I finally got into One Piece after so long of putting it off! This is a time travel story, as stated in the summary and will be a long story. I haven't found/read any Ace time travel stories so I wanted to do this because I love Ace and he has SO MUCH potential! This story is an AU, a lot's changing. I am still in the process of catching up to the manga, I'm on the Dressrosa Arc right now, I have a long way to go, but I know I will be able to catch up. Most of the content will be manga-based as I have not found anywhere to be able to watch the anime. If anyone has any recommendations as to where to watch, that would be great!

...

Changes:

1. Characters will have slightly different personalities, but their core personalities will remain (more mature characters)

2. Different bounties

3. Some Devil Fruits will have slightly different or added abilities (Devil Fruits without names will be named based on their power) will be different

4. Some dead characters will be alive/deaths are happening

5. Expanded crews/more powerful members (but not overpowered)/alliances

6. Some changed lore/expanded lore

…

I own nothing except my own ideas, whatever changes I do, and my OC's, otherwise everything else belongs to the creator(s) of One Piece!

Chapter 1: Prologue – The Flame's Second Chance

"Thank you for loving me…."

Those were his last words.

Ace sacrificed himself for his younger brother. If given the chance he would do it again in a heartbeat. Though, he would change the circumstances, if he could. He would have wanted to see his brother achieve his dream of becoming the Pirate King.

'Pirate King, just like his father…' Ace didn't know how to feel about that, but he would never take away his younger brother's dream.

Ace wasn't expecting to be able to open his eyes and see bright blue all around him. The young man blinked, and then blinked again. Ace didn't think what he was seeing was real. Looking down, he noticed that he was on a pier overlooking the ocean.

"Wh… Where am I? How… What's happening?" Ace asked out loud, not knowing where he was or what was happening.

"You are in the afterlife, young one." A female voice says from being him. The black haired young man spins around, seeing a beautiful woman standing behind him with a warm smile on her face.

"Who are you? What's even happening right now?" Ace asked the unknown woman.

The mysterious woman laughed. "Come, young one. There is someone here that wishes to meet you." The older woman lightly tugs him along with her, away from the ocean and to a modest house near the pier that he appeared on.

There was an orange tree in the front yard of the house, and a man sitting on the grass underneath, looking up at the clear sky.

As Ace and the woman got closer to the man, he turned, and revealed his face to the two approaching people. The man gave a large grin to the two people. But Ace froze as he saw the man's face. His blood had run cold and he was shaking in terror and anger.

The man sitting with his back to the orange tree was none other than the former Pirate King.

Gol D. Roger.

Ace's father. Captain of the Roger Pirates. The Pirate King. The man that had shaped an era as he died. The man who traveled throughout the world and knew the location of One Piece. The man who's blood Ace has in his veins. The man who ruined Ace's life even without him knowing it.

Ace roared in rage, lunging at the man, tackling him back to the tree and pinning him there. His father didn't even struggle against him, the woman that had been leading him to the former Pirate King said and did nothing as Ace attacked and snarled at his father. The 20 year old looked more like a wild beast than human at that moment.

Roger's grin turned smaller until a warm smile remained on his lips. A low rumble was heard from his lips when he finally spoke. "Hello, Ace."

Ace wordlessly screamed at him, tears running down his face. The former Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates didn't know what he was even crying about.

He didn't know if it was because he was seeing his father for the first time. If it was because this is the first time he's ever heard his name be said with such love that only a parent could provide. Or some other reason he couldn't think of at the time.

"I hate you." Ace spat at his father, who he was still pinning to the tree. "You ruined my life!" The boy, compared to the two people he was with, screamed as sobs wracked his body.

Roger's eyes turned so sad, silent tears streaming down his face. "And you have every right to hate and curse me, Ace. I deserve it. I deserve all of your anger and hate." Roger said, looking at his son, the son that he and Rogue had created together.

The boy couldn't stop himself in time, falling onto his father. Roger immediately circled his arms around Ace's body and hugged the boy close. Ace sobbed and sobbed onto his father. Neither cared about the woman who was watching them silently, smiling all the while.

"I'm so sorry for everything you've been through, Ace. If I could, I would make sure you would have lived in a world that you would be safe and happy in." The Pirate King said.

"I had two brothers." Ace started saying suddenly. Roger let him talk, wanting to know about his son's life. He had hoped Rogue would have lived, but it just wasn't meant to be. His son was alone in the world without parents; he only hoped Garp had kept his promise to raise his son.

"Sabo and Luffy. Sabo… Sabo died when we were younger, he had wanted to sail out early, and we wanted to go when we were 17, but he didn't want to wait, so he went early. He… When he sailed out, a Celestial Dragon was coming to Goa Kingdom for something, and he passed by. They destroyed his ship, killing Sabo." Ace stopped, sobbing and thinking about his dead brother.

"He was 10! A child! Those monsters killed a fucking child!" Ace cried.

Roger gave Ace the time he needed. "What about the other boy, Luffy?" He asked gently after a while, wanting to know about the two boys who had no doubt changed Ace's life for the better, more so than he or Rogue could have ever done for him.

Ace gave his father a huge grin, reminiscent of the Will of D., which they both carry. "Monkey D. Luffy." Was all Ace could say as Roger choked.

"WHAT!?" The Pirate King yelled in shock.

Ace laughed at the flabbergasted expression on his father's face, full blown and light. "Yep! Monkey D. Luffy, he's Gramps grandson. Gramps came to see Dadan and check up on me, and then pawned off another kid to her. A little rubber-boy named Luffy. He was all smiles and cheerfulness. First thing he did was run up to me and asked to be his friend." Ace chuckled. "I hit him over the head and left him there. He kept following me, he never gave up. The brat was honestly one of the most reckless things to ever be allowed to live. He has no self-preservation, hell, I don't either, but that's beside the point. Kid almost killed himself with all of the crazy things he tried to do to get my attention. But, I realized that he was like me, alone, with almost nobody to care for him, both literally and figuratively."

"Who is Gramps and Dadan?" Roger asked the sniffling boy. Ace has stopped crying sometime in his story of Luffy.

"Gramps is Garp, and Dadan would probably be the closest thing I had to a mother. She was a bandit; Gramps couldn't really care for me, so he made a deal with the mountain bandits that were near the village that he lived in when he was on Dawn Island. He would turn a blind eye to them if they raise me in secret. Gramps figured it would be the best plan to raise the son of the most hated person to have ever shape an era." Ace shrugged, finishing his story.

Roger laughed, still hugging his son, but now the two were sitting next to each other, Ace had his head on his father's shoulder. "Well now, it seems I was right to place my trust in Garp. I'm glad he didn't go back on his word and take you to the Marine Headquarters." The man said.

"Nah, Gramps wouldn't do that. He's a D for a reason. He keeps his promises." Ace said, thinking about the last conversation that he had with his grandfather.

"Ace… can I ask…" Roger couldn't continue. Ace turned to him, the freckled young man raised an eyebrow, prompting Roger to ask the question that had been plaguing him since he had seen Ace with Kozuki Toki-Sama.

"How did you die?"

The question hung between father and son for what felt like eternity.

Ace looked down to his hands, swallowing hard. He lifted his head, tears in his eyes again. "Luffy was trying to save me from being executed by Sengoku and the Marines for being your son. We almost got out too, but… We went through hell and back because of what Impel Down did to us. Luffy was too weak to continue, he collapsed, and…" Ace closed his eyes tightly, thinking about what happened right before his death.

"Akainu went to kill Luffy, but I got in front of him, taking a Devil Fruit powered attack straight to my chest, sacrificing myself for him. He's a kid; he has his whole life ahead of him. I couldn't let him die. What kind of older brother would I be if I let my younger brother die? But… I left him alone! We had already lost Sabo when we were kids; now he has to lose another brother!"

Ace broke down. Roger had never felt his age more so then when he watched his son break in front of him by telling him the story of his death. He couldn't keep it together either, both father and son sobbed, clinging to each other like a lifeline. And in a way, they were each other's lifelines in that moment.

"Roger, Ace." A female voice interrupted them. The two males look at the woman; it was the same woman who had led Ace to Roger.

Roger gave her a friendly smile. "Toki-Sama, I'm sorry for taking up your time."

"Nonsense, Captain. You both deserve the closure you were denied. I have no intention of breaking the two of you up; however, I do need to speak to your son about my offer." Toki said.

"Of course." Roger nodded.

"Who, who are you?" Ace asked, wiping away his lingering tears. He looked between his father and the woman, Toki-Sama, was what his father had called her.

"My name is Kozuki Toki; I am a member of the Amatsuki Family by birth and the Kozuki Family by marriage. I was also a member of the Roger Pirates with my family. I was born 830 years ago during the Void Century. I would like to offer you the chance of changing your fate." Toki said with a radiant smile on her face.

Ace was floored; he didn't know where to even start with the crazy things this lady had started saying to him. "Wh… What?" Was all he could say in hopes of trying to understand what the hell had just come out of that woman's mouth.

Kozuki Toki tried to stop her giggling by covering her mouth with her sleeve, but she couldn't contain it and just smiled at Ace again. "Would you like to change your fate? The circumstances in which you have come here are not your own." She asked him again.

"I… Isn't dying not really a choice that a person makes consciously? I mean, besides the obvious?" Ace asked, glancing at the Pirate King.

Roger burst out laughing at that comment. "Wow, I never thought about it like that. Yeah, you're right when most people don't choose to die, but how you died… if I could, I would love to get my hands on Akainu and show him and all those other Marines what happens when you mess with my family." Roger growled the ending of his statement, a dark look on his face.

Ace cringed and slowly backed away from his father. He'd heard about Roger's famous temper, and he knew that he had the same bad temperament, but seeing it, even if it wasn't aimed at him… was terrifying.

"Captain, you are scaring Ace-San and using King's Haki as well." Toki said to Roger. The man stopped immediately and looked at his son who had an expression of uncertainty and fear on his face.

"I'm sorry, Ace. I didn't mean to scare you." The former pirate sighed and closed his eyes.

"I… It's okay? I mean, I get that you're angry." He mumbled the last few words, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I still shouldn't have scared you. I'm sorry about that." Roger said, a slight frown on his face.

Ace looked between his father and the very old, yet beautiful lady. "Can… Can I think about it? Do… Do I have time to think about it or do I have to choose now?"

"Take your time, however long you need. I can wait. Spend time with your father. When you come to your decision, meet me back at the pier. It was nice meeting you, Portgas D. Ace. I look forward to seeing the changes you make." She sends him a secret smile.

When Kozuki Toki left the two alone, Roger looked at Ace with a large, happy smile on his face. He was glowing with pride and happiness. "Your name is Portgas D. Ace?" Roger asks as his voice breaks a little saying the name of his late wife.

"Yeah, it is. All I know about Mom is her name: Portgas D. Rogue. Gramps only told me that, whenever I asked, he brushed me off, saying he would tell me about her when I was older." Ace ran a hand through his black hair and shook his head. "Guess that conversation will never happen now." He muttered.

"You couldn't go around with a name like Gol D. Ace; it would have gotten you killed. I'm glad that Garp told you her name. You deserve to know about her." The 53 year old man leaned back against the orange tree and tilted his head back, watching the sky.

"Can you tell me about her?" Ace asked hesitantly, not knowing how the topic of his mother would be handled by his father.

"What do you want to know?" Roger asked. Ace blinked, he didn't think that it would be that easy.

"What was she like?" Ace whispered, curling up and putting his head on his knees, looking up at his father. He looked a lot like him, Ace realized. How anyone hadn't figured his lineage out before was a mystery to him, but he was glad of it. He had the time to meet Sabo and Luffy, get his own crew, join the Whitebeard's, and meet with all sorts of people. No one found out until he was captured by Blackbeard.

"She was kind, the kindest person I'd met up until that point, even after. But she was also a spit-fire. She wouldn't take crap from anyone. When we first met, I knew that Rogue would be the woman I wanted to grow old with and have a family with. For me, it was love at first sight. I know that sounds sappy, but that was how it was. Rogue though…" The Pirate King trailed off and chuckled, thinking about the beautiful woman who was his lover and the mother of his child.

"She demanded to see the D that had been causing so much trouble in the Grand Line. Rogue didn't know what to expect when we met, hell, I didn't know what to expect when Shanks came to me frantic saying that there was a scary lady demanding to see me." He belted out a laugh and a grin to his son and Ace laughed too, never thinking he would ever hear about Shanks being scared of his mother.

"Wait… Shanks? The Yonko, Shanks?! He was on your crew?!" Ace shouts in disbelief.

"Yonko…. Shanks is one of the YONKO?! How in the fuck did that happen?!" Roger yelled.

"I have no idea! Luffy's the one who knows him!" Ace shouts back.

"Well I'll be damned! That boy sure grew up right!" Roger laughed and pulled out a picture, handing it to Ace.

The photo was worn, but clearly loved. It showed Roger and his crew in the backdrop of the Oro Jackson. A young Shanks and Buggy smiling and laughing about something, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. Behind the two teenagers were the other members of the crew, laughing and holding mugs of beer. In the middle of the large band of pirates was a slightly younger Roger, who had his arms wrapped around a woman who could only be Rogue, and she had her hands on her still flat belly. To Roger's left was his first mate, Silvers Rayleigh, who was also smiling to whoever took the picture. There were also a few other people that Ace didn't know, but looked slightly familiar.

"Who are they?" Ace asks, pointing to the man and woman holding two small children between them. The woman he recognizes as Kozuki Toki, but the three people around her, he doesn't know.

"Ah… Those are Kozuki Toki and her husband, Kozuki Oden, as well as their two children: Momonosuke and Hiyori, 8 and 6, I believe." Roger informs Ace.

"When… when was this taken?"

"When I found out that I would be a father." Roger grinned, and hugged Ace. "I was so happy when Rogue told me. I went up to the crow's nest screaming and weeping to the heavens. Rayleigh thought I was dying, which, at the time I was, but he didn't know why the hell I was screaming like a loon. When I came down, everyone was afraid to approach me, but Rayleigh. I was acting like a giddy schoolgirl, not like a pirate captain. I dragged him to mine and Rogue's room and we told him. Besides Garp, Rayleigh is the only other person that knew of your existence."

Ace nods, silent and in shock at all he's hearing.

Father and son sit in silence until Roger turns and looks down at his son. "I think you should take up Toki-Sama's offer. You shouldn't have died at age 20; you shouldn't have died for something you had no control over." Roger said, a hand on Ace's head.

"You think I should… I should change my fate?" Ace asked, unsure of what he wanted. He knew that if given the choice, he would go back to his brother and live, but on the other hand, this was his chance to get to know his father, a man so many people said was a demon, which condemned a child just because of who his parents were.

"You should take time to think about what you want, Ace. I cannot choose for you, Kozuki Toki's power is one unlike anything you have ever seen or experienced. However, it is very dangerous if used incorrectly." Roger warned him.

"What power does she have?" Ace asked, wondering what could make Roger warn him as he is doing now.

"She has the power of the Toki Toki Fruit. It is a Devil Fruit that allows the user the power to manipulate time. However, it is extremely dangerous and must be used sparingly. The only thing that Kozuki Toki has told me about her ability is that she has the power to change a person's fate should it not be under their own power. I have a theory about what that could mean and the limits of the Devil Fruit, but nothing concrete, she won't tell me." Roger explained.

"She… She has the ability to manipulate TIME!? What the fuck, that's so broken!" Ace yelled; shock, fear, and hope all played across his face. Ace didn't know what to do with that information.

The son of the late Pirate King, Portgas D. Ace, born Gol D. Ace, stumbled away from his father. He couldn't think straight, his thoughts were scattered and jumbled. Current and past thoughts and memories coming together in a fragmented mess. Nothing made sense, he couldn't tell up from down, left from right.

Nothing makes sense.

Nothing mattered anymore.

Ace was dead and there was no changing that.

Luffy…

Luffy was….

Luffy was alone!

His little brother was alone in the world. He saw the cruelty of the world firsthand when it sought to take away the two lifelines he had.

NO!

Ace would not let it end!

Not now!

Ace will not let those he cares about hurt because of him!

He is Portgas D. Ace! He is a member of the Family of D.!

He will change his fate and protect the people he loves!

'No matter what!'

"Kozuki Toki-Sama!" Ace was standing next to the other Devil Fruituser.

"Have you decided, Portgas D. Ace?" Kozuki Toki asked him calmly.

"What does the Toki Toki Devil Fruitdo? What will it do to me if I decide to… change my fate?" Ace asked, hesitant in receiving the answer, because he doesn't know what the woman would even say.

"I cannot tell you of the effects that my Devil Fruit will have on you, but I can say this, once I do this, it is up to you to change your fate. I cannot interfere anymore. I will not be able to see your changed fate until you come here once more, next time it is permanent. I do hope you can change your fate, you and your family might be the salvation the world needs." Kozuki Toki said.

Ace swallows the lump in his throat. "I need to hear you say it, I will not activate my Devil Fruitability without your consent." She tells him sternly.

"Wait!" Roger came running up to them, his boots slamming heavily on the wooden pier. "Can I give him something?" The Pirate King asks.

"Of course." Toki said with a nod of her head.

Roger held out the picture that he had shown Ace. "Take it."

"I… I can't. It's yours." Ace said, not knowing what to do in this situation.

"You can. If there is one thing I want you to know and to have, is this: we love you, no matter what anyone thinks, no matter what anyone says, we love you, Ace. Please, believe that. Every one of my crew has a copy of this picture. Please, let me give you something." Roger pleaded.

Tears welled up in Ace's eyes again. "I…" He couldn't say anything, just looked at the photo that his father was holding out to him.

"South Blue, an island called Baterilla." Roger suddenly said, his grey eyes wide, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Ace." Kozuki Toki called to him.

"Do you wish to change your fate, the fate that led you here to this spot?" Kozuki Toki asked.

"Yes, I want to change what happened to me and my family. I want to change it all!" Ace said, falling to his knees in front of the other Devil Fruituser.

Kozuki Toki smiled at the kneeling boy. A grin that was able to form an era can be seen on the face of Gol D. Roger.

"You will be sent to the first true turning point in your life. Are you ready, Ace?" The woman said.

He lifted his head, looking straight at Kozuki Toki. "Yes."

"Save the future, discover the past. Love with all of your being. Protect those you care for. Bring salvation to the world. Farewell, Gol D. Ace, and good luck."

"I love you Ace." His father whispered to him with a large smile on his face.

Proud and happy. Those are the only two words that Ace could describe his father in that one moment.

Then nothing.

Darkness enveloped him.