Warnings: lots of ooc, AU, character death. No pairings.

XxXxX

In the dark with the music on

Wishing I was somewhere else

Taking all your anger out on me

"Somebody help."

I rather rot alone than spend a minute with you

XxXxX

"It hurts," Luffy whimpered, curling into the fetal position. "It hurts real bad."

Ace gave a cruel smile, one that would be burned into Luffy's memory with all the other cruel smiles and grins the man had given him in the past two months. He took a step closer and Luffy instinctively leaned back into the wall, trying to put as much space as he could between him and his captor. Ace reached out a hand and Luffy flinched when the hand softly cupped his dirty cheek.

"What do you want," Luffy asked quietly, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. "What do you want from me?" The hand from his cheek disappeared and Ace's face drew closer to his, that cruel yet sad smile still there.

"I want you. I want your soul. I want it all… to break." That cruel smirk was back, this time twice as strong, and Luffy flinched at the words spoken. "I want you to experience what he felt, what he has to go through. I want you broken and desperate and irremediable. That's what I want from you." Luffy bit down a small whimper as Ace reached out and pet his hair. "My precious doll…," he purred. Luffy glanced into those dark gray eyes and, right before his eyes, those pupils began to change. Instead of human eyes, he was met with dragon eyes; gray, slit, and dark eyes that told him to be afraid, that pain and loneliness would soon rule his pathetic world. That no one would save him. He shut his eyes tightly, no longer able to keep his gaze with the man in front of him.

He heard the door to the basement lock shut and when he opened his eyes, he found himself alone once again. He let out a sigh, wiping away the tears on his cheeks. He relaxed a bit more into the dirty and worn bed below him. He reached to touch his back and flinched in pain when he came in contact with one of the many whip lashings he had received. He looked down at his arms through the dim light of the room and found several lacerations and bruises scattered among the appendages. His legs were in the same condition and he could only guess his face was smudged with dirt and random bruises.

Two months. He had been there two months already and nobody had found him yet. Was anyone even searching for him? Had they given up the search already?

Did anyone even care?

He stared blankly at the wall in front of him, trying to figure out how he got into his situation again. Closing his eyes, he let memory take over.

Happy and innocent seventeen-year-old Monkey D. Luffy walked down the street with a spring in his step, obviously excited to be heading over to the annual carnival. He had waited for a year and even saved up eight hundred dollars just for the three-day event. It came into view and his grin grew even bigger. "Woah, it's even bigger than last year! Awesome!" He ran the rest of the way to the amusement park, his eyes practically sparkling with amazement. There were so many rides and games! Not to mention food stands! He paid for his admission and rubbed his hands together. "Alright, what to do first? Oh! Zoro! Sanji! Usopp! Chopper! Shuraiya! Brook!" The hyper teen nearly tackled all the friends he had called and in turn received a few bumps to his head.

"Baka! Watch what you're doing!" Luffy only laughed and straightened up.

"Alright, so what should we do first?" Each character thought as they looked at what surrounded them. Rides, games, food stands, entertainment. The dust from the ground was constantly being kicked up by the others walking by but no one paid attention to this. The smell of pizza, cotton candy, and sweat filled the air and over the sounds of the many terrified and fun screams was an undistinguishable song. Usopp was the first to speak up as his eyes came to a rest on a certain ride.

"How about bumper cars?" Sanji and Zoro looked at each other with grins.

"I'm gonna run your ass right off this ride, marimo."

"Bring it on, curly-brow." Luffy looked to Shuraiya, both with a competitive look in their eyes.

"Ready to lose again, Shuraiya?" This only made the elder one grin.

"Bring it on, Mugiwara. I won't lose this time."

Chopper, Usopp, and Brook stood there with sweat-drops. "I think they're a little too competitive…"

The group walked away from the bumper cars with annoyed expressions as one of carny's gave a humph, the ride behind him smoking and sparking. "And you're all banned until next year!" Luffy and Shuraiya both turned around, sticking their tongues out at the male before bursting into laughter. Luffy loved hanging with Shuraiya, he saw the male as an older brother. Sanji pointed to another ride and the group hastily ran to get into its long line. They spent the rest of the day having fun, laughing up several storms and having a good time.

The next day Luffy appeared an hour early, his mind set on having twice as much fun as he did yesterday. He walked around the carnival as he wondered what he could do until his friends showed up. In the background he could hear a familiar song play.

"Enter the fun house of mirrors, no one can hear you scream. We can supply anything that your heart desires, but the consequences will surely be dire. Welcome to the lower berth, the greatest show unearthed! We appear without a sound, the darkest show around! We will leave you in a daze; madness, murder, dismay! We will disappear at night with blood on the concrete!"

"Gruesome song..." Luffy continued to look around, soon found himself kind of hungry. He stood in line at a pizza stand, listening to his stomach rumble for food. He hummed along to the song as the line slowly progressed forward.

"Come inside for the ride, your deepest darkest fears. The best time of your life, you're never leaving here. The unknown, the unseen is what you're gonna find. Witness this, witness that, until you lose your mind!"

He finally got his pizza and easily gobbled up the two supreme pieces, throwing his paper plate into the nearest trashcan he could find. He wandered around, looking for people he knew and could hang out with. Too busy looking to his right, he blindly walked into someone and both fell to the ground. Luffy sat up and wiped some dust off his hands before reaching for his straw hat, only for it to be picked up by someone else. Looking up, he was met with a rather built male who wore black shorts, an open faded yellow shirt, and a strange orange hat. He also wore a small green backpack, an orange elbow-pad, and a red-beaded necklace around his neck. The male held his hand out and Luffy gladly took it. "Ah, sorry for walking into you. I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking."

Luffy took his hat set it back on to his head with a grin and laugh. "No need to be sorry! I wasn't paying attention either." He held out his hand and the older male shook it. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy. Nice ta meet ya!"

"Portgas D. Ace. It's nice to meet you too, Luffy. So what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for some friends. How bout you?"

"Just walking around. I haven't been to the carnival in about five years or so." Luffy made a dramatic face and Ace quickly wondered if he had said something wrong.

"Well, then, I must give you a tour of the place! It's soooo awesome! You'll love it!" Luffy quickly grabbed the male's arm and dragged him towards one of the many rides around. As they came into the line for The Sizzler, the older male suddenly dropped his shoulders. Luffy immediately noticed this. "What's wrong?"

"I… don't have any tickets. I also don't have that much money…"

Luffy smiled. "Don't worry, I'll take care of that." Ace was genuinely surprised by this and stared at the teen in front of him.

"Why are you doing this? I don't even know you."

"Because I can tell you're a good guy. You also look like you need the fun too. Plus, I don't really want to go on any rides by myself." Ace continued to stare in shock until a gentle smile graced his features.

"Thank you."

"Crying clowns and colorful balloons, the smell of the popcorn stand. There is no one else here, out of luck; you wander around lost."

Ace and Luffy traveled around the carnival all day, spending their time going on all the exciting rides like the Tongue Twister, The Spin Out, The Inverter, The Cliffhanger, The Zipper, and The Fireball. They also spent their times at the game booths, winning prizes left and right and earning envious glares from most of the crowds.

"Staring into the dark corner of the ferris wheel you are forced to catch a glimpse of the devil. What a tragedy. There is a never-ending cycle, spinning and spinning inside my head. Why can't I escape? I want to be noticed even though I'm a doll."

"Well, I guess we should call it day," Ace finally said, taking in a deep breath of fresh air as he stuffed his prizes into his bag.

"I guess so. It's a shame none of my friends could make it today. It was nice to meet you, Ace!"

"It was nice to meet you too, Lu! And," the male took a deep bow, "–thank you for all that you have done for me today. Buying my tickets and all…"

"Shishishi, don't mention it!" They talked a while. Luffy wanted to walk Ace home. Ace was uneasy about the idea but Luffy insisted. And as Luffy walked down the rather abandoned street, he couldn't get that song out of his mind.

"A merry-go-round drenched in rain, spilt tears are inside the water. Let your despair sink with your tears, maybe the mixture will give off a sweet scent. Poured into a coffee cup are many shades of love."

It was when they were a block from Ace's house did Luffy start to notice several differences appear in his new friend. His walking became more stiffer, his eyes more hard and serious. It was like he had become a whole different person. He suddenly stopped and Luffy followed suit. Ace's eyes became shadowed under his hat and he looked to the younger male. 'I have to get out of here,' his instincts screamed. 'Something's very wrong and I need to get out of here.'

"W-Well, it's been nice hanging with you. Portgas D. Ace, right? Maybe we can hook up again…?"

"No," the deep voice replied, and Luffy knew it was deeper and stronger than the voice he remembered, "–It's Gol D. Ace." He turned to run, turned to escape the feeling that he was walking into impending doom. He didn't get far, though. Gol D. Ace made sure of that. Luffy's world went dark and when he would wake up, he would find it even darker.

"I never should have left with him," he mumbled to himself as he leaned his head against the cold steel wall. "I never should have went with him… But he was so nice. He was kind of like Shuraiya… Kind of like a brother…" He closed his eyes once again and quietly sang the song that echoed in his mind until he drifted into a dreamless sleep.

"I am left all alone, and I can feel no more than that. 'Why do you hate me that much? I've never done a thing.' Even if getting hurt was not allowed, at least let me suffer so that it's noticeable..."

When he opened his eyes again he let out a surprised cry. Ace was laying in front of him on the bed, unconscious. Luffy backed away from the male as far as he could and wondered when he exactly fell asleep. The male stirred and his eyes opened slowly. Looking around, he let out a sigh and flinched at the motion. He lifted up his shirt and revealed several new bruises and lacerations all over his back and torso. Then he noticed Luffy, quickly dropping his shirt to cover himself up.

Luffy tightly shut his eyes. He didn't want any more punishments. He didn't want any more pain. No more beatings, no more harsh words, no more anything. He wanted out. And he wanted out now. 'Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, don't hurt me, don't–'

"Luffy…?" Said person's eyes snapped open and he looked up from his fetal position. He knew that voice. It was soft, sad, and confused. "Why… Why are you here?" And the tortured teen bared his teeth, his anger reaching a new peak.

"Why am I here? Why the fuck do you think! You're the one who kidnapped me and tortured me here for the past two months!" But even as Luffy screamed at the male in front of him, he could see it. The confusion and guilt in his eyes. And the worry. Luffy could see he was genuinely worried him being here. But beyond the worry, the confusion seemed to scream out the most."You don't know what I'm talking about, do you…"

"No. I don't... I don't remember any of that… I remember you walking with me down the street and then… nothing."

'Oh my god,' Luffy thought, as it suddenly dawned on him. 'Ace… He's…'

"Your name. What is it."

"A–"

"Your whole name," Luffy demanded.

"Portgas D. Ace… Why?" The teen seemed unsure of how exactly phrase the next sentence and fidgeted a little, making Ace feel nervous. "What's wrong?"

"Ace, I think you have Multiple Personality Disorder.

XxXxX
Part One: Done! So this is the other depressing story I said I'd upload. It's gonna be a two-shot and the other chapter will be uploaded soon. So! ...Is it somewhat okay? If not, I apologize! Little rushed at the end, yes, and some questions you may have will be answered in the next chappy. Song in the beginning: Open Wounds by Skillet. First song used in the story: The Greatest Show Unearthed by Creature Feature. Second song used in story: Hateful Wonderland by Miku (Vocaloid)

Oh! And quick question: Should I write a sequel to Good to Dead? Just curious. Thanks for reading!

The ice/water elemental,
~roo the psycho