"

"It's fine…it's…nothing…"

The teen studied him. "Pardon my rudeness, sir, but…you lost a friend in the war, didn't you?"

Sabo was mildly impressed with his intuition. "Yeah, I did…" He gave the boy a sad smile. "Do you need something? I need to go back to work…"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Quill held up the package. "Someone sent this to you. I found it lying on the table of the Council Hall. Although I have no idea how anyone could've traced our position…" His eyes suddenly became filled with fear. "You don't think that the World Government knows where we are, right?"

Surprised, Sabo took the package and examined it. "I don't think so…" he said slowly. "Even the World Government needs postage stamps to deliver anything here on the Grand Line…" His mind was hard at work, tracing down every memory of any outsider who knew that he was in the Revolutionary Army, and couldn't think of a single person. Who could it be from? "Thanks, Quill."

The teen nodded. "Don't overwork yourself, sir. I'll be back at dinnertime."

Sabo shut the door and slowly sat onto his bed, staring at his name written in black on the plain brown paper. He cautiously opened the package, worrying about gas bombs or spewing acid being hidden in there.

He froze when he saw the bright orange peeping out of the small opening.

It can't be… he thought, then tore open the paper. In front of him sat a familiar orange cowboy hat with two smileys and a string of beads at the base of the brim.

It's Ace's hat.

But how could it have gotten here? How the heck had Ace's hat somehow reached Sabo? He picked it up and examined it. It was definitely Ace's hat. Sabo noticed a small square of folded-up paper slipped against the beads and the brim. He felt a sudden swoop in his stomach, like he was on the edge of a high cliff about to jump down. Bending over, he slowly picked up the piece of paper with trembling hands and opened it.

Dear Sabo,

Isn't this ironic? For the past ten years, I'd thought you'd died. In Impel Down, I even thought that I might be able to see you soon. Now that I'm here in this afterlife, I find out that you're actually alive and well, with the Revolutionaries. I'm so happy that you're okay, Sabo, and I really missed you for all those years.

I wondered why you didn't contact us if you were okay, but being in the Revolutionary Army probably wasn't easy for you. I'm just glad that you're all right. I'm sorry for making you break your promise. I really did want to see you again.

You know, I really did accomplish what I've always wanted to do during my time as a pirate: I've found the answer to my question. My friends and family-you included-had convinced me that living wasn't a sin. I had promised to live with no regrets, and I did-except for one. I won't be able to see Luffy grow.

I've left you with our little brother, now. He's strong; he'll take care of himself, but he'll be thrilled to know that you're alive. Luffy's grown so much, it's amazing. He's not the weak little brother you remember. I know for sure that he'll be the next Pirate King.

There's so much more I want to say, but not enough room to write it. I'm sorry, but this is the last time I'll ever be able to communicate with you again, so don't bother to write back. Your letter won't reach me anyway. Take care, Sabo.

-Ace

P.S. I'm leaving my hat with you. Take good care of it, or I'll kill you the minute you die.

P.P.S. Just to let you know, I'm the eldest out of the three of us. I was born January 1st. There's no way you could've been older. So that should answer your question.

Sabo read the last lines with a weak chuckle. He put down the letter and closed his eyes, fresh tears squeezing their way out from under his eyelids. He didn't care how the letter managed to find its way to him. He didn't care how it was even possible for the dead to send letters. He was just glad that he had it. It was almost like having a piece of Ace to hold on to. He reached out blindly and felt the hat under his hand. Ace's hat.

I'm leaving my hat with you. Take good care of it, or I'll kill you the minute you die.

He couldn't believe Ace would leave his hat with him. Sabo knew how much Ace loved his hat. It was one of the only material objects that Ace felt attached to…

10 years ago

"Who are those people, anyway?" asked Luffy, perched on the high branches of a tree, looking down at the odd bunch of people sitting in the forest clearing.

"They're performers. I think they're going to put on a show in High Town ," said Sabo patiently, standing beside him, just as interested about the strangers.

"Really?" asked Luffy, his face lighting up. "Aww…I wish Ace was here."

"It's his fault for jumping into the river and catching a cold," retorted Sabo. The two of them had planned to stay with Ace, but Dadan, who saw how much they wanted to be outside, kicked them out of the house, saying that she couldn't "look after that brat with you two messing around in here."

"Hey, look at that funny-looking man!" Luffy pointed at a thin, wiry man who was currently juggling balls in the air.

"It's just juggling. I see something even more interesting." Shifting over in the tree, Sabo pulled Luffy next to him and said, "There's a big cart filled with different costumes on the edge of the clearing!"

"I wanna see!" Luffy tried to push Sabo out of the way. "Woww…" he breathed when he saw the giant wagon. It had to be as big as their tree house. "The clothes are so colorful! I wanna try some of them on!" He scampered down the tree with Sabo following close behind, looking very annoyed.

"Hey Luffy, don't make so much noise! They'll hear us," he cautioned. Running over to the wagon, he could barely peer over the edge.

The wagon was filled with different costumes-dresses, pants, clothing, tutus-everything. Luffy climbed onto a wheel, looking in. His eyes went wide. He started to pull out articles of clothing.

"Luffy! Stop that! They'll see!" Sabo grabbed the light green jumper Luffy was holding on to and yanked it away. "C'mon Luffy, let's find something else to do."

Luffy pouted. "I'm not done looking yet." He leaned over and lost his balance, teetering on the edge, and fell in.

"Luffy!" hissed Sabo, climbing onto the wagon himself.

"Hey, look, Sabo!" Luffy emerged from the pile of clothing with a hat in hand. "Look what I found."

Sabo looked. It was an orange cowboy hat with a string of beads and two faces on it, one smiling and one frowning. Attached to it were two strings ending in a skull medallion. "It's a hat, Luffy. You already have a hat, remember?"

"I do, but Ace doesn't! I wanna give it to him as a get-well present!" Luffy's childish eyes were dead serious.

Sabo raised his eyebrows. "That's not a bad idea." He could count on Luffy to think up something like that. "Then we'll just take it."

"Okay!" said Luffy, eyes sparkling with excitement. The two of them climbed out of the wagon and slipped away behind the trees. When they got back to Dadan's house, Luffy burst in and ran to Ace's mat. "Hey Ace, look what I have!" He waved the hat in Ace's face.

Ace's stared at the bright orange object flapping in the air. "What is that?"

Sabo came in, much quieter than Luffy had. "Are you feeling better, Ace? And where's Dadan?"

"This hat can make you feel better! It's your get well present!" beamed Luffy, clearly not listening to a single word Sabo was saying and looking very proud of himself.

"All I have is a cold, idiot," snapped Ace. "I don't even feel sick, apart from the sneezing and coughing. And Dadan left half an hour ago, probably to plunder some village."

"Well, Luffy's got you a present," said Sabo. "We hope you like it."

"I'll never be able to tell you that until I can actually SEE the hat," muttered Ace, eyeing the still-flapping hat in Luffy's hand.

"Oops." Luffy handed the hat to him.

Ace looked at it, and his face lit up. "Oh really, you guys got this for me? It looks pretty cool! It even has a skull on it."

Luffy laughed. "Hahaha! We got it from a bunch of weird-looking people-"

"-performers, I think-"explained Sabo.

"-and I thought that you might like it!"

Ace grinned at his two brothers. "Thanks guys! Now we all have our own hats. This is the best present I've ever gotten."

Sabo smiled, pleased with his reaction. "Aren't you going to put it on?"

"You know," said Ace. "I don't think I will."

"Huh?" asked Luffy. A sad expression came over his face. "You don't like it?"

"No! I love it…it's just…I don't think I should wear it now. You know how we all vowed to become pirates once we turn seventeen, right?"

The two boys beside him nodded.

"I want to wait until then, when I become a pirate and leave this dump," continued Ace. " I'll be able to take it with me, a piece of home, and of you and Sabo. It can become my symbol of freedom. That way, it'll be even more special." He hugged the hat to his chest. "Thanks, guys."

"You're welcome, Ace," said Luffy. "But my hat is still the best."

Ace glared at him. "Oh yeah? And why is that?"

"Because Shanks gave it to me," said Luffy simply, as if that was all the reasons that Luffy needed.

Sabo had to laugh as he watched the boasting develop into an argument. Ace's new hat seemed to have brightened the day considerably.

That hat had been with Ace through all the years he'd been running around the Grand Line. Sabo knew that; the pictures in the newspapers and wanted posters were proof. He was shocked that Ace would give it with him. Leave his symbol of freedom with him. He smiled a sad smile, opening his eyes and gazing at the smooth wooden ceiling. "Don't worry, Ace, I'll take good care of your hat." He dried his tears, feeling surprisingly comforted. Receiving Ace's letter and his last present gave Sabo back his peace of mind. He set the hat on top of his dresser, and pinned the letter together with the remnant of his pirate flag behind the string of beads. He stood there, gazing silently at all that he had left of his brother.

The sound of the door opening made him turn around. "Sorry for interrupting you, Vice-commander, but it's dinner-" Quill saw the hat sitting on top of the dresser, and his eyes widened with recognition. "Sir—that hat-isn't that-?"

"It is. He was one of my closest friends," said Sabo, looking back at the hat. "Please don't tell anyone that, Quill. I trust you to keep silent."

The boy nodded. "Yes, sir," he said, looked at the hat with an expression of awe mixed in with respect. "Are you going to come to dinner, sir?"

Sabo sighed, then smiled. "Yeah, I'll come." He followed the teen out. As the door clicked shut behind him, Sabo felt a heavy weight leave his shoulders. He felt better than he had for weeks. A small smile lit up his face. Thank you, Ace.

By the time Ace and Thatch found Whitebeard and his crew, the party was already well underway. There were tables laden with food and sake. Many of their friends were drinking and laughing, just like before on the Moby Dick. The usual sounds of burps and hollers surrounded them as they made their way to Whitebeard.

The former Strongest Man in the World was currently laughing with some people Ace had never seen before. Whitebeard saw Ace and Thatch out of the corner of his eye, and turned around. "Gurararara! Well, Ace, I was afraid you might've gotten lost and would've missed this excellent party." He shoved two cups of sake at them.

Ace grinned. "Thanks, oyaji." He took a sip. "Huh. This sake is excellent. It's better than what I'm used to, that's for sure."

Thatch took a long draught and looked quizzically at the cup. "You know, this tastes a lot like Hell's sake. I wonder…"

Whitebeard laughed. "Gurararararararara! It is Hell's sake. I sent two people down there to sneak some back." He took a giant swig from the giant bottle in his hand. "You were right," he said to Thatch. "Hell's sake is the best!"

Thatch paled. "I can't believe what you just did," he muttered. "Just watch them catch us and send us there."

Ace snorted. "You worry too much," he said, walking over to a table and grabbing a giant drumstick about the size of his head. "It's a party."

Thatch stared back at the cup, then shrugged. "Might as well enjoy it while I can."

Ace felt indescribably happy. He knew that the world was unstable, and that Luffy was still in danger, but he couldn't help it. Finding out Sabo was alive almost completely blotted out those bad moments. And now, he could check up on his brothers and his nakama any time he wanted, thanks to Tom's telescope. He didn't think the afterlife could've gotten better. "I think I might get used to this place," he said to Thatch, who was pouring himself another cup of sake.

"You will, after a period of time. It's not so bad, is it, Ace?" Thatch paused, waiting for an answer. "Ace?"

He turned around to find that the young man had fallen asleep again, standing up, the drumstick and cup still in his hand. Thatch shook his head. "You never change, do you, Ace? Not even in death." He walked over to Whitebeard. "Hey, oyaji, Ace fell asleep again."

Whitebeard looked over with amusement. "Hmm, so it still affects him, even here…" He looked down at Thatch. "Don't mind him, and don't save him any of the good stuff, either. I already got you to call him to the party; I'm not going to invite him again. Gurararararara!"

Thatch looked back at Ace with raised eyebrows. The freckled-faced young man didn't show any signs of planning to wake up soon. "Sure," he said, shrugging, and wandered off into the crowd to look for more food.

Hours later, Ace woke up to a deserted table, with a drumstick bone in one hand and an empty cup in the other. He groaned. Not again! It looked like even the afterlife wasn't going to go easy on him.

A few notes on this story…

…I believe that Sabo is NOT dead, regardless of the scene where the cannonball shot down his ship. A later panel shows that Dragon brought an injured member onto his ship, who I believe is Sabo. I hope I'm right, since I'd love to see him again! –crosses fingers-

…the story about Ace's hat is one of my speculations of how he might've gotten it. It's probably really far off from what really happened, should Oda-sensei choose to reveal the backstory, but it was really fun to think up, and even more fun to write.

Please review! I'd really appreciate any comments!

Edit 5/2011-Looking back, I think that I improved in my writing a bit. Ace appears a little OOC, but that was because I was inexperienced in writing from his POV back then. I didn't want to change any of the dialogue parts because I want to be able to look back on my work. Some minor revisions were made to smooth out the flow. Also, I changed Kuiru's name to what I had originally planned: Quill. Kuiru was supposed to be the Romanized version of his name, but I think it ruins the atmosphere now. Anyways, I might use that OC again if I write any stories about Sabo in the future.