SHIPSIDE DOWN

ACE POV

The noise was what woke him up. Ace was too used to falling asleep in weird places to be very uncomfortable, despite the fact that there was something digging into his back. Groggily he thought he heard one of Luffy's friends shouting and he groaned in annoyance. It sounded like his little brother had let everyone into their apartment again, and he was not in the mood to deal with this shit. He was pretty sure that he'd been up way too late watching Pirates of the Caribbean with his brothers, and he had a test this afternoon. Speaking of college… didn't his brother have classes? No...no he was not going to get up and find out why the little idiot was at home. He was going to ignore the noise and the light and go back to sleep for a few more hours.

"Luffy! Look out! Pop green: Devil's snare!"

"Shihihihi! Thanks, Usopp!" His brother shouted.

Ace groaned, "Luffy…" he threw a hand over his eyes. "Too loud."

"S'rry Ace…." Came the sleepy response from his right. He heard his brother yawn and shift around. It sounded like his little brother had kicked him off the bed again. Felt that way, too.

Wait a second… Ace was sure there was something wrong with that thought, but he wasn't quite sure what it could be. He rolled over on his side and went to push himself up a bit only to have his hand hit open space. Surprised, his eyes snapped open as he felt himself start to fall. Ace was so shocked by his surroundings he didn't even ignite as he plummeted straight down. He had to be seeing things, because there was no way someone had stuck a mast in their apartment. When he slammed into hard wood with enough force to knock the air out of him he blinked up in confusion at the sky. A sky that was partially eclipsed by sails. Rolling onto his side as he wheezed for breath he took in the wide deck, the smell of the sea, and a bunch of people running around.

"I've got to be tripping." He muttered, frowning. There was a shout, drawing his attention. His brows wrinkled at the sight of Marco airborne, held aloft by a pair of flaming wings in place of his arms. "Thatch. He must have slipped me something last night…" Because Marco flew about as well as a turkey. He was his blonde friend circle higher before dive bombing towards the deck, aiming for a short guy with dark hair, a red vest, and a straw hat. Ace stood, instantly annoyed as he recognized Luffy right before the idiot got out of the way of a powerful kick. Marco wasn't fooling around, and that pissed him off. Quickly he stormed across the deck, ignoring how it shifted under his feet slightly as it rode the water. "HEY! MARCO!" He shouted, getting the other man's attention, "What have I told you about going easy on Luffy?!"

Blue eyes narrowed as the blonde stared down at him. He crossed his arms, glaring right back. He'd shoved back his confusion over the whole situation as his friend hovered in front of him. "I thought I said not to interfere, yoi."

"Since when do you order me around, bird brain?" He snapped back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Luffy take advantage of the blonde's distraction and rush him in typical fashion. Marco saw him coming however and dodged, letting the teen's momentum take Luffy past and back onto the deck before he closed his wings and dropped, aiming a heavy kick at Luffy's back. Ace saw red, his body reacting out of years of instinct, he darted forward, bringing up both his arms in an over-the-head guard as he stood between them and took the blow. It was strong enough that his knees almost buckled. Glaring at his friend he snarled, "I can forgive you guys for sticking me on a boat somehow. I can overlook the fact that I'll miss my test, too. But one thing I can't forgive is you attacking my brother!"

Marco's eyes widened in shock as he jumped back and landed on the deck. The man warily watched him as Ace looked down at Luffy. His little brother looked a bit… off. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but it went beyond the weird clothes. The kid was giving him a strange look, too. Ace ran a hand through his hair as he huffed in annoyance, noticing for the first time that there were a lot of people watching them. He glared at them all, feeling the urge to let his flames free to let them all know just how annoyed he was.

"A-Ace?" Luffy choked out at his feet, staring at him with wide eyes.

He looked down at the teen, "What, Lu?"

"No, it can't be, yoi." Marco sounded shocked, "Ace is dead."

Ace turned to glare at his friend, "Fuck you, Marco. I was sleeping. You know I still get attacks sometimes."

The blonde glared at him, "You're an impostor. You're good, but not good enough."

"What is this? Some weird-ass hazing ritual with Pops?" He turned back to his brother, "And you! I thought we agreed you would wait until you were at least eighteen before even thinking about joining up, so what the hell are you doing, Luffy?"

The teen blinked at this, a slightly wary expression on his face. "I'm nineteen."

"Good try, idiot, but in case you forgot, I'm three years older than you and I'm twenty, so that makes you seventeen."

Luffy just looked confused as he pouted before turning to Marco. "What's going on? This isn't funny, pineapple."

"No it isn't, yoi." Marco shot him a deadly look. "Explain yourself."

"I don't have to do anything." Ace crossed his arms. He almost didn't notice Zoro stomp up to him while carrying two swords. The man paused right in front of him and gave him a penetrating look. He just snorted, "What's with the eye, Zoro? Trying a new look?" The man said nothing in response, instead he swung a sword at Ace's chest which barely avoided slicing skin as it cut his shirt. "HEY!" The second sword came whipping at his side and Ace prepared to let it pass through him.

He didn't have to, however. The arm holding the sword was stopped by a tight grip just below the wrist. The next thing he knew, Luffy was between the two of them, his red and white tank top brushing against Ace's arm, giving Zoro an annoyed look even as he settled into a fighting stance.

Zoro blinked before the look in his eye hardened. "You're not Luffy."

"And you're not Zoro! Zoro would never attack my brother like that! Who the hell are you, you fake?"

"Is- is that me?" Luffy turned his head slightly just as Ace realized why his little brother had looked different. Luffy, his Luffy that is, stared in shock at the version of him that was in an open red vest and he felt his brother tense.

"Ace… I think I'm having a mystery dream."

"I think it's more of a nightmare." Someone else quipped, but he couldn't see who.

"There's two of me!" Both Luffy's shouted.

Ace winced at the sound as he turned part of his attention to his ripped shirt. "You don't have to yell, I can see that."

"What the hell is going on, yoi?

He shrugged, "Hell if I know. I thought someone might have spiked my drink last night and I was tripping."

"Tripping?"

"Yeah, you know, seeing things. I mean, last thing I remember I was watching Pirates with Luffy and Sabo, and the next thing I know I'm here." With a frown he gave up on his shirt, the thing was ruined. "I liked this shirt…" He sighed, tugging slightly and causing the rest to rip off and fall to the floor. He had to admit, the sun felt nice on his back as he rolled the kinks from his fall out.

"Shihihihi! Does this mean we're skipping classes today?"

"Well, I don't see a way back to campus, do you? Man, Sabo's gonna be pissed as hell." He turned his attention back to Marco, feeling the man's eyes boring into the center of his back. "What?"

"Who the hell are you and why do you look like Ace and me?" the Luffy-that-wasn't-his asked, voice hard as he now stood before them.

Luffy looked up at him, eyes full of questions, and Ace shifted ever-so slightly, cocking his head to the side as he did so. Nothing needed to be said about not trusting these look-alikes, that was a given. Still, he wondered if letting his brother take the lead was a good idea when Luffy opened his mouth. "I'm Luffy! Luffy D Marshall-I mean Monkey. Sorry 'bout that, Ace, shihihi."

"Marshall?" Marco was right in front of him now, gripping his arm tightly. "As in Teach? Did Blackbeard send you?" The look he was giving both brothers promised pain. Ace couldn't help the slight flinch he gave even as he told himself Teach is dead; he can't hurt us anymore. He doesn't own us- we're free… "Answer me, yoi!" The grip tightened painfully.

"NO! Leave my brother alone!" Luffy was between them, shoving Marco back even as the teen panted in obvious panic over the mere mention of that man… Ace didn't know if Luffy's action could be seen as progress at all.

Flames roared to life across his shoulders as he glared daggers at Marco, wishing he could hide Luffy behind his back. He couldn't, there were too many people, too many threats. He couldn't protect his brother like this, and he'd be damned if Luffy got hurt. Shoving Luffy down he lunged at the false-Marco with a snarl, wanting to kill him and let fly a powerful punch that connected with the man's jaw with a crunch. "Don't you ever mention that bastard's name around me again!"

He wasn't surprised when the blonde only rocked back slightly, eyes widening in shock before narrowing again. If the guy was anything like his Marco, a blow like that wouldn't even slow him down. "Where'd you get the Mera mera no mi, you bastard?"

"The mirror mirror…?" Luffy huffed from where he crouched at Ace's feet even as he swung around his leg like a whip towards their opponents shins. "I hate Snow White!"

"Hey! That's my devil fruit! How come fake-me has it?" came the shocked cry even as Marco dodged the blow with ease.

Luffy wasn't paying attention any longer, however, having turned and shoved his head through Ace's knees to stare at the people behind them. Of course, Ace hadn't been expecting his brother to do that, being braced to follow up the whip-like attack with a hard right hook, and nearly fell on top of his easily distracted younger sibling. "Luffy!"

"What?" Came the whining response from between his legs.

"Don't do that!" He snapped, not taking his eyes off of Marco and firmly ignoring the man's bemused expression. He'd pound it out of him soon enough.

Luffy pulled back, hands still holding tight to Ace's thighs as he looked up at the elder with a pout. "But he said he has the same Devil-fruit, Ace!" He rocked Ace's legs, demanding attention. "He can't, right?"

"WOULD YOU HOLD STILL?!" Ace snapped, glaring down at Luffy even as he thumped him in the head. "We're kinda busy, remember?"

"Ace, what are you and Luffy doing?" A yawning voice drew all eyes to what looked like a folded tarp. A second yawn and two arms were thrown into the air before dropping down dramatically. "Nosiest bro-mates ever…." Ace wasn't shocked when Sabo's head was the next thing to appear, a hand lazily scratching at his blonde hair. "Bro-mates… yeah, don't like that one either. What do you think, guys?"

There was dead silence as Sabo took in the scene before him. Blue eyes blinked, the mouth opened and closed for a second. Ace glanced down at Luffy and flushed, realizing what it probably could look like, even if Sabo knew better. Hell, it's not like he hasn't been caught like this before… Luffy, of course, didn't notice. "Sabo! Wanna join us?"

"What the hell are you two doing?"

Ace blinked, remembering that he'd kind of been in the middle of a fight. "Battling look-alikes that think they're sailors-"

"Pirates!" the shout was obviously automatic as it was bellowed from almost everyone else on deck.

"-er, pirates, apparently. Want in?" He offered his best grin.

His blonde brother just looked at them all in silence for another moment. Finally he sighed, "You know what? Forget I asked. I'm just going back to bed." and promptly flopped back down.