WARNING: Contains spoilers up to most recent chapters.

The idea for this story suddenly came to me after reading the first chapter after the timeskip. I've lacked motivation to write, but I really want to get this started. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I might own the license for the word processor I used to write this story (not), but I certainly do not own One Piece or any of its original/canon characters.

"You've come so far... partly from help of my own... but now, you lose it all."

The man to whom the disembodied voice is directed is breathing heavily as if in great pain... and terror.

"Despite knowing the nature of the prize... and its rightful successor... I feel no remorse, no pity. Know that the help you received back then also had nothing to do with pity. I always knew that THIS is the end meant for you..."

The man in pain, whose mind does not seem to be truly his own, replies: "I guess I couldn't make it in the end... but I know someone who can. This isn't over..."

He feels the muscles of his mouth force themselves from a grimace to a wide smile. And then, he tumbles forward in the stark blackness of the world around him, and he feels soft, cold earth hit his face... Faint voices are heard all-

"...up. Come on now, we have to go soon."

The boy's eyes snapped open to see his mother's face hovering over him, her slender hands gently shaking him from his slumber. Her eyes showed a sadness and expression of incomprehensible loss not unlike the feelings with which he had just woken up.

"Huh? Did I miss the alarm...?"

"No, hon." Her voice was somber, her face slightly pale.

He sat up in his bed, his head quickly exiting the world of his well-known recurring dream to enter a world of reality-based dread. "What is it, Mom?"

"It's... it's Rayleigh-san. He's dead."

The trip, despite the speed of the flying vehicle, was a long one. Besides the roar of the small jet's engine, the silence between the small number of passengers was heavy and oppressing. The boy kept his gaze on his feet. For once, he would have much rather been in school at the moment.

The boy's mother finally broke the vocal silence. "So, when exactly is the service?"

Apparently, it wasn't loud enough for the pilot. He pulled one end of his large headset away from his ear and glanced over his huge metallic shoulder and shouted, "Aaaaah? You say something, Nami?"

The boy allowed himself a small smile, eyes still fixed upon his feet. Franky had been the only one so far who seemed capable of keeping his spirits high despite the situation... although the boy knew quite well that the cyborg would be the one crying the hardest by far at the funeral.

"WHEN'S THE SERVICE!" Nami shouted, slightly irritated.

"Oh, tomorrow evening," the pilot answered, turning back to the main console. "Around 7, I think."

"And the funeral is the next day?"

"Yep. Kind of surprised the old guy wanted a funeral in the first place. He never seemed to care for publicity."

Nami smiled a little. "Well, that's why so few are invited. He's been mostly a hermit since the end of the Roger Pirates... and he was one of the very few surviving members. Not many know him on a personal level like us."

Franky's headset was on again. He turned to look at Nami again, one eyebrow sharply raised. "Aaaaaah?"

"DO YOU EVEN NEED THAT THING ON?" Nami screeched, smacking the back of his head.

The boy chuckled a little, causing his mother's attention to turn to him. Her enraged expression immediately softened to a concerned gaze. "Hey, you sure you're not hungry? We've got snacks; you haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

He shook his head, smile fading. "I'm good, thanks."

She reached over and lightly tousled his short, bright orange hair. "You okay? What's eating you? The dream?"

He was usually embarrassed when she brought that up, but he ignored it this time. "More than that..." He glanced up at her, his head still bowed a little from staring at his feet. "I just wish I had met him more than once. Rayleigh-san, I mean. He was... tightly connected with the crew, wasn't he?"

Nami stared at him for a second before turning her gaze to her own feet. "Yeah... he was. He did a lot for us back in the day." She sighed. "I'm sorry, hon, I wish you could've seen him more often... He was kind of hard to get a hold of."

The two sighed, and the heavy silence was back. Franky turned and glanced at them several times, each time with increasing anxiety. He finally burst, "YEAHHHH WE'RE ALMOST THERE! DRUM ISLAND AHEAD! GET THOSE HAPPY FACES ON FOR THE NEXT PASSENGERRRRR! YEEOW!"

"My God, how old are you now?"

"Sixteen..."

"Shit, time flies, huh!" The cook rubbed his chin thoughtfully, giving Nami's son an appraising look. "You need to get a little manlier, come on. Who's gonna protect Nami-san?"

Nami smacked him in the head. "That's enough, Sanji-kun. It's not like the poor kid doesn't get enough of that at school already."

The boy laughed sheepishly. He had to admit that Sanji's comment was warranted. According to those who had known his father, pretty much all of his physical traits were from Nami's side. He had a slender frame and a somewhat feminine face. If it weren't for his height, his clothes, and his short messy hair, his gender could almost be disputable. He stood at about six feet tall and usually wore a dark blue short-sleeved polo shirt with black jeans, a simple silver chain hanging from his neck.

The mood in the lobby of the Sabaody Grand Hotel was considerably lighter than the one in the Flying Franky 5. It was fun to watch the banter between the old members of the defunct Straw Hat Crew. Apparently, it was the closest they had ever come to being fully assembled since before the end of their Grand Line journey... and the end of the crew itself. The only two missing were Zoro, whose whereabouts had now been unknown for years, and, of course, the man who had founded and led the crew as the brave, powerful captain. Monkey D. Luffy was an enigma, his legacy without match. The last time anyone had seen his face marked the end of his crew and their world-changing journey... and the Golden Age of Piracy itself. All fully pardoned from all crimes, the remaining members went on to live their lives supported by seemingly endless wealth.

"Oi, Nami, your kid spaces out a lot..." Usopp grinned, reaching over to clap the boy on the shoulder and subsequently making him jump. "A little jumpy, too."

Brooke laughed. "Yohohoho! I, too, used to nearly jump out of my skin on a regular basis! But as you can see, I don't have to worry about THAT anymore... after it finally happened!"

Chopper gawked at him. "O-Out of your skin? I-I thought it was just a Devil Fruit..."

Crystal giggled. "Oh, Chopper-kun, how can you still be so gullible?"

The boy smiled sheepishly at Jinbe. "Haha, embarrassing, huh? Still easily startled despite Sensei's training..."

Jinbe's laugh was short and loud. "Not to worry, my dear student. Usopp-kun himself is considered a great warrior, and look how easily frightened he is!"

Nami sharply raised a hand towards Usopp as if to slap him, making him cry out and flinch so hard that his chair toppled back. Everyone laughed as Chopper stared at Nami with frightened eyes. "S-scary!"

Usopp quickly righted himself, brushing dust off his sleeves. "It matters not, Chopper my friend... I am, after all, the Great Warrior Who Conquered Elbaf!" He sat back down and gave Nami a quick glance. "I just happen to owe her a whole lot of money," he mumbled.

The boy's smile slowly faded as the happy-go-lucky group went back to talking amongst themselves, discussing what they had been up to for the last few years. His thoughts wandered once more unbidden to his dark, disturbingly realistic dream... He wanted answers. He wanted to know why it was recurring and how to make it stop. He had a feeling he knew what it was about... but his mother wouldn't confirm anything, although he had yet to come forward and tell her straight out what he thought it was. He was admittedly afraid to do so. He didn't want to bring any more difficulty to his mother's life. There was more to that, too...

"Food's here, food's here!" Usopp and Chopper cheered.

Food servers laden with heavy silver platters made their way out of the kitchen attached to the private banquet hall the ex-pirates had rented out for themselves. They marched across the pristine red carpet to the hand-carved oak dining table and started carefully placing the steaming results of their hard work before the hungry patrons. The scent of various roasted meats filled the boy's nostrils and fueled a hunger he hadn't really noticed until now.

As the group started to eat, the boy once again noted the strange, almost guarded way most of the members ate, especially Usopp. The few times he had met them previously, he always noticed this oddity at mealtimes. Nico Robin was sitting next to the confused teenager, and she smiled as she noticed the look on his face.

"That's part of the 'legacy' our dear captain left behind..." she murmured.

The boy looked up at her, surprised. "What do you mean?"

She placed her chin in the palm of her hand, turning her warm smile toward Usopp and Chopper who both had one arm curled protectively around their plates as they shoveled in their dinner. She talked half to the boy, half to herself. "Even after all these years, the mark he left on us hasn't even begun to fade. It's a wonder, really."

Now the boy was confused more than ever. He looked back at Usopp, then at Robin, then back to Usopp again. "Was... was he paranoid about his food getting stolen?"

Robin laughed, brushing graying hair out of her eyes. "No, he made the others paranoid. His appetite was impossibly huge. He could never get enough food. He would stretch his arms all over the table, trying to steal our food while we ate. The ensuing fights were always... amusing, although I'm sure not everyone shared that sentiment. It was especially frustrating to deal with after particularly draining and tiring days. He would always try, though, no matter what... sometimes even in his sleep. Hence the automatic defensive mechanism you see before you."

The boy sweatdropped. "That's... wow." He scratched his head. "Even in his sleep? How annoying!"

Sanji grunted. "You're telling me."

Franky looked up darkly. "Yeah, you have no idea."

There was some silence after that as they ate. The legendary sharpshooter broke the silence with a full mouth.

"Dith ith thum a da betht food I had in a nong dime," he noted with enthusiasm before swallowing and immediately shoveling in more food.

Crystal looked at him, amused. "I guess it's been too long since you've visited the restaurant, huh?"

Sanji glanced at the small woman sitting beside him and lifted a finger. "Now, Crystal, this food is pretty good. You have to give the chef credit for doing this well with inferior ingredients. You gotta keep in mind where we get our own supplies from when comparing our food to other establishments."

Crystal gave him a slightly surprised look. "Complimenting a chef? You only ever do that right before you recruit them."

The cook stood up. "That's right, my dear. I am about to go do just that. Excuse me."

"Careful, Sanji-kun," Nami said, smiling. "Don't give 'em a heart attack from the shock of being scouted by you."

Sanji promptly turned around and floated over to Nami on a cloud of pink hearts. "Nami-swaaaan~! I am but a humble servant before your angelic being! I cannot accept such praise!"

Nami's smile became annoyed. "Sure you can." She then kicked him straight through the doors leading to the kitchen. Her son looked on, slightly nonplussed. "Mom... isn't Crystal married to him?"

The mapmaker sighed. "Yeah, but some things just never change. He's always acted different with her."

The blonde in question glowered. "Indeed, some things never change... but they certainly get old." She looked decidedly more exasperated with her husband than angry or annoyed.

The rest of the meal went with little event, or whatever passed as "little event" for the rambunctious Straw Hats. The boy fleetingly wished he was part of such a tight-knit group of friends. Even though their reunion was occurring under some of the bleakest of circumstances, they still always seemed like they were having the time of their lives... his mother included.

"Come on, Mom, even now?"

"Yes, dear. You never know when you'll need to use it."

"But... I think I'm already pretty good at it!"

Nami smiled. "Yes, you are. There's always room for improvement, though. Now get ready."

He sighed, looked up at the clear night sky faintly illuminating the small grassy hotel courtyard, and began concentrating. He heard and felt his mother's rapid approach, bo staff in hand. He kept his gaze on the stars, occasionally magnified by the ever-present Sabaody bubbles, as the rapid barrage of attacks began. His body weaved in and out of the bo's blurred form as it repeatedly tried to land a hit on him from all different angles. His movements flowed as effortlessly as if he were made of liquid. He mildly noted how much less concentration he now needed than when he started a few years back. Modest as he was, he knew that this was no small feat; his mother's bo skills were famously top class. Kenbunshoku Haki was practically second nature to him at this point. Between intense martial arts training with Jinbe and Haki training with Nami, he was gradually becoming a fighting machine. The thing that bothered him about it, though, was the seeming lack of necessity; excluding a few bully encounters at school, life had been nothing but peaceful. He couldn't help but suspect that he was being prepared for something that he wasn't being told about. Whenever he questioned this, his mother would just feed him the usual "just in case" answer.

"Not bad," Nami calmly noted, not letting up even the slightest on her continuous attack. "I want you to counter now. Look for an opening and go for it."

His head still tilted slightly skyward, his body still weaving, he sharply brought his gaze down to his assailant's body. It took only a second to find an opening. He struck one end of the bo straight up with an upward open palm thrust, and all in one smooth motion, twisted his body and stepped forward, delivering another open palm strike to his mother's gut with his other hand. She took the hit and slid back several feet, scraping shallow trenches into the well-kept grass as she went, her head bowed. He kept his position, one open hand up in the air and the other extended in front of him, his knees bent and his right foot forward.

A few seconds after her slide came to a stop, Nami raised her head to face him with a grin. "Good job, kid."

He repositioned himself, bringing his legs together and standing straight up with his hands before him, palms pressed together. "Thank you." He bowed politely as Jinbe had taught him.

She inclined her head. "No problem... but no need to be formal with me, you know."

He glanced up at her from his bowing position. "You weren't going easy on me, were you?"

She laughed. "Actually... not really. You've improved. Luffy didn't teach me much, but it looks like you've already got it all." She put a hand on her hip. "I think you're even better than me."

He straightened and took on his usual relaxed posture, rubbing the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed grin. "Hehe, I don't really think so, but thanks."

Nami gave a small, almost concerned smile. "You gotta have a little more confidence in yourself... You have no reason at all for the poor self-image routine."

He looked away, feeling a bit uncomfortable with that particular subject. He had always been rather timid by nature. It wasn't really about poor self-image. Maybe it stemmed from something like that when he was younger, but he didn't really think there was a particular reason for it; it was just how he was. He sometimes felt like friends and family resented that, as if he was doing something wrong by not being outgoing and constantly social and always brimming with self-confidence. However, at the same time, he couldn't help but sometimes notice something tiny tugging at the back of his mind trying to tell him there was a reason for his timidity, something he was missing.

His thoughts were interrupted by his mother suddenly dropping down onto her bottom and sighing, her arms angled behind her and propping her up as she gazed at the stars.

"What's up, Mom?" He walked a little closer and sat down himself, bringing his knees up to his chest and hugging and resting his chin on them. He gazed at her, her serene face palely lit by the soft light of the moon. "Training done already?"

"I guess I'm not really as into it as I thought."

He nodded slowly. "Understandable. This isn't some lighthearted vacation we're on, after all." He knew what it truly was, though. The mention of her old captain usually brought along with it a slight moment of depression, sometimes nearly unnoticeable, but always there. Rayleigh's death was weighing heavy on everyone's hearts, and that would only make other painful memories of the past even more painful.

He didn't say more. They simply stared up in silence, perhaps attempting to seek solace in the solemn beauty of the giant mangrove archipelago's night sky. Earlier that day, he had experienced an odd feeling that something big was going to happen soon. He hadn't thought much of it, but that feeling returned now. He gazed intently at the Big Dipper as if trying to squeeze an answer out of it. He didn't know it yet, but that big event was to come two days from that night, and it would change his life in the biggest way.

"What took you guys so long? I don't have all DAY, you know!"

Nami's jaw dropped. "W-What are you doing here? And why are you the first one here?"

The clown pirate Buggy narrowed his eyes. "I just wanna get this over with. With this, I think I can finally cut off my ties with the Roger Pirates completely. It's always been an annoying link to the past..." He crossed his arms and looked away.

Nami's startled face gave way to a soft smile. "You care, don't you?"

"AAH? What are you talking about?"

She gave him a slightly sly look. "I can see past your tough guy act. You hate your history with that crew... but you've always looked up to Rayleigh-san as an inspiration and an idol, haven't you?"

"I-Inspiration? IDOL? That guy was THE MOST ANNOYING PART of that crew! Well... at least second to Red Hair."

Nami's son had to stifle a chuckle at the clown's obvious overreaction. It was clear that his mother's analysis was spot on.

"Oh, what are you laughing at?" Buggy spat.

Nami put her hand on the boy's shoulder and led him past the pirate, waving her other hand nonchalantly. "Just ignore him, hon. He's just a big baby."

They left Buggy spluttering in indignation as they walked up to the casket. They gazed down solemnly at its occupant. Even in death, he had about him the look of reliability, of power, of deep knowledge. Even in death, he was someone to look up to and someone to respect. It was still rather surreal to gaze at the still face of the seafaring legend and realize that he would never again open those sharp eyes, never again give needed advice with a gruff yet friendly smile.

Nami sighed and turned away, walking to the nearest bench and sitting heavily on it. She sighed as he joined her. "I'll be glad when this is over," she mumbled. He silently put an arm around her shoulders and her head slumped against him, a pouty expression on her face. "I'm not really good with this whole death thing."

"It's okay, Mom, we're almost done. Funeral today, home tomorrow." She gave a little nod in response.

The last two days had gone by quickly. He smiled a little at the memory of the wake from the previous night. It had ended up being pretty fun. It was the nature of the good-willed pirates that Rayleigh had been associated with; these people didn't look at wakes and funerals as nothing more than a pure celebration of life, and celebrating was one of their specialties. There had been tears, of course, but they were quickly lost in the raucous upbeat mood. The funeral, he knew, would be a little different. Final goodbyes could only be so cheerful, especially when they were for someone as influential as the Dark King.

The small group of attendees steadily flowed in, and soon, the procession was ready to begin. The gravesite wasn't far, and so the procession was on foot. There were only two pallbearers: Red-Haired Shanks taking the front of the casket and another pirate originally from Roger's crew bringing up the rear. She had introduced herself simply as Fan, and none of the Straw Hats seemed to know anything about her. She had dull, graying blond hair and an intense sadness in her face, the depth of which Nami's son could not even begin to fathom.

A large tent made of Sabaody's resin awaited them, decorated with cheerfully colored streamers. It looked more like shelter for a big celebratory picnic than a gravesite. The boy had to place a hand over his eyes to shield them from the bright morning sun as he surveyed the scene. Beneath the edge of the tent, a simple podium stood in front of Rayleigh's freshly-dug resting place. The small group gathered before it as a black-haired woman slowly walked up to stand behind it. For a second, he couldn't remember who she was, but it came to him quickly; it was Shakuyaku, owner of Shakky's Rip-Off Bar. As the group gathered, he ended up standing next to his mother with Franky at his other side, who was already dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief.

She cleared her throat. "Well, thanks for coming, everyone. Welcome to the funeral of this weak, unforgiveable bastard."

The boy's eyes widened, but then everyone else cheered or laughed.

"Dark King, my ass. He gave out under the pressure of this illness... one that was not quite unlike the same his captain suffered all those years ago. Not quite unlike the illness that drove Roger to take over the Grand Line. In fact... that was right around the time our friend here contracted it."

There were surprised looks all round. Apparently, this was news to all but Shakky.

"I couldn't tell you if the disease was exactly the same... It's highly likely that Roger had a much more extreme mutation or something of the sort. However, the end result would be the same for Rayleigh, and he knew this. But he felt he had too much to do. He felt he had a duty in taking a part in the ushering in of the new Pirate King and the new era that King would bring, a King that Roger himself would approve of and be proud of. Through sheer force of will, he kept the terminal illness at bay until the day the world was in a state in which he felt he could finally put his guard down. However... the Pirate King that came to be, the new era this new King ushered in, did not ease Rayleigh. It brought an abrupt end to the Golden Age of Piracy, an end that some feel was too soon."

The boy looked around again. There were many stern faces, dark looks.

"As everyone here probably agrees, Trafalgar Law should not have become Pirate King, not with what he's done to the world. We are in the minority, however; most just say that the better man won, that Luffy-chan was simply unable to best him, and that's that."

The boy didn't even have to look at his mother to know the hurt expression on her face.

"That said, Rayleigh still hadn't lost hope. He knew Law and his New World Order could be taken down, and so he kept fighting for the last sixteen years." She shrugged. "In the end, though, there was only so much he could do. I'm sure his age didn't help much. Not everyone can age as gracefully as myself."

Some grins and even a catcall. She gave a wink at that. The boy couldn't help but smile.

"Now... a proper burial is a little unusual for a pirate, mostly because the 'authorities' don't approve. But there have been notable exceptions... Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace lie not far from here." She turned and gave the casket a slight smile. "This guy didn't care what we did with him, though. I pointed out to him that he hadn't left any instructions when he let me read his will, and he just shrugged. 'Do what you see fit. Who am I to decide my own fate?' So there you have it, folks. You can blame me for this awkward little social gathering." She paused for the laughter. "However, I have no regrets, and I hope none of you do. I don't think he does, either. Even though he ended up dying before he wanted to, he knew that still didn't change the fact that Law's world will end, as all corruption must. For anyone who might doubt this, take a better look at his face. That is not the face of a man who died with regret. It is relieved, yet stern. He is relieved knowing the one to step up and reshape the world once more, this time for the better, is coming. He is stern towards his enemies and those that would stand in the way. That stern face is the same face that made his countless opponents in the past piss themselves in the midst of battle, and it is the face that assures us he will keep close watch on us all, even now, friends and enemies alike.

"And now, I end on a more personal note..." She fully faced the casket now. "Arigato, Uchi no Hito. You were truly the best business partner I could have ever asked for." She inclined her head towards him, and then turned and walked from the podium. The applause was mostly drowned out by Franky and Brook who were busy outrageously bawling and clinging tightly to each other. The boy absently pat Franky's back, wiping away a tear or two himself. He felt kind of silly to be reacting in such a way, having met Rayleigh only twice in his life. He supposed it was just seeing the profound effect Rayleigh had on everyone else that was getting to him.

The group quieted down a bit as Shanks took the podium. The legendary ex-Yonkou had an eye patch over his scarred left eye, shoulder-length red hair, and a light beard. He had in his hand a small scroll which he now laid out flat on the podium's surface. He scratched his head as he looked down at it.

"Well, uh, there isn't much here..." He looked up at the crowd suddenly. "Oh yeah, sorry, I'm looking at his will here. I'll read it to you." He cleared his throat.

"I, Silvers Raleigh, am of sound mind and memory and declare that this is my last will and testament. This last will and testament expresses my wishes without undue influence or duress. I hereby appoint Shakuyaku as my Executor. If this Executor is unable or unwilling to serve then I appoint Red-Haired Shanks as alternate Executor. My Executor shall be solely responsible for execution of this last will and testament.

"I hereby bequeath the remainder of my estate, property and effects, whether movable or immovable, wheresoever situated and of whatsoever nature to..."

His intense gaze fell on the orange-haired boy standing near the rear of the group, startling him. "...Eldest Son of the late "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy...

"Monkey D. Sabo, of Cocoyashi Village!"

In a world of too many distractions and sometimes not enough inspiration, reviews are my primary drive to continue. Please let me know how you like it so far and whether or not I should keep going!