Chapter 1: Meeting the Future

(Hey guyz~! I'm so sorry I took so long to write this. Shit's been happening. Mostly school. And now with Halloween… I'm busy as shit! So, while I have a break in homework, I'm writing this for you! I hope you don't hate me for the wait. On to the crap!)

Warning: This is my first attempt at a first person. If it sucks, tell me and I won't do it again. Also, since I finished writing this so late, it isn't proof read. So if there's any mistakes, please tell me.

So I know what you're thinking, "What the hell". Well I've been thinking the same for the past few months. Actually, my brothers and I have been trying to figure out how as well. All we knew was, that morning we were running through the forest like usual, trying to hunt for breakfast because Luffy – the youngest of us three – had woken up screaming about how hungry he was. But when he ran off and out of our sight, we never saw him again. It wasn't that he went missing. It was more like we had gone missing. Missing from our time that is. While searching, something had happened that caused us to jump into the future. Over twelve years into the future actually. We've been trying to figure out a way back ever since. But nothing has worked.

My name's Sabo and this is the story of how my brother and I were sent to the future. And hopefully, the story of how we got back.

-x-x-x-

I woke up that morning with a weight jumping on my stomach. When I opened my cobalt eyes, I saw raven colored hair, black owlish eyes with a scar under the left, and a large grin. I instantly knew it was my little brother Luffy. He was beaming like usual, maybe even more so, and I knew why. I looked around and saw our older brother Ace, though I would never admit he was older – it was only by two months anyways. I saw him scowling at Luffy as if angry, but the look in his obsidian eyes proved he was just joking and the freckles on his face made it look almost like a childish pout. I looked back to Luffy and saw him grinning still. The grin was for a simple reason. His sworn brothers were awake and that meant it was time to hunt for breakfast.

I sat up and watched Luffy roll off of me before sitting up happily. His grin, one of pure innocence and happiness, made me grin as well. I honestly didn't care about him waking me up like he did. It was part of the daily routine. As I stood up, I saw the grin on Ace's face. If Luffy had a true superpower – not counting him being made of rubber due to his Devil Fruit – it would be being able to make anyone smile. As soon as he smiled, you did too. No matter how you felt just moments before. Luffy was, in all honesty, that little puppy dog you couldn't hate no matter how hard you tried. If you don't believe me, then just ask Ace. I'm still amazed by how things turned out honestly. Two months ago, Ace hated Luffy and even wanted to kill him – he tried to everyday actually. But now, they're my brothers. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

We quickly grabbed our pipes as I grabbed my oversized black top hat with blue goggles I've never used and jumped out of the treehouse we called home. Ace had landed on a nearby branch before jumping from branch to branch only to stand on the leaf covered forest floor. Luffy, even with his abilities, had fallen and landed on his butt. I honestly wasn't surprised. Just because he had abilities, it didn't mean he knew how to use them. My landing, however, was simple yet slightly elegant I guess. I merely jumped from the door and landed nicely on my feet. With each of our landings, the leaves around us flew up lightly, barely going past our knees. Quickly, Luffy stood back up – completely uninjured – and I put on my favored hat. As soon as we were ready, we took off in the direction of one of the closer hunting grounds.

Dawn Island consisted of many terrains. Mountains, forest, beach, the 'high and mighty' Goa Kingdom, the sweet and simple Fushia Village, the Gray Terminal, and other likenesses. If you got rid of all the snot nosed nobles and their kingdom, this island would seem like paradise to me. Because of this, my brothers and I lived in the forest where we would train and hunt for our own food. We didn't really avoid the kingdom. We would sneak in and steal as much beri as we could. We used it for our pirate funds. The funds we would use to buy a pirate ship one day. When we weren't in the country or the forest, we were in the Gray Terminal. The Gray Terminal was the place outside the walls of the kingdom that the nobles used as a dump. It was also a place where the homeless people lived. Nobody lived in the forest. Everyone considered it deadly and they always made up rumors about how no ones returned once stepping foot inside. I guess that's what happens when you live in the East Blue, the weakest of all the seas. But my brothers and I weren't weak. We were strong and knew every inch of the forest like the back of our hands. Well maybe not Luffy as much as Ace and I but you get the point. We knew what was dangerous and we knew what was safe. We also knew the best hunting spots.

We ran with smiles on our faces. Not a care in the world and just enjoying the moment as it happened. We ran as fast as we could while making the weirdest faces. Eventually, we started spreading out. We weren't side by side anymore. We were running our own preferred paths. Luffy was jumping around at random and soon was in the trees. He stayed in the thinner parts of the trees where we were able to see him. Ace was doing about the same but he knew the trees more so I wasn't as worried. Luffy was smart and seemed like a monkey but he didn't know the forest as well as we did and that's what started to worry me. Fortunately, we made it to our hunting grounds altogether. I know I shouldn't worry as much as I am. Luffy's strong. But stupid. That fact – and it is a fact – along with a bad memory makes me worry.

One of the first times we took Luffy to go hunting, he had been attacked by an angry boar. At the time, Ace and I had no clue why but after it all calmed down, we found out Luffy was chasing a young boar and the mother was defending its child. The attack had just barely missed him but it was enough for us to worry. After that, Ace and I watched him carefully every time we went hunting. Ace would never admit it because he was "too tough for that" but he did care. It didn't help that Luffy had actually been eaten by a crocodile once – what preceded that was not my fault I swear.

When I left the world of my thoughts, I realized Luffy was getting further and further from us. I tried yelling at him to slow down but he either didn't hear me, or he wasn't paying attention and was only thinking of food. Most likely the latter. Ace and I ran faster, trying to keep up but eventually we lost sight of our little brother. We didn't stop running. In fact, we ran faster than we thought we could. I soon realized something. It wasn't that Luffy was going faster than us. It was the fact that we were slowing down. The trees weren't flying past us like before or how they usually do. Eventually, we were exhausted and forced to stop. By looking around, I could see that we were barely halfway to the hunting grounds. But then why were we so tired? Usually we could run all the way there at top speed, get breakfast, and then run back with breakfast in hand and only then be tired. I decided to blame it on Luffy for eating all the food from dinner. We most likely didn't have enough energy. Looking at Ace, I realized he was thinking the same because he was glaring in Luffy's direction. This one wasn't playful though. This glare promised a punch to the head, maybe even multiple. I shivered at the thought of the amount of pain Luffy would be feeling later.

As soon as we started to head down the path again, a flash of bright light blinded me. The only thing I heard at that moment was Ace calling my name with a worried, confused and cautious tone. Immediately after the call, I heard absolutely nothing. It was as if the world had gone mute. There was nothing but silence and that blinding white light. I don't know how long it was like that. The only thing I could think of at the moment was a single question; did I just die? It felt like what everyone says about the afterlife. That light that engulfs you and takes you away. No sound was most likely because there was nothing needed to be heard on the way to the afterlife. But one thing confused me. I thought you were supposed to see your entire life flash before your eyes when you died and yet I've only seen white. Maybe it was just a myth. Maybe the endless white light was the real afterlife. Damn it! Why was I thinking this? I'm too young to die! I can't leave my brothers! And if I did have to die so young, why did it have to be on this island? I didn't even get a chance at true freedom…

My thoughts were cut off by the sound of cannonballs exploding, gunshots, yelling, and metal clashing against metal. The sounds of a large battle – maybe even war – basically. I blinked my eyes a few times and found the light fading. While looking around, I saw what could be described as a battlefield. The sun was blocked out by the dust which had been kicked up by the fighting. I saw men being shot and falling to the ground, dead before they land. Men being stabbed, slashed and cut. Some died instantly while others either lost a limb and panicked or continued fighting. There were groups of men who were taken down by a single cannonball or even a single man. I'll admit, I've been scared a few times in my whole life. But I've never been so scared that I couldn't move like what was currently happening. These men… They were the strong ones. The ones you didn't want to mess with unless you were a monster. A real monster.

While focusing on what was happening in front of me, I didn't see the man behind me. He ran at me, intending to kill me, but was stopped by another man. At the sound of clashing metal, I turned around and saw the two men fighting. The one who protected me quickly defeated my attacker before yelling at me to stay out of the way. I didn't need to be told twice. I ran. I ran and ran and ran. Where I was headed, I had no clue but soon I bumped into someone else. I quickly stood and held my pipe – which I was still somehow carrying – at the person, ready to fight, when I saw who it was. "Ace?" I had muttered, just loud enough to see my older brother on his butt and holding his pipe as well. He quickly stood and his eyes widened while looking at me. Instantly, I knew what he was thinking. "We aren't dead. If we were, then me running into you wouldn't have hurt." I had stated, my eyes never leaving the war around us.

Ace soon followed my lead and looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. Our senses from living in the forest and being thieves soon kicked in and we could hear the running steps behind us getting closer. With a short nod, we turned in unison and took the attacker down. To my surprise, it was fairly easy. My only guess was that he was a lackey for one of the monsters I saw fighting before. Within moments, Ace and I were a fighting machine. People had gathered around to either 'take down the easy targets' or to avenge a friend we had taken down previously. Soon enough, a majority of the lackeys were down and we had nothing more than a scratch or two each. I was starting to get cocky and so was Ace. I only knew this because I could practically hear the grin in his words as he told the remaining lackeys to 'fight like real men'. When he said that, the atmosphere around us instantly changed. In that instant, I realized something. These guys were just toying with us and now… Now they were pissed. I quickly turned to Ace to tell him we needed to run, but before I could say anything, I knew my words wouldn't work. He had that look in his eye. The look that yearned for adventure and fighting, just so he could make himself known. It was his dream after all.

When the first guy came at us, I immediately realized the difference between our strength and his. What terrified me more, was the fact that this was nothing more than a lackey. A lackey! The lowest of the low in a group of fighters! He was just the little guy that the big guys could flick and he'd be dead! If he was that low… Then what'd that make us? We were just some ten year olds from the East Blue and these guys… These guys were probably from the Grand Line! We wouldn't stand a chance.

Immediately, I grabbed Ace by the wrist and began running, despite him yelling at me to stop. I wouldn't. If I stopped running, there was a chance we would die and Luffy still needed us. So I kept running and soon, I wasn't dragging Ace anymore but rather running beside him. I don't know when it happened, but at some point, we had entered the stranger part of the battle. While running, we had left the normal fighting between swordsmen, sharpshooters, and martial artists only to enter the world of devil fruits. Ace and I paused only to stare in awe at a fat and grotesque man who seemed to control darkness as he fought what looked like a teenager who was able to make his arms and legs bigger than the rest of himself while coating them in some kind of black substance. We didn't have much time to watch the battle as a woman's voice stretched from the nearby sea and towards us.

Looking towards the voice, I saw a large and colorful ship which seemed to have a pirate flag. I honestly was confused but decided to question it later. The woman who shouted before was standing on the deck with her hands cupped around her mouth as she yelled at us to come to the ship. We didn't need to be told again as Ace and I quickly made a mad dash towards the strange ship. As we got closer to the ship, I realized just what the figurehead was but the flag was still flowing and I wasn't able to focus much on it. Seeing the sunflower-lion-like figurehead made me even more confused. Was this actually a pirate ship, or just a random ship? With how playful it looked, I couldn't take it seriously and thought about how much Luffy would have loved the ship. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and ran faster. Soon we were sprinting as fast as possible and were standing next to the ship within seconds. Somebody from the deck had thrown a rope ladder down and Ace and I quickly climbed. As soon as we were on the grass covered deck – what is with this ship? It's already so strange – I saw the woman from before and blushed lightly at how little clothing she was wearing.

The woman had long flowing orange hair that was a little brighter than Dadan's hair but was much better taken care of. Her hair fell down to her waist, just above her denim short shorts, and followed her curves perfectly, which were obvious due to the fact that she only wore a bikini top. Focusing a little more, I saw a strange tattoo on her left shoulder along with what I thought was a log pose on her left wrist. Accompanying the log pose was a single gold bracelet and on her feet were laced up high heels that went past the ankle. After assuring we were alright, she leaned over the railing again and shouted out to the battlefield something about marines. At the mention of that one word, I could see Ace tense slightly out the corner of my eye. Almost instantly, two men and a robot came onto the deck of the ship.

"Let's get out of here!" I heard someone yell before I turned to look at the rest of the people on deck.

"We can't! The shitty captain is still out there!" I heard a blonde man with a curly eyebrow yell.

"Are you kidding me!? Why does he always have to fight so much!?" A long nosed man yelled as he jumped from somewhere higher on the ship and landed next to us.

"Yohoho! I'm sure you'd do the same if you were in his position Usopp-san!" A man – no, wait, skeleton? – had said, sounding as if somehow smiling.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" A – reindeer? – asked worriedly as it stood on the railing, facing the ongoing battle.

"I'm sure captain-san knows what he's doing doctor-san." A tall black haired woman with a soft voice stated calmly, though the owners soft blue eyes showed the worry that didn't come through in speech.

"I swear I'm gonna kill that idiot if he doesn't get back here soon." The orange haired woman growled as her hand curled into a fist.

I looked to Ace and saw he was watching the battle in the distance much like the others on deck. I couldn't help but watch either. It was honestly amazing. From how it sounded, one of them – if not both of them – were pirate captains. A fight between a captain and his rival was nothing to miss nor joke about. I watched in awe again as the man made his fists grow to extreme sizes before coating them in that black substance and continuously striking the other man who seemed to just vanish. The fat man grabbed the others shoulder and the others fist shrank to normal sizes again before the fat man punched him in the back, nearly sending him flying. I didn't know why, but I had this sudden feeling that the fat man dissevered whatever ass kicking the younger intended to give him. Alas, the battle was cut short by a cannonball landing in between the two fighters. I heard the orangette yell for her captain to hurry and all I could do was hope the fat man wouldn't come towards this ship.

To my luck, it was the younger who came running towards us. Within seconds, the orangette was spouting orders to all the men, including the captain. I couldn't have been more confused. Wasn't the captain supposed to give orders? I guess this crew was different. Well, at this point, I couldn't say it was a guess. More like a statement. I mean, the captain looked kinda like a teen – though I hadn't seen his face yet – and was taking orders from someone else. Along with that, there was a marimo, a perverted dartboard, a terrified Pinocchio, a reindeer that could somehow talk, a robot-cyborg-thing and a skeleton with an afro. Honestly, I think the only normal people are the two women on board.

When we could no longer see the island or the explosions decorating it, everything calmed down. So calm that most of the men had literally fallen onto their backs and onto the grass layered deck. They looked ready to take a nap as the reindeer walked around and checked for any wounds but was interrupted by the orangette. She quickly announced the presence of Ace and I – though she called us two kids much to Ace's annoyance and my irritation. Quickly we shook it off as everyone sat up and looked at us before introducing themselves.

"I'm the great and powerful captain Usopp! It's nice to meet new members of my crew." The long nosed man had said which caused Ace to growl in annoyance and for the man – Usopp – to cower. I carefully looked over Usopp and realized he looked like any ordinary man. He was wearing baggy cream colored pants that stopped just above his tan boots. He wore an open jacket that showed some of the muscles on his chest along with a bag which was slung over one shoulder and laid on his opposite hip. On his head, he wore a strange hat which let his poufy hair stand out in the back as he wore goggles over his eyes.

"What was that about 'great and powerful'?" Ace muttered in annoyance as I chuckled at his remark.

"Sorry about him. He's a liar. He likes to tell tall tales." The orangette said with a smile. "I'm Nami by the way. I'm the navigator."

"He's not the captain, right?" I had asked without fully meaning to. I tried to cover my mouth, much to the woman's – Nami's – amusement.

"No he isn't. He's just the sniper." Nami stated.

"Hey!" Usopp shouted, lifting his goggles to lightly glare at Nami. "I'll have you know I control well over ten thousand men!"

"Sit down 'oh mighty captain'." A blonde man said. I looked in his direction and saw a tall blonde wearing black dress pants and a white dress shirt which was mostly covered by a black pinstripe vest and decorated by a thin black tie which went under the vest. Looking at his face, I gained some curiosity. He had a dark goatee and his messy blonde hair covered his right eye but openly showed his curly eyebrow above his left eye. "I'm Sanji. I'm the chef here."

"Don't eat anything he makes. It all tastes like crap." A deep voiced muttered. I looked towards the voice and saw a man with green cropped hair, sitting and leaning against the railing while allowing his three swords to rest on his right shoulder. He wore a green coat that showed his chest and the long scar running across it along with his green haramaki. Around his waist he had a red sash that held his coat closed but allowed the sight of his black pants and boots. As final touches I suppose, he has a black bandana tied around his left bicep and three gold earring on his left ear.

"Shut up you shitty marimo!" Sanji yelled, raising his leg as if ready to fight.

"Both of you shut it!" Nami shouted.

"Yes Nami-swan~!" Sanji sang as his one visible eye turned into a heart.

"Tch. She devil…" The marimo muttered.

"Shut up Zoro." Nami said, raising a fist to emphasize her point and causing the marimo, Ace and I to sweatdrop before she turned back to us. "Ignore him. That's Zoro. He only sleeps, fight, and train."

"So he's a waste of space?" Ace questioned.

"Hey! Remember the lessons!" I yelled at my brother.

Sanji laughed loudly. "I like him! You and me can get along kid."

"Sanji-kun. Please calm down." A black haired woman said with a soft voice which was accompanied by just as soft a smile and softer blue eyes. Her long black hair fell straight back and flowed lightly with the breeze causing the sunglasses on the top of her head to move ever so slightly. She wore a maroon tang top which seemed tight until it got to her mid-stomach where it turned loose and flowed in the wind as well. With it, she was simple black tights that went to just below her knees and ended just above her knee high black boots. "My name is Nico Robin. It's very nice to meet you boys."

Out the corner of my eye, I saw Ace blush ever so slightly. Huh… So that's what he liked? Oh I'm using this against him later on. At least she seemed nice and looked pretty. I saw Ace bow a little before shyly saying hello.

"Yohohoho! He's so shy suddenly!" The skeleton laughed. His outfit was… unique to say the least. He wore a black tuxedo jacket with a blue cravat and a scarf made with orange feathers laid around his neck. His pants were a salmon pink and were covered in white flowers. He wore slightly curved yet pointed shoes and carried a purple cane. Personally, the strangest part was the afro and its size. On his forehead was a pair of sunglasses which looked like each lens was a sideways heart and on top of his afro was a large crown. "Oh! My name is Brook. It fills my heart with joy to see you are safe and unharmed. Oh! But I don't have a heart. Yohohohoho!"

"Ah! I didn't check either of you for any wounds!" The reindeer shouted as it ran over to us. The reindeer was no taller than either of us. It was about the same height, maybe shorter by an inch or two. It had on a large blue hat that had a pink circle in the center and in the center of that was a large white 'X'. The clothing was simple in the fact that it was nothing more than orange pants and a white and orange stripped shirt. The reindeer opened its blue backpack and took out a few supplies before cleaning up our small cuts and scratches.

"So… What are you? A tanuki?" Ace had asked.

"Obviously not." I said, before anyone else could speak. "It's a reindeer, idiot." The reindeer and the rest of the crew all looked at me in shock. "What?"

"Yow! Nobody's ever gotten that right! Not even us when we first met him! You're SUPER smart, bro!" The robot guy shouted while doing a strange pose. He wore nothing but an open red shirt with palm trees on it and a red speedo which allowed all the robotic parts of him to show. His shoulders looked like large red orbs, his hands were huge and pink for some reason, and his lower arms were large box's almost which, when combined, made a large star. Probably the simplest thing on him was either his blue hair which was combed to curve upwards, the stitches that went straight down from each shoulder and into his speedos, or the metallic panels that wrapped around his legs.

"That's Franky. He's kind of a pervert but really cool. He's also our shipwright. I'm Chopper by the way. Tony Tony Chopper and I'm the doctor. Thanks for knowing I'm a reindeer." The reindeer – Chopper – said with a smile.

"You're welcome. And thank you for helping us." I said with a slight nod.

"You bastard~! Thanking me doesn't make me happy!" Chopper nearly sang as he danced around.

"This ship is so weird…" Ace muttered.

"You think this is bad? Wait till you meet our captain." Sanji said as he placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it.

"That reminds me. Captain-san isn't usually this quiet." Robin stated.

"Yeah. He usually is the first person our guests meet." Usopp said. "I wonder where he is…"

"Nami! Where's my hat!?" A shout came from below deck.

Nami sighed before yelling back. "I'll go get it! Get up here and introduce yourself to our guests!"

Within seconds, one of the doors to the lawn deck had opened and out came the man from before. He still looked pretty young but not as young as my brothers and I. Probably in his late teens. He wore an open red long sleeved cardigan which showed a large 'X' shaped scar on his chest. Other than the open shirt, he wore semi-worn out denim shorts and sandals. What seemed almost strange to me was his face. He had the same grin as our little brother and even the same scar under the left eye. But his eyes… They weren't as innocent. It was obvious he'd seen plenty of death and even a few wars. While looking over the captain, I hadn't noticed Nami leave. All I saw was her coming back before placing a hat on the man's head. My eyes widened when I realized what the hat was and Ace must have realized the same.

"Where'd you get that hat…?" Ace nearly growled as he scowled at the man with all his anger. I knew exactly how Ace felt and why. Because I was wearing the same look. That man had attempted to look like our little brother and even had his hat. Luffy would never let that hat leave him. So if this stranger had it… I didn't even want to know what had happened. All I knew, was that this man, this imposter, was going to pay for hurting our little brother.

"I got it from Shanks." The man grinned.

"LIAR!" Ace and I yelled in unison by accident. "Shanks gave his hat to our brother! How would you have gotten it!?"

The man just looked at us with a blank stare before tilting his head to the side and looking confused. "What are you talking about?"

"What do you mean by 'our brother'?" Nami asked, slightly fearful although I didn't care much how she felt.

"Shanks gave that straw hat to our little brother Luffy a few months ago. So how do you have it?" I had asked, knowing Ace wouldn't have tried to reason. After a few moments of silence, I looked at each of their faces. Everyone looked sad and confused at the same time. Everyone except the captain. The captain slowly and carefully stepped towards us before kneeling in front of us and grinning. What he said next I would have never expected to hear.

"My name's Monkey D. Luffy. It's been a while. Ace. Sabo." The captain – or Luffy as he had said – paused for a moment as his grin widened. "I told you I'd get stronger."

(Aaaaaaaaaaand done! So… I have no words. Hope you liked it I guess. Not sure I said it before but, I only decided to write this because of the poll. I'm gonna put up a new one that is ONLY asking what I should update. Tell me what you thought of this writing style too. This was a first. Fave, follow, read my other stuff, vote and review! Bai~! c(X )

Start time – 12:00 PM (noon)

End time – 3:00 AM