Chapter Text
i: ABYSS
"Why should I care about that kind of thing?" Ace frowned and turned to his somehow friend Dragon, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere where he is resting—his on vacation, mind you—while choosing a good hat to give his mother, who will be sailing on the south side of the New World, fetching the lone pirate.
"It should be; you already hyped your bounty since you sailed from East Blue, and Roger whined at me for not arresting Shiki." Dragon inspects the black hat that Raven is wearing while he is on vacation, using it as a disguise, as Raven said, not like his signature look is his hat.
"You can just hunt me again!" Ace smirked and looked at every calm and composed newly promoted rear admiral who visited him to inform him he had messed up by sabotaging his not Promotion! And Ace burst out laughing, knowing Dragon was dodging the promotional list because Garp would go all out again, and it happened now.
"No thanks, Raven. The last time I did that, it got me in a bad position," Dragon snapped at the cheeky pirate who double-crossed him just to piss him off for ranting his destination to Roger, which is difficult as Roger isn't someone who accepts '' I don't know".
"Hahaha, man. Dragon, you are against being promoted that you manage to track me down on my vacation?" Ace chuckled, knowing this isn't just about him sabotaging his promotion; he isn't sure how long Dragon is keeping it a secret and turning rogue, but the way he reacted when he asked the last time they met, he can say it was good deep thinking.
"It's not like you hide your footprints, Raven. I met Ivan yesterday," Dragon changes the course of their topic, knowing they will go nowhere blaming one another for things he knows will backfire once he rats out Raven's location and whereabouts to Roger.
"Really? I'm dying to see his reaction when he heard you calling him that. Hahaha. That is fast—I thought you would give it some time," He asked and picked up some floral-designed hats, knowing his mother would love them—well, everything he brought for her—and glanced at Dragon, who was leaning against the wall beside the mirror.
"They are sniffing poison at the docks," He frowned at that. So they are planning something? It's not like he knows everything because every timeline he jumps into surprises him big time, so he is just enjoying the whole excursion.
It's not like someone can overpower him.
"That got prissy, eh?" Dragon nodded. He chose this island so no one can remember them. Many tourists are here, and that's why he is confident enough to just wear simple clothes to not attract the attention of many.
"I doubt it will go downhill," Dragon, look at the strawberry-blond adult, a little lighter, who is looking at the hats he is holding and glancing at him, making sure that they are being subtle.
"Well, wanna dig it up? I'm taking these two," Ace decided, and they walked to the counter, placed his chosen hats, and smiled at the teen, who is a good few years younger than him.
"I'm thinking, but the old man is on my toes, thanks to you." Dragon snapped at the cheekiness of a friend of his.
"Man, you should just tell me to surprise him!"
ii. Garp the Fist
"RAVENNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Opps—sorry, old Geezer!" He dodged the flying cannonball that almost destroyed his boat, and he's going to run Dragon's stocks for this.
"YOU DAMN BRAT! GET BACK HERE!" He laughed and waved at his Gramps, who was fuming at the shoreline, while he made sure to destroy his ship before letting the old man spot him—a coincidence that Dragon managed to get winds on the two Ds in a similar place.
"I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU AT THE NEW WORLD AGAIN!" Ace waved and laughed loudly to annoy the Vice Admiral, who is sure to hunt him again non-stop. He needs to visit the Oro to hide for a while.
He heard from Shakky that Douglas Bullet had joined the crew.
"Well, no one is here, so I think this will do," Ace removed the sea stone bracelet, felt the heat of his devil fruit, and used it to cross the sea faster than any boat can do.
"Hmm... I think the two-year voyage to Raftel will happen sooner than I thought," His eyes narrowed, recalling the way Teach looked at him the last time Whitebeard kidnapped him, and oh, Davy Jones Ace laughed at the storm his dad brought when he heard from shakky that he had been kidnapped for the nth time while he was sleeping in the mangroves.
iii. Roger Pirates
"RAVEN! MA'BOY," Rayleigh chuckled when Roger ran past them and greeted the nineteen-year-old, who suddenly appeared at the railings of the Oro.
"You pissed off Garp?" Gaban asked, knowing the kid was either hiding from Garp or wanting to lay low again. It's not like they are complaining; after all, Raven wanted to explore the whole sea and meet many people.
"Yeah, I kind of destroy G-5; where are shanks and buggy? Hey Bullet, how are you, man?" Ace scratched the back of his head, knowing they had already read his moves.
"HERE RAVEN!" Ace chuckled as Bullet nodded at him and pointed at his right, where he saw Shanks and Buggy holding a mop, and greeted the older teen that they treated as an older brother.
"Why are you here at the entrance of the New World? I thought you were at the east," He turned to his father after greeting the two youngest members of the Roger Pirates, whose arms were resting around Ace's shoulder and smiling like always.
"We heard that you are entering the New World, and I remember that Newgate kidnaps you when you cross the sea last time," He chuckled at the protectiveness of his father, especially to him, even though he didn't know Ace or Raven was his biological son, but his instinct told him to act like a father to him, and Ace is selfish, absorbing all the love and adoration of his parents like a sponge, and he will make sure his young self will know them, the sea be damned.
"Oh—About that? I heard they are on the south side of the New World; that's why I'm confident enough to fall asleep on my boat," Shanks and Buggy looked at each other and laughed, knowing Raven would make sure no Bluebird Parrot or Newgate would stop him from sleeping.
iv. Gol Ds
"What got you so busy, Raven?" Roger asked and leaned at the railings beside Ace, who volunteers to be the lookout.
"Many things. I meet mom at the Vineyard Islands, and she invites me to stop by Baterilla to have lunch with her," Ace smiled, knowing he always likes to be around his parents on every timeline he jumps to, and his father isn't jealous of him for spending time with his mom but more jealous of him for not spending time with him.
"You barely meet us; she sometimes asked me if I ever encountered you at sea and let you know she wanted to spend time with you." Roger put his arm around Raven, whom he treated as his eldest son, and just looking at him made him content with what he had.
"I thought she had already quit piracy—Old Geezer told me that the Gorosei's had already revoked her bounty because Kong said she died." Ace looked at his father, who occasionally takes the night shift just to spend time with Raven when he is around the oro.
"Well, that doesn't mean you won't visit her, or you wanted Lady Ann to tell you that?" Roger teased, knowing the teen was afraid of the long staff that had knocked him out before. Ace grimaced.
"That's mutiny; I will stop by after this." Roger laughed, knowing the teenager would make sure to stop by when he was near the south blue.
"I saw your updated Bounty." Roger can see the star on the teen, knowing he has already pissed off the world government.
"Old Geezer will pay me a visit for sure." Ace wails, realizing that his Gramps will be pissed off and will hunt him until he makes some sense to him after his stunt just to cover up Dragon.
"Hahahaha, you sure will piss him off!"
"Funny, he won't stop until he punches me on the head again for making it to the top." Ace scowled, not knowing being a billion Beri was a pain in the ass. Roger laughed and patted his shoulder.
"Don't look so glum! I'm proud that you managed to do that before you turn 19, as you said before."
Ace smirk, "What? You didn't think I could?"
Roger laughed and smiled at Raven, looking into his eyes, silver shining at the two, "When did I doubt you? Of course, I didn't! You are my son, and I know you will be the fire that will burn them!"
Ace felt his smile widens at his Father's words, pride swell in him knowing this is what he craves from his original Timeline, and every time he jumps to the old Era, His Dad doesn't change his perspective on him, and even he did something wrong like burning the whole Island after he is injected by the insane Doctor and he loses control of his Fire, he didn't judge him but just embrace him and tell him his safe and he will make sure that those who do it will pay and he did his Father destroy the whole Laboratory and kill the doctor who hurt his Son, save him when Whitebeard kidnaps him or protects him when the world is getting harsher on him, even making sure he had his own cabin at the Oro so when he stopped by there is a room for him.
"Thanks, Dad."
v. G-17
"Don't tell this to anyone, okay?" He ordered and glared at Dragon, who was tending to the deep wounds that he got from fighting Xei, the bounty hunter, who tried to kill him in the far north of the New World, away from the strongest pirates.
"I won't—swear this time. I still can't process that infiltrating this weird laboratory won't end as I planned." Dragon sighed and covered the wound with bandages, knowing they would be on the receiving end of two powerful people at sea if they heard about it.
"Shit. I didn't know Xei was here helping them experiment with the minks." Ace cursed, feeling his wounds burn like the sea stone bullet stabbing his body. The witch will pay! He swears he won't leave this side of the sea until he gets his revenge.
"Can you walk?" Dragon asked, realizing Raven's wounds were much deeper than he expected and that he would be damned if he died.
"Tsk. Like this wound can kill me. Help me up and remove this bracelet. Will you? use that cloth before touching it." Dragon nodded and removed the bracelet—that is too odd for teens fashion sense—using the cloth of Raven's coat. The dragon's eyes widen in surprise when fire covers his body.
"You are a devil fruit user? And that's a sea stone?" Ace chuckled, seeing the surprise on Dragon's face, which looked suspicious, and Ace snatched the bracelet, putting it inside his coat's pockets.
"I can now see why Kong is dyeing his hair; he always complained that you make it gray." Ace contains his laughter, knowing it will be seen if he laughs hard, but it's still hilarious that Kong will always complain about him.
"Man, that gorilla is still complaining even though he is behind the desk." Ace mused, knowing Kong was tempted to get off his chair and punch him again.
"Yes, he always shouts, 'Stupid Ds and their disaster nature, and Stupid Ravenette for the Grays!' I can now see what he meant when I enlisted as a Marine." Dragon chuckled, recalling the deep frown on the Admiral's face when he met him, and always mumbled, 'Ds are disaster magnets, and now this place will crumble. 1 D is enough, but 2? '
"Man, I wanted to see Kong's face once he found out that two Ds were infiltrating the former G-17 Marine Headquarters." Ace held on to the wall and felt his fire slowly healing his wounds, not noticing the eyes staring at him.
"So you have a D on your name; that explains the list of disasters." Dragon mused, and he saw Ace double take and blink like he was caught in the act. Dragon couldn't believe that Raven had a D on his name, but from the life-and-death situation they had been in, he should suspect.
"Man, don't tell it to anyone; it was a secret."
"So will you join my revolution against the world government?"
"What? Are you going to create a revolutionary army?"
"That's a good name."
"You're welcome."
"So you will join?"
"Don't push your luck, Dragon; did you forget you were the one who destroyed the Marine ship yesterday?"
"Think it would work."
vi. 15xx, New Era
"Hey, Dragon, how many months have passed since our infiltration of the Abyss?" Ace frowned, feeling the days passed faster than he thought something was odd against this sea.
"I didn't know either, but from my calculation, it's just a two-month's vacation." Dragon frowned, looking around the Sabaody and feeling everything change.
"But why does the newspaper say that it's already 15xx?" Ace scowled, which got Dragons attention, and snatched the newspaper from the annoyed twenty-year-old pirate, who was nursing his sore body.
"What? Let's search for more—"
"—Nah. Let's go to Shakky; she will tell us everything we miss, and I wanted to stop by at Kureha Xei's blowout manage to hit me on my ribs." Ace groaned and led them to the place where he always stops by to drink. They looked around and saw many new buildings at Sabaody.
"This is getting weird. I'm telling you, SHAKKY!—Rayleigh? what are you doing here?" Ace greeted them, and his jaw dropped upon seeing Shakky and Rayleigh, who were looking at them with wide eyes.
"Raven!?" Shakky and Rayleigh said in unison, staring at the teenager, who looks worse than they thought, and at Dragon, who looks more mature than before.
"I—didn't see the Oro Jackson at the docks." Ace dumbfounded said staring at the two, still thinking about why Rayleigh is there, where the Rogers are, where his dad is, and where Shanks and Buggy are.
If Rayleigh is here, Shanks, Buggy, and his father will greet him with excitement, pull him to tell him about their adventure, and bombard him with questions about his disappearance.
"Raven? Dragon? Where have the two of you been?" Shakky asked, still processing that the two were standing in front of them. Ace and Dragon look at each other, walk to the bar counter, and take a seat beside Rayleigh, who is staring at them.
"I helped Dragon with something; what did we miss?" Ace grinned, knowing he would enjoy a good tale for a while.
"What happened?" Dragon inquired, not taking their reaction lightly.
"Raven, we thought you had died." Ace's jaw dropped, and he pointed at himself.
"What?—Who's stupid said that? I just helped Dragon on his mission. How the hell did I die suddenly? Did I not tell Dad that I'm going to join Dragon on his shenanigans?" Ace snapped, not liking what kind of joke they were playing. Shakky and Rayleigh looked at each other.
"Raven, it's been almost 3 and a half years since we last saw you." The two men stare at Shakky with disbelief.
"We read in the newspaper that you and Dragon died at the explosion on the north side of the New World." Shakky explained, knowing the kid would explode.
"What? I promised Mom and Dad that I would meet them at Baterilla on his birthday! What bullshit are you talking about?" The two looked at Ace with sadness, and Rayleigh sighed, knowing he wouldn't take the news lightly.
"Raven... Roger was executed two years ago, and Rouge died a year ago." Ace felt his mind crash; he could feel his whole body shaking.
"S-stop joking. How the hell did they die when I just talked to them at the den-den mushi a week ago?" Ace slammed his fist at the counter, feeling every bit of his system crash. The three felt the temperature rise.
"Raven, we received your call two years ago when we were with Newgate. We told Garp that you and Dragon were together and told us you would be back. Roger waited, and we just read the news about the explosion, and they found your bracelet and Dragon's coat on a burned ship." Dragon stared at them, trying to understand what just happened.
"Raven, the last call." He mumbled and looked at Ace, who was pale. He stood up, holding his hair. Rayleigh stood, trying to calm the kid down.
"Raven—"
"T-they aren't dead..."
"What do you mean last call, dragon?" Shakky asked and felt her heart crash watching Raven shut down, holding his hair. The same bright silver eyes turned dark.
"Raven called Rouge a day ago to tell her we had already finished our job, but . Rouge said that she's glad we are alright and forbade Raven to go to Baterilla" {and that she loved him like her own son.}
Rayleigh hugs Raven, knowing he will take it more badly, knowing he just lost his parental figures.
"Did Garp know?" Shakky asked, and Dragon nodded.
"When I called him, he screamed and threatened us that he would kill us, and Roger was also with him. We just thought that they were just drinking, and Roger told Raven that he sure frightened him about his disappearance and that he missed his voice and that he shouldn't be sad when we come back. We just thought it's the alcohol's effect, and Raven just laughed and told him he owed him a good adventure when we come back." Dragon frowned and knew the next words were just for Raven and him alone. He realized that the island they infiltrated had a different time frame. Just by looking at the angles, there are 2 months outside of the island.
"Raven!.."
Raven didn't hear anything and ran away from the bar, knowing he needed to go, leave, and make the pain stop.