If you're reading this for the first time, thank you so much for finding it in the depths of the fanfiction sea, it really means a lot to me.

AN: Yes this is another one of those time-travel fic's you've seen so many of around. I've read quite a few, but the romance has a tendency to put me off because it has a ship I don't like. I have nothing against those who incorporate them in their story, but I've sometimes not finished reading them because of it. So I decided not to put any ships into this one. It will most likely be purely friendship and adventure, some of my ships might bleed through from time to time though, and you're free to tell me if it bothers you so I can fix it in later chapters. This is my take on how things would go if the Strawhats went back in time, taking into account problems that come with experiencing trauma and casualties of war, note that I've tried to do as much research on these subjects to make the story as authentic as possible.

Please be advised that if you have suffered some kind of trauma in your life, or have any form of mental illness, this story might trigger you. Please take care of yourself if you notice that anything in this story triggers you in anyway. Stay safe and if you're walking through hell, keep walking. I promise you, it does get better.

Note: Chapters 1-6 has finally all been revised [12.03.17]
Chapter 7 is still being worked on because I hate that particular arc, so I don't know when it'll be up yet. Please be patient with me on that one.

Note: There are spoilers in this story, so please read the Whole Cake Island arc (or at least watch/read the Zou Arc) before reading to avoid spoilers.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Piece, I only like to borrow characters and plotlines from Oda, and I am not making money from writing this.

Try and Try Again

Chapter 1 – This moment in time

Everything had been going well for the Strawhats, the rescue Sanji team had successfully made it to Wano Kuni and met up with the rest of the crew, they had managed to get copies of the Road Poneglyph and the two other poneglyphs at Whole Cake Island (courtesy of Brook), and they had managed to pull Sanji out of the mess he was in almost unscathed. There were still some unresolved issues between Sanji and the rest however, but they hadn't had time to address them before they had thrown themselves head first into the fight against the Shogun and Kaido to take back Wano and free its people. The fight had lasted a lot longer than anyone of them had anticipated though, but they had, by an immense amount of luck, come out the victors. After the fight the country had erupted into festive madness and they had of course thrown a party, in real Strawhat fashion.

They had been careless though, not even hours into the party a horde of marine battleships had shown up, with non-other than Fleet Admiral Sakazuki bringing up the rear. Upon seeing his face, Luffy had launched himself at him in blind fury, forgetting everything about his own exhaustion and injuries. He had thought that he'd gotten over Ace's death by now, but seeing his murderer again after so long had made him lose it completely. All the pain and grief that he thought he'd gotten over had come back full force, and he hadn't been able to stop himself. The fight had however been horribly one-sided as Luffy, in his rage, had been unable to control his attacks properly, and had over used his haki to the point where Sakazuki finally shot a magma covered fist through his torso, just like he had done with Ace. No matter how hard the crew had fought, they had lost. Zoro and Sanji had realized at the same time what had happened, and Zoro had given the order to retreat. Bruised and badly beaten they had managed to get away. How? They weren't sure, but they had.

Upon reaching the nearest island Zoro had wandered off to blow off some steam, cutting everything in his way. He was so angry, not with Luffy or any of the others, but with himself. Luffy was dead and there was nothing he could do to help. He felt so utterly useless, I'm not strong enough, I'm never strong enough, fuck. Then suddenly everything went grey around him, and there was a man in front of him, sitting on a fence. Zoro could have sworn he wasn't there a second ago, he would have felt him, and what was up with everything suddenly going grey? "Huuuuhmm… I didn't think you pirates of the Strawhat Crew would lose at this point in time." The old man cocked his head to the side looking at Zoro sympathetically.

Zoro looked at the other man, not confused as one might think, but with pure unguarded fury. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" He snarled at the other man.

"Now, now! Calm down, I wasn't mocking you, it's just that this wasn't supposed to happen, but as faith would have it, it did." The man looked at Zoro, not a shred of fear visible in his face.

Zoro took a deep breath, it wouldn't do to attack people at random, Luffy would hate me for it. He let the breath go. "What are you talking about old man?"

"I have seen what will become of this world if the World Government wins this war, and it is not pleasant, you were our last hope at defeating them, but seeing as faith is a cruel mistress, you never reached your true potential." The man said; there was obvious sadness in his voice. "But there is still hope." He smiled timidly at Zoro.

"Huh?" Zoro was confused, how could there still be hope when Luffy was no longer there with them. "What do you mean, still hope?"

The man jumped off the fence. "I have a proposition for you, if you accept you will be able to change the future."

Zoro just stared blankly at him, what the hell is he saying? Change the future? How the fuck is that possible? Zoro shook his head slightly. "What are you proposing old man?" Even in Grand Line they'd never encountered anything that could mess with time, if that was indeed what the man was talking about. The future made itself with their actions, and there was nothing that could change that. He had never been one for wishful thinking, what was done was done and there was nothing anyone could do about it other than move forwards and take the consequences head on.

The man looked at Zoro, he knew approaching the first mate of the Strawhats with this was risky, as he knew the man was sceptical to anything that had to do with faith, but he had to try. He had sworn to never interfere in the vowing of time, but he couldn't just sit by and watch how the world would tear itself apart anymore, the world needed the Strawhats, just like it had needed Roger and his crew so many years ago. He knew that there were great dangers involved in doing what he was about to do, but it would be for the best he told himself. "First I need you to come with me, and then we can discuss more, if you're up for it."

As the man started walking off Zoro snapped back to reality, "Oi, I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me what the hell is going on!" He folded his arms over his chest; the old man has to be crazy for thinking I'm just going to blindly follow him anywhere without a really good reason! The man sighed, "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you much here, please come with me and I'll explain more when we're somewhere safe."

Zoro grumbled, he really wanted to know what was going on, but he wasn't sure that going with an old man anywhere was a good idea, it could be a trap, and he'd long since found out that size and age definitely didn't matter on the Grand Line. Fuck it. He let his right hand fall on Wado's hilt, "If you try anything, I promise you'll meet your end on the tip of this blade." He kept a few paces behind the man, using observation to keep track on his surroundings and scout for dangers, but he couldn't hear anything, in fact, he couldn't even hear the rest of the crew, even though they weren't far away. What the hell is going on here? He felt cold dread creep up his back, had they been found? Were the rest of them already dead? Shit.

He looked over his shoulder in the direction where he thought the crew was, he needed to go back and find out what was happening, he couldn't lose them too. "They're fine, don't worry," the old man said calmly over his shoulder to him, "Don't worry? How the fuck can you say that? I can't hear their voices anymore, how the hell can you possibly know that they're fine?" Fury was rolling off him in waves again, he needed to get back to the crew, he needed to know they weren't dead too.

"I know, because we're currently in a time pocket, please just follow me, I'll explain more when we're inside and safe." He sighed as they stopped in front of a mountain. "Here we are," He placed a hand on a stone in the rock wall and an entrance into a cave opened up in front of them. Zoro grumbled, he wanted to turn around and head back, he didn't want to care about what the old man was saying, but he couldn't lie to himself, he did want to know what was going on, and this man had answers.

"Welcome to my humble abode" The man said as he stepped inside the cave. Zoro looked behind himself once more, everything was still grey, and there were no sounds. Still unnerved, he walked in after him. The moment Zoro had stepped inside however; the opening sealed itself behind him. "Don't worry, you will be able to leave if you want to, it's just a precaution." The man said as Zoro had instinctively reached for Shusui with his free hand and tightened his grip on Wado with his other. He didn't release his grip on either however, he still wasn't sure if the old man could be trusted or not.

"Now will you tell me what the hell is going on?" Zoro growled through clenched teeth, the guy better start talking, because if the others are dead when I come back, I'm going to kill him. He had no idea what the guy wanted, and it was infuriating.

"Ah yes, as I said earlier your crew wasn't supposed to have been defeated at this moment in time, but alas it happened. I had hoped I wouldn't have had to intervene and history would have unfolded like it should, but it seems I was forced to act regardless. Now as to why you are here Roronoa Zoro. As you have probably figured out by now I am proposing sending you back in time. I'm only able to tell you the general idea of how it's done however, because this is one dangerous gift to have, and I can't allow it to fall into the wrong hands." He looked over at Zoro, who just stood there motionless. If it hadn't been for the fact that he had observed the Strawhats for quite some time he would have missed the subtle shaking of Zoro's hands, and the slight flexing of his muscles after hearing that. So he didn't know after all…

Zoro felt his blood boil over, and he couldn't suppress it anymore, "WHAT! Is this some kind of sick joke? You drag me back here to feed me some cock'an bull story about time-travel? Well fuck you, I'm leaving!" He couldn't believe it, he'd let himself be led off by a crazy old fart, and now the entire crew could have been killed because of it. Fuck I'm so stupid! As he turned to leave he found that he couldn't move at all, his whole body was locked in place, "What did you do to me?" He snarled at the old man, seeing him hold up a hand in front of himself.

"I'm truly sorry Roronoa, but I can't let you leave until you've heard me out." The look in the man's eyes were apologetic, which took Zoro by surprise, he had expected to see a look of malice or glee, but not this. "Please let me explain at least," he said dejectedly, "-if you still want to leave afterwards you're free to do so, but you need to hear me out."

Zoro struggled against whatever was holding him in place, gritting his teeth. He wanted to go back and check on the crew, he needed to know that they were safe. "I… I don't care about what you have to say," he growled through his teeth. "Oh I think you do, Roronoa." The man went over to a little table Zoro hadn't noticed before now, and sat down in one of the chairs, he beckoned to Zoro to do the same, and before he knew it his body was moving on its own accord. He still had his hands on Wado and Shusui though, and just by knowing he still had them ready at his side was enough to calm him down a little.

"Now, please listen, you'll have time to ask questions afterwards if you have any. As I said, I'm able to send people back in time." He held up his hands again as Zoro was about to argue. "Will you please just listen?" He said exasperated, and this time Zoro managed to hold his tongue. "I know this is hard for you to believe, but you should know by now that nothing is impossible in this world, you've seen it countless of times before, have you not?" He fixed Zoro with a pointed stare before he continued. "-I'm offering to send you back in time so you can prevent this from happening again, I have seen what lies ahead if you chose not to do this, and I can only wish that it doesn't come to fruition. It is still your choice however, but you need to know what's happening and will happen." He looked expectantly at Zoro, who still didn't dare say anything. "Now that Mugiwara is gone the World Government will take total control, more so than they are now. There will be total destruction, and both the Yonko's and the Revolutionaries will fall. Sakazuki has already taken out over half of the revolutionaries, and is on his way to take on Shanks." He took a deep breath, as he thought of how to best tell the next part without giving away more information than necessary, "Your crew were supposed to get to Raftel and discover the true history and challenge the World Government, a feat that Roger and his crew were unable to do because of Roger's illness and untimely execution in Loguetown not long after. You were the next in line to continue their work, and finally do what is needed to regain the power WG has been holding onto for so long. The will of D must live on, and Dragon is not enough to shake this world anymore, Luffy's will was so much stronger than his father's and grandfather's, and it should have been him to stand at the front of this revolution. You understand now how important it is that you are not defeated again?"

Zoro nodded slowly, this was bullshit he knew that, but still a part of him was sure that this was going to happen now, why wouldn't it, hadn't they know this for a long time already? How bad the World Government were already, and now with Sakazuki in charge it was only getting worse. But Luffy? Was he really so important to avoid the total destruction of the world? Was it possible that only they could reach Raftel and learn the true history? Of course, they still had Robin, who is supposedly the only person left in the world who can read the poneglyphs, but how much does that matter now? And does this mean that the One Piece is just a piece of history and nothing else? No, he didn't want to think about that. Now, if indeed the old man was telling the truth about him going back in time, would he even be able to do anything to influence the outcome of the future? He doubted it to be honest. He's only one man after all, and he can't see what good would come from being the only one with this knowledge. "Would I be enough?" He mused out loud, not really aware that he'd spoken. "What do you mean, Roronoa?" the old man had sat watching him go through the motions, from disbelief, and then to puzzlement, he had expected a lot of questions, but this took him a bit by surprise.

Zoro shook his head when the old man spoke again, almost startled by his voice, he'd been so lost in his own thoughts that he'd almost forgotten that he was there "Hmm, what?"

"You asked if you would be enough, what did you mean by that?"

"Oh, I just thought that I alone won't really have that much of an influence on the future, no offence, but what good is there sending me back, if that's even possible, when the only thing I can do is give hints to the crew of what they should and shouldn't do? If anything you should send Luffy back, or even Nami, they can have a real influence on things at least." He didn't mean to sound self-deprecating or anything, it was just that he was sure his actions alone weren't enough to have an influence in the grand scheme of things.

"Ah yes, you are quite right in that I'm afraid, you alone would not be enough to change what has happened now. You misunderstood me however, when I said you, I did in fact mean the whole crew. You are all paramount to a change of this magnitude." He smiled a little when he saw how shocked Zoro looked at these words. "So are you finally able to accept my offer now?"

Zoro swallowed hard, he said they could all go back, but how? And to when? Were they going to have to start from beginning of their lives? Was that even possible? Too many questions were floating around in his head and he clutched the bridge of his nose, not even noticing that the binding on his body was gone. "So you mean… that all of us, including Luffy will go back, but how? I don't understand."

"Well the logistics are somewhat complicated as I am both a part of this world, and not a part of it. That is why we are currently in this time pocket, a place where I am able to talk to you freely without influencing the current events going on outside. You could say it's another dimension of sorts." At the confused look on Zoro's face he continued, "As of right now, your crew is locked in time, meaning that while you are here with me no time will pass on their end, this is also the reason your haki was unable to pick up their voices as you called it. This time pocket is how I and others I bring alongside me are able to pass through time, since it is not technically connected to the thread of time itself."

Zoro was more puzzled than ever now, he wasn't sure if he'd understood anything the old man had been saying, except for the crew being somehow frozen in time, "So the others are on some sort of pause until I go back outside this, um, time pocket?"

"You could say it like that, yes."

"Okay, so they're safe." He sighed with relief, that's some good news at least.

"As I told you they were, but no matter that now, you asked me how I would be able to bring all of you back, and I'm guessing you're also wondering at what time in the past you'll be going back, am I right?"

Zoro nodded, he was still unsure if he was able to believe any of this, but everything the man had said, had made sense somehow.

"Well, as to how, I'm going to try making it as easy to understand as possible. As I've said, this time pocket is the only way for me to be able to speak with you, and that goes for any time in history, I am not able to physically set foot on the ground in your time, and I've said that this pocket is the only way to travel between times, I could therefore bring you with me to any point in history if I so wished, but you too would not be able to set foot on the ground of that time. With my power however, you are able to meet with your former self and give your memories to him, so that your counterpart will know everything you know now just by touching their head, you will in other words merge with your former self. There is a catch to this however, you will have to convince your former self to agree to obtain all your current memories, or it will not happen. When this is done, regardless of your former self's decision, you will disappear from this time, making it as you've never existed in the first place. Time will have been rewound so to speak. With the other's I will take them with me back to their own former self and have them merge as well, if their counterpart agrees, that is." The old man looked at Zoro, who was still clutching the bridge of his nose, deep in thought, "Do you understand what I'm about to do now?"

Zoro looked at the table in front of himself, it sort of made sense, at least he thought he had caught the basic idea of it now, "I think so… we're going to use this time pocket thingy to travel back and visit some kind of former me where I have to convince myself to obtain the memories I have now?"

"Yes, good," the old man nodded, "-now for when you are going back, do you have a preferred time you would like to go to?"

Zoro wasn't so sure of this one, he knew that he didn't want to go through his childhood again, and from what he had gathered from the rest of the crew, he didn't want that for them either. Losing Luffy and then having to re-live their own fucked up childhoods would just be too cruel. So when then? "Um, I don't know, all I know is that I really don't want anyone of us to have to go through our childhoods again."

"I see, yes I would have to agree with that. Would you mind me suggesting that you all go back to the day before you met Mugiwara then, as that would ensure that not too many events are changed?"

Zoro chewed on the inside of his cheek, yes going back to the day before meeting Luffy was a good idea, that way neither would have to go too long waiting for him, especially Brook who was marooned on that ghost ship for over fifty years, he couldn't even begin to imagine how terrible that would be for him, if indeed the old man meant that everyone would come back before they met Luffy, and not on the day before he met him. "So just to clarify, you would send us back the day before each of us met Luffy, right?"

"Yes that's right, it does make my job a little harder, but it's certainly doable."

"Good," he sighed with relief, but then another thought struck him, "-so, if you don't mind me asking, what other risks are involved, other than us disappearing from this time I mean?" A deal such as this was too good to not have any risks, even he knew that, and even if he was still going to do it, it would be nice to know what they were up against later.

"Well, I'm not sure, I would imagine a lot of you will have to deal with Mugiwara's death, and Mugiwara will have to deal with dying himself, also there's everything that comes with changing the future, some changes can be for the better and some for the worse."

He hadn't thought of that, of course Luffy dying would be painful to deal with, but it would be even worse staying here and deal with the fact that he's gone, than being there with him alive, wouldn't it? Anyway, that was something they could get through together, they were nakama after all. Changes to the future however, that wasn't so easy to deal with when it would happen. Was it possible that they could even end up losing some of the others then? And just what constitutes as changes? "Luffy's death we can deal with, but what do you mean with the changes? What has to change for it to make a huge impact on the future?"

"What I meant was that everything you change will have some sort of consequence, no matter how small that change is."

That, Zoro agreed was a big risk to take, but if they just tried to keep on track with what they did the last time, at least until they met up with Brook, they would be fine, right? At least that way they wouldn't lose any of the crew that way at least. "Okay, we can deal with that."

"Good, so are you ready?"

"Hang on, there are just a few more things I need to know." He let his hands glide over Shusui and Sandai Kietsu, "-will my powers go with me? And what will you tell the others? Since I'm the one doing this, agreeing to this I mean, they must also do it, or they will disappear from this time too, right?" He wasn't so sure he wanted the others to know he was the reason for this, his own selfish wish to start over, to be able to make up for all the shit they did the first time, and to have Luffy back in the crew.

The old man sat in thought for a few seconds, "About your powers, I'm not sure, you will certainly have memories of them, but if you're able to use them, I honestly can't say, I guess that is something you will have to find out when you go back. As for the crew, I'm going to explain to them what we have talked about here, and inform them about what's going to happen, were there anything in particular you wanted me to say to them?"

Well knowledge of his powers would definitely help, if nothing else. "Not say to them exactly, but would it be possible to not tell the others I was the one who agreed to this? And could you also not tell Luffy, and Nami now that I think of it, that we're all back, I want to be the one who tells Luffy what happened if that's okay? And not telling them we're all back might make it easier to meet like we're supposed to." It would be hard trying to explain all this shit to Luffy, especially about what happened in the war with Sakazuki, but he'd made up his mind, he wanted to be the one to tell him, he needed to.

The old man looked at him thoughtfully, "I can do that, if that is what you want." He stood up and walked over to Zoro, "Now then, are you ready for this?"

AN: Thank you for reading, please follow/review to tell me what you think.

Most of you are probably wondering how my story is going to differ from all the other time-travel fic's out there, and to be honest, I have absolutely no clue. I also don't know if I'm ever going to finish this story, but I'll at least try. Also if my writing sucks at times it's because it's not my native language, and I struggle with writersblock a lot of the time, which means it might take some time between each time I actually write. I promise I'll work on it and get better though.