Summary: On the day of Sabo's accident, a strange twist of fate makes it so that he doesn't lose his memories, causing the fate of the world to veer drastically off course. On that day, Luffy learns that sometimes, strength alone is not enough to protect your loved ones. And Dragon learns that he cannot trust his father to take care of Luffy and his brothers, so he makes a deal with Garp: Luffy, Ace, and Sabo will come to live with him for ten years, and in return, they will join the marines when they return to East Blue. Marines AU. No pairings.
SkyGem: Hello hello to readers new and old, and welcome! Thanks a lot for clicking on this fic, and I hope you all enjoy it! This is my first fic for this fandom, so please don't hesitate to let me know if I make any mistakes, yes? And I apologize in advance if updates aren't as frequent as we all would hope. My laptop recently crashed and I haven't gotten around to getting a new one yet, so I have to use my crappy desktop, which I share with my brothers, so bear with me. Anyways, that's it for now, hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.
"Ah! The weather is pretty nice today!" a cheerful voice commented, ringing out through the clear summer air. Its owner, a young man named Monkey D. Luffy, was sitting, relaxed, with his back to a barrel and his arms relaxing on an oar. There was a wide, stupid grin on his face, which was tilted upwards to catch the sun's rays.
"I know, right?" agreed an equally cheerful voice belonging to his older brother, Ace. Like Luffy, Ace was relaxing, leaning with his back against the side of their puny rowboat, which had no doubt been intended for a single person, instead of the three young men that had piled themselves into it.
"But really, who would have thought we'd get into such a disaster right away?" asked the third young man, Sabo, as he looked back and forth between his two brothers, both of whom shrugged back at him, as if the thought had never even occurred to them.
"Think we should jump ship now?" asked Luffy, looking curiously over the side of the boat at the vicious whirlpool that seemed intent on drowning them.
Sabo seemed to consider this for a moment before shrugging and withdrawing his legs from the tangle of limbs in the middle of the rowboat where all their legs met. "Might as well," he said, getting up and grabbing his brothers by the backs of their shirts. "Honestly, it was bad enough having to deal with one hammer, why'd you have to go and become one too, Ace?"
Ace just shrugged and laughed, dismissively before turning to look at the other hammer in their group. "Make sure not to lose your hat, Luffy," he reminded his brother, who nodded and reached up to grab onto his beloved straw hat just before Sabo plunged them all into the frigid sea.
It took about five minutes for Sabo to get them all out of the clutches of the whirlpool, and then another hour or so (give or take) for them to reach dry land.
The moment they landed on the beach, coughing and gasping, his brothers immediately turned and, simultaneously, bonked him on either side of his head.
"OW!" shrieked Sabo, grabbing both sides of his head in pain. "The hell was that for, you bastards?" he demanded.
"Are you trying to kill us?" demanded Ace, crossing his arms and glaring at him.
"How many times do we have to tell you to come up for air more often?" demanded Luffy, mirroring Ace. "We almost suffocated!"
Rolling his eyes, Sabo held his hands up in front of himself in mock surrender. "My bad, he said, his voice dripping sarcasm. "I'll be more careful next time. Wouldn't want the lack of oxygen to kill off the precious few brain cells you two have, right?"
Luffy's and Ace's faces immediately twisted into outrage, and they both lunged forward with wordless growls, about to start a brawl, but were interrupted when an unfamiliar voice yelled, "OI!"
"WHAT?" they all roared in unison, turning as one to find three ugly brutes glaring menacingly at them.
"What are you three doing here, trespassing on the great pirate Alvida-sama's breeding grounds?" demanded the one with a horizontal striped t-shirt and matching cap.
"Pirate?" asked Sabo, perking up and shooting his brothers a look.
"Truce?" asked Ace, looking back at him with a shit-eating grin spreading across his face.
"Truce," agreed the other two. And then, without further ado, they turned and let loose on their opponents, feral grins lighting up their faces.
If they were looking for good fights however, they were sorely disappointed. Luffy's chosen opponent went down like a sack of potatoes after just one gomu gomu no pistol, and his friends weren't far behind.
Less than a minute after the fight had started, all three opponents were out, and the Monkey brothers were standing around them, their expressions showing them to be completely underwhelmed.
"This is what passes for a pirate these days?" asked Luffy disappointedly, fiddling with the strings of his straw hat as he remembered the promise he'd made all those years ago with its owner.
"Looks like we sure dodged a bullet, giving up on that dream," commented Sabo. "Wouldn't want to be lumped in with idiots like these."
Ace looked as if he were about to say something, but before he could even open his mouth, they were interrupted by a dull thud and panicked cursing.
Turning, they saw a wimpy-looking kid with pink hair lying on his stomach, obviously having just tripped over something. Quickly scrambling to his feet, the kid backed away slowly. "Please don't beat me up," he said as he backed away, his hands held up in front of him in defense. "I-I'm just the caretaker of the ship! Just a cabin boy! It's not like I even want to be a pirate!"
Luffy cocked his head to the side in confusion, still assessing the new arrival.
"Then why are you one?" he asked. It didn't make any sense.
The kid was shaking pitifully now, and looking from side to side as if he were expecting a demon to descend upon him any second now. "I-I only wanted to go fishing that day," he admitted, looking down at his fidgety hands. "But I accidentally got on the wrong boat. I've had to work as a cabin boy these past two years just to stay alive-"
"You're pretty stupid," interrupted Luffy, cutting him off.
"And useless," added Ace.
"And you seem kinda wimpy too," said Sabo.
"We don't like you!" they all concluded together, Luffy grinning widely as if it were the funniest thing in the world.
"Ehehe," chuckled the wimp, looking down in shame. "I guess you're right…if only I was brave enough…" he trailed off, before looking back up at them. "How are you three so strong?" he asked. "What are your dreams?"
Luffy beamed brightly at this. "We're going to be the kings of the sea!" he declared.
"All three of you?" asked the boy, incredulous. "There can only be one king!"
Sabo crossed his arms and huffed. "We're brothers, so if one of us becomes king, the other two will too."
The boy looked unconvinced, but let the matter go, instead asking, "So if you want to be the kings of the sea…does that mean you want to be the pirate kings? Are you going after one piece?"
"Absolutely not!" Ace answered immediately, crossing his arms in front of him like an "x".
The kid's expression grew confused.
"The whole point of being the kings of the sea is to be free," said Sabo. "And you can't do that if you have marines and bounty hunters and other pirates chasing after you all the time."
The kid looked thoughtful at this.
"Oh, but we are going to find One Piece!" Luffy interjected cheerfully.
"Do you wanna die or something?" demanded the kid incredulously, obviously having forgotten his fear of Luffy and his brothers. "All the pirates in the world are looking for it! It would be hard enough if you were pirates yourselves but you're not! It's impossible! Impossible! Absolutely n-!"
Ace cut him off with a backhand to his head, not paying attention to his strength and accidentally sending him flying.
"Ace!" chided Sabo. "Why'd you hit him? We're not supposed to hit civilians!"
"But I couldn't stand him,." Ace answered, frowning. "Anyways, he's technically a pirate, so isn't it fine?"
"Ehehe," the kid chuckled awkwardly again, interrupting them. "It's okay. I'm used to it anyways."
Ace glared, raising his hand as if he were about to hit him again, but Luffy threw an arm around his brother's shoulders, restraining him.
Looking down at the kid on the ground, Luffy grinned again and said, "We're not afraid of dying for our dream!"
The kid's eyes widened.
Sabo snorted.
"Not that we're going to die," he said. "As a team, we're invincible."
"Ahaha, that's true too," agreed Luffy.
But the kid had stopped listening, and was now shaking again, tears gathering in his eyes. "If…if I'm willing to die, will I be able to fulfill my dream?" he asked, in a small voice.
"Huh?" asked Luffy, and the kid looked up.
"Will I be able to become a marine?" he asked, and Sabo perked up in interest.
"Not with that attitude," answered Ace in a surly voice, turning around.
"Then I'll change!" shouted the kid, getting up, and Ace turned back to him, his impression of the kid improving just a smidge. "I have to at least try! I'd rather die trying to get out of here and join the marines than stay here and be a cabin boy all my life! And then, one day, I'll arrest someone like Alvida-sama!"
Now, there were identical smiles crossing the brothers' faces, and Ace was just about to say something when suddenly, an iron mace came flying out of nowhere, nearly taking the kid's head off.
"And just who did you say you were going to arrest, Coby?" asked a new voice.
Gasping in terror, the boy who was apparently named Coby turned and scrambled back, towards Luffy and his brothers.
"I was wondering why it was taking you so long to clean the washroom," said the newcomer, a rather large female pirate wearing a rather nasty expression. "Could it be you've hired bounty hunters to capture me? They certainly don't look like Roronoa Zoro."
His face scrunched in confusion, Luffy turned to Coby. "Who on Earth is this rude woman?" he asked, and Coby turned to look at him in horror.
"Yeah, isn't this the breeding ground of some pirate named Alvida?" asked Ace. "I don't think there's any man alive willing to go to bed with that…thing."
By now, Alvida was sputtering with fury, and Coby hurried to hush his new friend before he got himself killed.
"She's the…" he began, intending to say the well—known phrase that had been pounded into him for the past two years, before stopping and remembering his newfound conviction from a few moments ago.
If he truly wanted anything to change, he would have to prove it now.
Scraping up every scrap of courage he had, he yelled, "THE RUDEST DAMNED BITCH IN ALL OF EAST BLUE!"
Ace and his brothers immediately burst into laughter at this answer, and Coby felt a swell of pride in that moment, feeling as if he'd passed some kind of test.
Then, the moment was over, and he realized the implications of what he'd just done.
Turning around, he watched in horror as a fuming Alvida got ready to attack.
Closing his eyes and preparing himself for the impact, he told himself he wouldn't regret his words, even if he was killed.
But instead of having his skull smashed in by Alvida's famous iron mace, he felt someone grab his arm and opened his eyes in shock to see that Ace, still laughing, had grabbed him and pulled him behind himself and his brothers.
"Good job, kid," said Luffy, throwing his arm around Coby's shoulders, and Coby watched in awe as Ace sprang forward, flames licking at his knuckles as he knocked Alvida out cold with a single punch.
The rest of Alvida's crew, who were watching the ongoing scene in horror, looked about to flee, but with one glare from Sabo, they all froze in their places.
"Sit," he bared, pointing his finger to the ground as if ordering a dog.
The pirates all sat.
"A marine ship will be docking here in about fifteen minutes. If any of you so much as move a muscle before then, or give them any trouble while they're arresting you, my brothers and I will personally make sure you regret it for the rest of your miserable lives."
Shuddering in fear at the tone of Sabo's voice, Coby looked to the sea, and sure enough, he saw a Marine ship steadily drawing closer.
The fifteen minutes it took for the Marine ship to arrive were some of the most stressful of Coby's life.
Luffy, Ace, and Sabo had gathered up all the other pirates on the island, and had them all sitting on the floor in the seiza position.
Coby, still rooted to the same spot he'd been in during the confrontation with Alvida, watched anxiously as the Marines lowered their anchor and their gangplank.
Before long, there were a bunch of Marines streaming off the ship and heading for the pirates kneeling on the floor to handcuff them.
One of them, their apparent leader, came to a stop in front of Ace, standing at attention.
"I'm Commander Mikoto of the 153rd Marine branch base," he introduced, smiling politely. "My men and I have been chasing this crew since they attacked a passenger vessel as few kilometers south of here. We appreciate your assistance in capturing them, and if you would please accompany us to our base, we would be more than happy to award you their bounty."
Ace laughed genially in reply, and Coby couldn't help but wonder when the surly young man from before had been replaced by this amiable person.
"Don't worry about it," he replied, waving his hand dismissively. "My brothers and I have actually recently joined the Marines, so consider it us doing our jobs."
"EHHH?" exclaimed Coby, shocked, before clapping his hands to his mouth when everyone turned to look at him.
Ace smirked at Coby, amused, before turning back to Commander Mikoto.
"I'm Monkey D. Ace, and these two are my brothers, Sabo and Luffy," he introduced, and the Commander's eyes widened impossibly.
"Monkey?" he asked. "As in Monkey D. Garp?"
"He's our grandfather," confirmed Ace, and Coby almost cried out in shock again. "We were actually on our way to meet up with him when our boat was caught in a whirlpool and capsized."
"A whirlpool?" asked Mikoto, shocked. "Are you alright?"
"We're just fine," answered Ace, waving his hand dismissively. "But we'd appreciate it if we could borrow a den den mushi. And perhaps have a talk with your Captain about possibly helping us out with some new supplies and a ride to Mariejois?"
Commander Mikoto straightened even more upon finding out that their destination was the holy land.
"Of course," he answered. "Captain Morgan is currently at the base, but I'm sure he'd be pleased to meet you."
"Great!" answered Ace, smiling widely. And then, as if suddenly remembering something, he shot Coby a grin and walked over to throw an arm around his shoulders. "By the way, you wouldn't mind if my friend Coby came along, would you? He wants to be a Marine too, and unfortunately, we can't take him with us to Mariejois. I'm sure you could use another hand or two at the 153rd branch though, couldn't you?"
Coby stared at Ace, feeling gratitude bubble up inside him, unable to believe that the same boy who had found him so unbearable just half an hour ago was now helping him achieve his dream.
Commandeer Mikoto was now looking at Coby, as if asking for confirmation.
Not letting Ace's help go to waste, Coby bowed deeply.
"Even if it's just chores, I don't mind! PLEASE LET ME BE A MARINE!"
SkyGem: That's it for now guys! I know it's pretty similar to the manga, and I really hope it wasn't too boring, but I promise it'll be more interesting next chapter! But for now, please do leave a review and let me know what you think! And for anyone who was wondering, the next fic I'll be updating is Bonded. Look forward to it~!
P.S. In case anyone was wondering why I changed Ace's last name, I promise, it will be explained in future chapters.