She didn't know what to feel when Ace died.

Yeah, he had always been a stupid little demon, and yes, he had always gotten on her nerves, but she had considered him almost like a son, and though it had always felt like a burden to have him around, it was hard to ignore the painful twinge in her chest saying I would do anything to get him back.

Dogra and the others had cried when they first heard the news.

Dadan... she didn't know what to think.

Her brain had stopped for a moment, freezing time just enough for her to numbly register that, He's gone... before time cruelly continued onwards.

First Sabo, now Ace?

Dadan closed her eyes as a wave of grief hit her. Why? They were good kids... brats, irritating, and impulsive... but good kids.

They were my kids.

What would happen to Luffy now? First Sabo, and now Ace... Luffy would be devastated. So Dadan felt sad.

No, that wasn't right... it was just an excuse, and Dadan knew that. She wasn't just sad for Luffy... she was also scared for herself.

What if Luffy died?

What if the last of those three dies?

A little part of Dadan broke when Sabo died.

A bigger part broke when Ace died.

She was sure that part of Luffy's heart was broken, too, and pity made part of her heart break.

But... if Luffy died... would her heart shatter?

It was a terrifying thought.

I want my boys back.

She knew that they had grown up... that they wanted freedom, that they had tasted it, that Sabo had known the outside world, that Ace had realized that he deserved to be alive, and that Luffy would be the Pirate King... she knew that, and knew that they were happy living like that, but...

...but...

...was it selfish to just want her boys home? Here? With her? Not in that dangerous world, and not in the realm of the dead?

Two out of three are gone...

Dadan didn't quite know what she ought to feel when Ace died.

But she knew what she was feeling.

And it made her cry.

A/N: I wrote this after someone close to my dad died. (I didn't really know the person, so I'm not experiencing anything, but... this is my attempt to understand?) Yeah... sorry I'm writing so much sad stuff lately...