Doppelganger

Ace stared at the patron sitting suspiciously and yet somehow casually in the back corner of the tavern. He had just finished a mission from Pops more commonly known as Whitebeard in the North Blue and was celebrating with his subordinates on one of the few islands not on the Grand Line that wasn't scared stiff by Whitebeard's name. He was brought out of his staring by a familiar laugh.

"Zehahaha, you trying to burn a hole in that guy's head with your eyes commander? Wait, can you do that?" The man was only half joking given Ace's ability.

"Oh, hey Teach," Ace greeted casually not looking away from his target. "To answer your question no I'm not trying to burn a hole in his head and as for your second question, I've never tried." The second part was added with thoughtfulness.

"Sooo… why are you staring at him?" Teach asked with slight curiosity as he took another bite of a cherry turnover.

"He looks exactly like my brother." Ace answered simply.

At this revelation, Teach took another look at the man. He appeared to have wide yet constantly shifting eyes that were always observing, wearing a black coat with blue lining, and a mop of slightly curled yellow hair. The thing that stood out most though was the top hat and goggles adorning the man's crown. "That looks nothing like the way you described your brother," Teach said in confusion. As a member of the second division, he had often been regaled with tales about Ace's younger brother Luffy.

"He looks exactly like my other brother, Sabo." Ace clarified.

Teach blinked in confusion, Ace had never mentioned a second brother to him, or anyone as far as he was aware. He filed that tidbit of information away for later, it could be useful. "Well, you know the old saying commander. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it must be a duck."

"And what if the duck was roasted by a dragon?" Ace asked somewhat bitterly.

Teach gave his commander a curious expression before grinning. "Have you seen the dragon feasting on the duck?" He asked, his voice held a slight maliciousness which went unnoticed by Ace. For the first time, the commander decided to tear his eyes away and look directly at his subordinate shaking his head once. "Then how do you truly know unless you talk to him?" And with that Teach was off.

Ace went back to looking at his target. What did Marco call it when someone looked exactly like someone else? A doppelganger? Yeah, that was it. Ace continued to ponder what Teach said. A couple of days after he received the letter from Sabo and Dogra had told him about his death he, had gone to Goa searching for any trace of his brother and found none, and he had a slight hope that maybe his brother was alive, but after several months and no sign of his brother surfaced, he gave up and broke down. He thought about what Teach said. Could his brother truly be alive sitting so close to him? The idea was tantalizing and he was so close. Before he could lose his nerve, he decided to walk over.

Ace slid into the booth across from where the man was sitting. "Hi," he offered casually. "Mind if I sit here?" The man raised a questioning eyebrow not saying anything. Realizing his mistake, Ace chuckled. "Maybe, I should've asked before sitting," he responded sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

The man continued staring for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. "Do you often do these sorts of things without thinking Ace?" The man asked.

Ace felt his breath catch. He didn't even know the guy's name and yet he felt so familiar. Maybe he shouldn't have come over it was going to be crushing when he realized that there was no way this doppelganger was his brother. "How do you know who I am?" Ace asked slowly.

The man's laughter slowed to a low chuckle. "It's my job to know things, besides you're not exactly unknown," He answered taking a sip of whatever it was he was drinking. "What I don't know is how you know me." At this Ace couldn't help but noticed the slight tightness in his voice and the suspicious glint in his eyes.

"You just look familiar to me. Like someone I lost a long time ago." Ace answered casually desperately wishing he had brought a drink with him so he could have something to do that wouldn't look awkward as staring at a doppelganger of your long-lost brother would.

The younger man's eyes softened slightly. "Sorry about that. Were you young?" He asked lightly.

"Yeah," Ace breathed out. "But, I was old enough, plus I had another more annoying crybaby of a little brother to take care of." His laugh bordered on light and humorless. "If it wasn't for him I might've followed my brother into oblivion as well, he was my first friend, the first one I opened up to."

The man gave a small smile. "Why don't you tell me a bit about your brother, you look like you need to talk about him. Was he a crybaby too?"

Ace frowned slightly at the idea, confliction clear across his face. He didn't tell anyone about Sabo, not even Pops. And he had told Pops about being Roger's son! He then looked at the man sitting across from him who had a patient look on his face. The traces of suspicion were completely gone and though Ace didn't feel pressured there was something inside of him that compelled him to start speaking.

"My brother wasn't a crybaby. He was calm, smart, well-mannered, clever, strong, and he craved freedom more than anyone I know." Ace took a shaky breath to keep himself from crying as the memories flooded back to him before continuing. "He was, as I said before my first friend and my most trusted confidant. When I was a child, I told him things that I didn't tell anyone else, and he accepted me for who I was. We would often train together to get stronger and we made a pact to be free men of the sea and not be bound by our past."

The man continued to watch him and with no coaxing at all Ace continued. "Then my shitty gramps brought my 7-year-old youngest brother Luffy along." Ace didn't notice the flash of familiarity at the name in the man's face as he continued. "He was loud, obnoxious, annoying, and a major pain in the ass; I hated him since he arrived in my life and yet he loved me unconditionally. My younger brother may have given me joy in my life for the first time, but it was Luffy, my little brother who gave me purpose."

The man gave a hard stare at Ace. "Your brother, the one who died, what was his name?"

"Sabo," Ace answered simply. "His name was Sabo." The man turned pale and looked like he was going to be sick. "Are you alright?" Ace asked in slight alarm.

"Sabo huh," the man mused. "What a coincidence that's my name."

Ace looked shocked. "Then, could you be…?"

"NO!" The man now identified as Sabo answered a little too quickly. "I mean, I don't know. My past, it isn't something I like to remember and there isn't anything worth remembering." He had muttered that last part. At Ace's blink of confusion Sabo sighed pointing to his head. "Amnesia, I can't remember anything from my childhood, and every time I do remember something I hate it so much that I have decided to give up on remembering. After all, who cares about the past right?"

Ace gave the man a hard stare, analyzing everything about him that he knew. Which on the surface wasn't much, but there was something about his eyes. He found himself absentmindedly touching his right eye where he shadowed the burn mark on Sabo's eye. After what was probably only a few seconds but, what felt like several hours Ace raised his hand and a young woman came to their table. "Can me and my friend get a bottle of Sake?" Ace asked.

"Certainly," the woman smiled and a few moments later Ace was pouring the hard drink into two drinking glasses. Sabo watched the process in curiosity trying to figure out what the pirate was doing. He was then handed one of the glasses and found himself mirroring the pirate's actions raising his glass slightly.

"Sabo, I would like to rededicate our brotherhood." Ace spoke with confidence causing Sabo to start sputtering in protest. "I know Luffy isn't here but since it will probably be at least another six months before he even begins his journey, well I better do this now right?"

Sabo stared at the glass in his hand. "How can you be so confident that we are brothers?"

Ace shrugged. "Call it instinct. I just know."

Sabo looked at the glass again a thoughtful expression on his face, and a thought occurred to him. He too had a sense of familiarity when it came to the pirate in front of him. Could it be possible that he was telling the truth? Could they be brothers? "If I do this, do you think I'll remember?" He asked tentatively.

Ace gave a small smile. "There's only one way to find out." And with that they clinked glasses and let the alcohol slide down their throats.

They waited a few moments in silence and Sabo sighed. "I'm sorry, but I still can't remember anything." He muttered, not knowing whether to be grateful or disappointed. To his surprise Ace smiled.

"That's okay, I wasn't expecting a simple drink together to have all of your memories come back." Ace stated. "This was actually more for my peace of mind."

Sabo huffed crossing his arms. "So you lied to me."

Ace shrugged. "I'm a pirate, of course I lie, but I didn't lie about you possibly remembering, I just didn't think it would happen and that's okay." His smile softened ever so slightly. "I think Luffy is the only one who can help you truly remember and accept who you are."

"Which is?" Sabo asked.

"Our brother." Ace replied. "Sabo do me a favor, if I ever die will you take care of our little brother?"

Sabo gave a surprised look before chuckling. "Sure, why not." The odds of one of Whitebeard's strongest men dying anytime soon was slim, besides, if it was in fact Monkey D. Luffy that Ace was talking about then Sabo already had an invested interest in the kid, just maybe not to the same degree.

At that point the familiar sound of a baby transponder snail could be heard. Sabo answered casually while the voice on the other end yelled at him, "Where the hell are you? You were supposed to meet us 20 minutes ago!" The voice sounded exasperated. Sabo sighed, it was time to get back to work.

"Sounds like you got things to do and friends to see." Ace grinned. "See you around brother." And with that he was off.

Sabo couldn't help the smile that came across his face. "Brother huh?" He mused. He liked the sound of that. He would have to talk to Dragon about the possibility of an alliance between Whitebeard and the Revolutionaries, then maybe he would get another chance the see his "brother" again. He certainly wasn't opposed to the idea.

Line Break

Ace boarded the boat with a wide smile on his face. "So I'm guessing the guy was your long once thought lost brother?" Teach asked casually.

"Yeah he was." Ace breathed out happily. "Thanks Teach, I may not have spoken to him if it wasn't for you. I can't wait to tell the rest of the commanders and crew that my other brother is alive."

Teach laughed. "Zehahaha, I can hear the groans of protest already." He mocked.

Ace pouted slightly. "Well I know one person who will love to hear about my brother." The fourth division commander was the only one on the ship that would fully pay attention to stories about Ace's little brother.

"If you're talking about Thatch commander then you might have to hold off, we just got a call from Marco and apparently Thatch was just sent on a mission and we'll probably beat him back to the Moby Dick." Teach explained.

Ace sighed and his shoulders slumped slightly before straightening. "Oh well, then I guess I'll have to tell you and every member of the second division on this ship about him." Ace grinned evilly.

"Fantastic," Teach muttered sarcastically while the rest of the second division groaned.