Warm Memories and Brotherly Bonds

Chapter 56: 3D2Y

"So... Rayleigh convinced him to send that message out to all of us," Nami summed up everything that they had heard as they waited in the darkness. "And for the last two years we had been fighting to try and get stronger so that we don't ever have to go through something like this again."

"There wasn't much choice," Sanji muttered bitterly. "We were all there... and we saw what happened here all over again... we were no match for Kuma or Kizaru. We couldn't survive the first half of the Grand Line so we didn't stand a chance in hell."

"If we had met up again right after the war, who knows what would've happened?" Zoro asked, finding himself thinking more and more about what would've happened to them all if they did rush straight off to Saboady instead of hiding out and training all this time.

"I hate it..." Chopper sniffled, rubbing his sore eyes. "I hate all of this! I hate those Marines for what they did to Ace! I hate that we weren't there to help! And I really hate that we had to wait two years to find out what happened!"

Robin sighed tiredly as she bent down and gathered him up in her arms and he nuzzled his face into her shoulder.

"We all do, Chopper," she said gently. "I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we will be having nightmares about what we had seen for some time."

No one could come up with anything to counter that for they all knew it was true. They were all feeling the crushing weight of guilt and grief pressing on their hearts at the thought of all that Luffy went through on his own. While they all had their hands full with the small stuff on their own separated islands, Luffy had been through hell and back.

And speaking of hell... through the darkness shapes and images of shadows were playing once more and they recognized just what it was that they were seeing. Akainu's hate filled eyes as he had just dealt the finishing blow against Ace.

Brook and the Weakling Trio all screamed in shock as the others felt their insides freeze at the sight of it all.

"W-What's going on?!" Nami cried out fearfully as she covered her eyes and turned away, not able to bring herself to see this moment again. "We just saw this!"

Usopp didn't answer as he turned around and hid his head in his hands, trying to block the sounds of Ace's blood hitting the ground or the burning of his flesh. Only Zoro and Sanji were able to keep looking as the others were so overcome with sadness that they all shut their eyes. But even then, they had to fight to keep looking...

As far as they were concerned, Ace died the ultimate selfless death and they could not bring themselves to dishonor such a sacrifice by turning away. Yet it was still one of the most painful things to see all over again as Luffy's expression said it all.

Akainu pulled his arm from Ace's back and they watched as he fell into his little brother's arms once again. Luffy's heartbroken face was all that they could see as he held tightly onto Ace—barely clinging to life.

"Ace...?" he whispered hoarsely, as more blood dripped out of Ace's mouth and ran onto Luffy's shoulder.

"I'm sorry... Luffy..." Ace finally croaked out. More crying was coming from the Straw Hats as the scene was played out like before. They all felt as if knives were being buried into their hearts, only sinking deeper and deeper as Ace's last moments were playing. Until, at last, with tears still falling from his eyes and he found the words that he needed to say.

"Thank you..." he said, "THANK YOU FOR LOVING ME!"

Ace smiled one last time before his body fell... hitting the ground with a loud thud and his blood bursting all over as smoke billowed out of the hole in his back. Luffy's scream of pain and shock would've burst their eardrums if the shadowy images of that horrific day didn't cut off instantly and they were suddenly standing outside in the open air.