#a long time ago...

Note: it's a WIP there's a bit more to it, but idk if I'll ever finish. I hope to but I have so much stuff to write. Give encouragement if you like it helps me know what I should be working on.

“What’s your name kid?” The old man asked the young man from the opposite side of the cell. The older man was facing outward, towards the bars of the cell, able to talk across them to the other enslaved prisoners. His cellmate however was huddled close to the wall, closed off, probably injured. It's still a few hours before the auction begins. For now, they are all separated without their numbers.

“Why does it matter?” The young man answered. 

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t,” The older man gives a breathy laugh. 

“Some of us like to have names rather than numbers, or insults, keeps the humanity in us.” The man across the cell bars answers. 

“Mines Petricy,” A woman whispered, she was in the cell neighboring the middle aged man, while he couldn’t see her, the older man could. 

He most likely wouldn’t be able to help these people. Rayleigh knows how the world works, there would be World Nobles here, and he really didn’t need to get into that mess. But he can at least treat them as equal humans while they are together for a short time. 

“Hi Petricy,”

“Nice to meet you Petricy, mine names Gorido,” 

“Hey,”

“Hyder, good to meet you Petricy,” 

The fellow enslaved all say hello and introduce themselves, names go around and there’s a nice feel in the air, even though they’re all in cages. There are guards outside the doors, but none has come in to speak with them. Rayleigh doesn’t give out his name, and instead turns to the kid who shares his cell with him. 

“So kid, name?” He asks. The kid hums but doesn’t say anything, he buries his face further in his arms. His messy black hair completely shields him from others. 

 “You're a young kid, you shouldn’t give up yet,” The man, Hyder, from across the cell says. Hyder’s cellmate continues for him. 

“Yeah, with the Revolution Army around and more prominent these days, you’ll get out eventually I’m sure.” 

“They’re going to take down even Mary Geoise,” Rayleigh hummed in acknowledgment of the others, they’re hopeful, but not for themselves. They’re all older, trying to cheer up a younger lost soul. They’re good people. Yet, some of them will change when they get put in another cage, they’ll fight and bare teeth at their fellow enslaved to protect themselves.

Here though, the future is unsure, and they can bask in a bit of human comfort without knowing they’ll have to fight each other to survive. Some might be going to the same place, but most will be far from each other. 

“I hate the Revs so it doesn’t matter anyway,” The kid says. Everyone else makes choking or shocked noises. But Rayleighs a bit amused. 

“Why’s that?” One of them asks. 

“They can’t protect shit,” 

“If that’s your attitude, why do you even fight to survive. Not trying to be mean, but those that have given up like you, well, they give up,” They end their life. Death is better to life for some people. Rayleigh knows this. 

“I promised someone,” The kid says, now Rayleigh is quite intrigued. The young soul lives not for himself but fights for someone else. It’s a noble reason, Rayleigh knows many good people like that. 

“Well, who?” The others encourage the child to speak, to tell them a story. To give them hope that love still exists. That there are good in humans, and the future might be a bit brighter. 

“I- I promised my little brother a- a long time ago. But-” The kid stops himself. He curls further into his knees. “I have to save him first. To escape and find him again.” 

Rayleigh can hear the determination in his voice. The powerful will he holds and his good heart. It makes him think. 

“Do you want me to help you escape?” 

The kid's head turns to him, hair covering his eyes but he knows the kid is staring at him, judging him, and the cogs are turning in his head. 

“How… would you do that?” He asks him. Rayleigh smiles.

“My name's Rayleigh, kid, what’s yours?” The boy has piqued Rayleigh's interest. Like Hancock and her sisters. Like Hatchan. Even like Buggy, and he already knows this kid is gonna change the world. 

“W-wait,” Hyder across the cell starts to stutter, “You- your-  you couldn’t be,” The others start to question the reason for the man's confusion. 

“Your Dark King Rayleigh,” He finally gets out, “Thee Dark King, first mate to Gold Roger himself-” 

Rayleigh throws his arm out and the kid's neck rams into it. Using his observation haki, the kid had leaped from his place and went after Rayleigh's neck with enough force to snap it. 

The boy now lays in the middle of the cell, wheezing on the floor from the impact on his throat. 

“Kid what the hell!” The others start to question the child. 

“Well that was unexpected,” Rayleigh says calmly as always. 

“Shut up!” The boy spits out with so much venom Rayleigh wonders if they’ve ever met. He can’t seem to recall, but there are lots who hate the Roger Pirates. 

The boy breathes in a few more shaky breaths and curls back up on his side of the cell, whispering “Just my luck,” 

“H-ey kid,” Hyder chokes, “This guy could really help you escape. You-you could really see your brother again.” 

“He could help us all escape,” The others started to rally, to yell at the boy. Rayleigh says nothing for a while. 

“Roger wasn’t really that bad,” Rayleigh says. He wants to know why the kid hates him so much. Rayleigh knows the World Government, and Rogers enemy’s had spread lies, and given anti-Roger propaganda, but this seems more than just dislike. This is personal. 

“Ha, really,” The boy dry laughs. “He’s a demon, the worst most hated person in the world,” 

Rayleigh hums and thinks over his response. This boy may or may not tell him why, and it’ll eat Rayleigh's curiosity apart for the rest of his days if he doesn’t know. 

“Roger wasn’t that bad, sure you may be right about the hate thing, the Great Pirate Era ain’t his best decision. But probably not his worst one.” 

“I can’t believe it, you really knew the King of Pirates,” 

“The freest man ever to live,” 

“Tell us,” The others started to want to know stories, some still begged to be let out. Rayleigh could care less about their wants. He was once a pirate after all. His attention was focused on his cellmate. 

When the boy didn’t say anything, being drowned out by the others, Rayleigh kept going. 

“Roger was stupid, like really stupid. But he had a good heart, his crew was his family and he’d do anything to protect them. He would do anything to help a friend to,” 

“It’s a right shame, the government caught him. He could still be tearing them to shreds and I’d be happy,” Petricy had spoken up again. 

“They didn’t catch him,” The boy spoke. Taking Rayleigh by surprise. 

“What do you mean,” The others asked him, questions rang through the air.

“He turned himself in like a coward,” How this boy knows that is another mystery that Rayleigh needs to solve or it really will eat him alive till he dies. 

Wanting to know the boy's story, and wondering how he could change the seas is a completely different matter than wondering why the child knows a well kept government secret. 

“He turned himself in to save his crew,” Rayleigh said, all the others are bygones, this kid is the only thing that matters at the moment. 

“How is he supposed to save his crew by dying, seems a little counter intuitive to me.” The boy scoffs. 

“By making a deal that will stop the printing of bounty posters for them,” 

Shanks and Buggy were the only exception to this rule. When the two made their own crews they officially weren’t Roger Pirates anymore. Not that they really had bounties as Roger Pirates anyway, but their past was wiped from the average marines knowledge. As were most of the crews. Rayleigh would never let anyone try to humiliate Roger for his honorable death. Not even a little brat. 

“He couldn’t just, I don’t know, stay alive and protect them like a captain should.” The kid was snarky, he clearly has a grudge. 

“No, he couldn’t,” 

“Bullshit,” The kid said, he wouldn’t even look over at Rayleigh. 

“When we first reached Lodestar, and found out there was another island after that, it became Roger’s goal to see it. We went all the way back to the beginning of the Grandline, only to be confronted by the fact that Roger had a terminal illness.” The boy perked up at that, knowledge he did not know, that most of the world doesn’t know. “We met a doctor who said he had a year to live, he lived for four by sheer will alone. An incredible feat if you ask me.” 

The child has seemed to calm down, he doesn’t say anything. The others are still begging for Rayleigh to help them escape. 

“I’ll make you a deal kid, I’ll help you escape, and bring this place to the ground.” Cheers and begs filled the room, “Only if, first, you give me your name, and second, when you save that brother of yours you’ll bring him to me so I can meet him.” 

This boy’s only drive and will is to save his brother, to live for his brother. There’s no way he’ll stick around to tell Rayleigh his story, why he knows the Pirate King gave himself over to the marines and not the story of the Hero Garp capturing the King. But with the promise that he’ll come back after he’s completed his goal, then Rayleigh might know. 

The boy is silent, the others around them beg him to agree. To say yes and to save them. He doesn’t accept or fall to peer pressure. He sits there in silence for a long time. Rayleigh's sure it was almost an hour, just thinking. People start to get moved to the other cells in preparation for the auction that was set to start in less than an hour.

“Ace,” He whispers. 

“Hm?” Rayleigh questions. Ace really doesn’t want to work with him, he’s never wanted to meet or know any of the Roger Pirates. But, for Luffy, to save Luffy and fulfill his promise to Sabo. To be a good big brother. To fulfill the promise all three of them gave and to be free, to be pirates on the open sea. 

“My name, is Ace,” 

“Nice to meet you Ace,” Rayleigh smiles at him, and then proceeds to break his own chain off with his bare hands. Then his collar. He moves over to Ace, and he flinches for a second, but Rayleigh doesn’t falter, and breaks the regular iron collar. But he can tell without trying that his wrists are barred with sea stone.

“I can’t break the sea stone unfortunately. We’ll find some keys,” Rayleigh smiles at him, the same calm easy smile he’s had this whole time. It annoys Ace to no end. 

Rayleigh then walks up to the bars, and uses brute strength to bend them so he can easily step through. He throws a glance back at Ace who stares at him incredulously. Before he attempts to rise to his feet. 

It’s more difficult than it should be. His hands are chained behind his back with sea stone, they are much more cautious with devil fruit users then old men, and Ace looks rather thin. Rayleigh can’t be sure, but the boy’s probably been enslaved for a long time. But he makes it to standing and slides through the bars just as Rayleigh had. 

The other’s in the cages all start scrambling and yelling, hands reach between the bars and Ace backs away, cowering away from them. 

Rayleigh starts walking towards one end of the hallway. The door attempts to fly open but Rayleigh kicks it closed even harder. Effectively knocking out on of the guards outside. When the other guard comes in, Rayleigh pushes the barrel of his gun down. Dodging the bullet that shot out of it and using its butt to hit the guard holding it. Knocking him out and leaving the gun. 

He sifts through the first guards pockets and finds a set of keys. Just by looking at them he knows it’s not the one to Ace’s sea stone cuffs, but rather the cell doors. 

Rayleigh tosses them into one of the cells, and moves forward. Ace following behind. 

They’ve gathered the attention of more guards and Rayleigh can easily fight all of them alone but he’s impressed when Ace takes one on with simply his legs and teeth. He sweeps his leg out, knocking one of the guards down and kneeing his gut. 

Before both of his feet are on the ground he catches a blade in his teeth and uses his balance to spin downward. Ace rips the knife from the man's hand and kicks him in the face with the back of his heel, he lands both feet on the ground. 

Rayleigh fights his own battles, using haki to dodge bullets and keep a close eye on the boy he’s promised to help. Rayleigh could use one of the guns but he’s always been better with a sword. Which he manages to steal from one of the guards. It makes the whole process easier and with one quick swipe all their enemies are on the ground. 

Rayleigh turns to see Ace only to find the boy with the hilt of the knife in his mouth now, somehow having maneuvered it. He kind of looks like a dirty puppy looking over at him with greasy messy hair and big innocent eyes that Rayleigh knows aren’t innocent at all considering the bodies that surround him. 

“Let’s go find some keys for those cuffs,” Rayleigh says laughing. Ace does a quick nod and the two are off down a hallway. 

They fight with guards and various employees from the auction house along the way. Quickly sifting through pockets and offices they look for the keys to the sea stone cuffs. Rayleigh has also been pocketing any and all berries he finds. 

 At this point the whole building is in a riot. The marines are bound to bust through the doors any minute. Majority of those set to be sold have escaped their cells. Whether it’s because of the passing and finding of keys, or the fact that Rayleigh busted some extra cells to cause more of a commotion. 

The more havoc they reek, the less likely they are to be found or followed. 

Rayleigh’s not allowed to bring anymore marines back to the bar. 

He goes to carefully remove the collar off a mermaid, only to be stopped short by a man in star sunglasses. 

“What do you think you're doing?!” The man yells in outrage. Before Rayleigh can answer, the knife from Ace's teeth ends up in the man's shoulders. 

Rayleigh takes the moment of the man yowling in pain to break the off the mermaid. He breaks her chains as well and then turns and bashes the skull of the man. Surprising Ace who had just been going through his pockets. 

“Sorry,” The older man says looking down he can see Ace holding something, “Oh good! You found the keys,” 

Ace nods and starts to unlock the cuffs. 

“Uh- um, thank you so much!” The mermaid says, she bows in thanks as she starts to calm down from fear and surprise. “How can I ever repay you?” 

“Don't mention it, just get out of here,” Rayleigh says, waving her off. He then goes back into one of the rooms they pass leaving Ace to unlock his cuffs. 

Rayleigh finds the room he's looking for and breaks the restraints off the giant he had seen. He gives him a brief good luck and leaves the man to fight the Marines that had just broken in. 

When Rayleigh finds himself back to where he left Ace, the boy is still fumbling with the keys. He gives a light hearted laugh before taking the keys himself and unlocking the kids cuffs for him. 

Fire bursts from his shoulders and down his arms. It takes Rayleigh off guard for a second but he smiles as Ace rolls his wrists and stretches his arms.

They start moving again. Typically Rayleigh wouldn’t run, he is an old man afterall, but Ace seems pretty adamant on getting out as quickly as possible. As well as the fact that Ace has started completely destroying the place as they go. Rayleigh would prefer not to be left in the rubble. 

The sun shines bright in both of their eyes when they make it through a door, that while once still being inside, the section of the building has now crumbled apart. 

Marines surround them and Ace is quick to fight. Rayleigh could easily get them out of here, but he’s been waiting to see what the boy can do. So he draws his sword and picks off the marines one by one. 

Ace was something to marvel at, and most marines did. His punches were powerful, the flames that surrounded his arms burned all within their grasp. Even with them though the punches were still strong due to brute strength and technique. The malnutritious boy still had muscle and the will to survive, he was a beast tearing marines to shreds. 

There were others fighting to survive and be free as well. Each of them taking up a weapon of some sort and throwing themselves head first into danger. It was a riot, and Rayleigh thoroughly enjoyed it. 

A demanding force rang out that caused Rayleigh to quickly turn in the direction. There Ace crouched close to the ground, one leg out to balance. He was panting, clearly exhausted, but the marines that had completely surrounded him fell unconscious as he snarled at them. 

He was like a wild animal, feral and determined to win this fight. It was uncontrolled, untrained but Rayleigh had known and trained many conquerors in his time to know that’s what it was. 

This young man just kept getting more interesting. 

“Well now, look at you,” Rayleigh said, although it couldn’t be heard under all the noise being produced around them, somehow Ace still turned to look at him. The younger’s face set in a permanent scowl even if it was hardly intimidating because of his heavy breaths and tired eyes. 

Rayleigh went over to him, knocking out any marine who dared try to get close. He had seen all he needed to see for now. 

“Let’s get moving,” He said, and the younger one stood up and followed him without hesitation. 

–○—○–

Using the trees, the two slither through the groves. Avoiding the ones with too many people, or criminals. Rayleigh guides them to grove 13 where they appear in front of an old stone bar with moss covering most of it’s outside walls.

“There’s no marines following us right?” Rayleigh asks, his hand rubs the back of his neck with a light smile, he already knows the answer, but he wants to see the kids reaction. 

Ace’s eyes go wide, and he turns to glance all around, he takes a step closer to Rayleigh. Even if they're still an arms length apart, it slightly surprises the older man. 

“I don’t think so,” He says, but he still glances nervously through the huge trees. They were at the top of a hill but still, there’s so many hiding places in the area surrounding them, and even if there was someone hiding it’s more likely to be a criminal than a marine. 

“Just messin’ with you kid,” Rayleigh says before walking to the old bar. The kid follows nervously behind him. He opens the door without knocking, even though it’s clearly closed. Ace hides behind him slightly, not sure what to do. 

“Rayleigh?” A woman questions from behind the bar, she’s cleaning a brandy glass with a towel. 

“Hey Shakky, it’s been awhile, anything interesting happen?” Rayleigh moves further in, taking a bottle from a shelf and going to sit at a bar stool. Ace follows behind him so he doesn’t have to stand awkwardly in the corner, and instead stands awkwardly behind Rayleigh. 

“A few things, who’s the stray?” She asks, setting the glass back on the shelf with matching ones, and then throws the towel over her shoulder. 

“This is Ace, picked him up at the auction house, he’s looking for his brother.” Rayleigh supplies her, he takes a sip from the bottle. Shakky nods and hums along in understanding. 

“We have a few guests about who’ve been looking for you-” 

“Shakky!” A fish-man yells as he comes through the door. Ace goes and hides behind Rayleigh, in the event of an attack, he’s planning on using the man as a shield. 

There are a few people who pile in behind the octopus fish-man. A woman with orange hair, a blonde haired man with a curly eyebrow, a mermaid with green hair, a very tall blue haired man? And a….raccoon? Oh yeah, and a starfish of course. 

“Hatchi,” Rayleigh says in greeting, nodding with a smile. 

“Rayleigh!” The fish-man yells he throws four arms in the air in excitement. 

“This is part of the Strawhat crew,” Shakky says, leaning over the counter to smile softly at them, a cigarette between her fingers. 

“Straw Hat?” Ace mumbles under his breath, but no one seems to hear him. 

“It’s them!” The mermaid shouts and points at Rayleigh and Ace. It’s then that Ace recognizes her as the mermaid from the auction house, “They’re the ones who saved me,” 

“Really?” The curly eyebrowed man asks. 

“Mhm,” The mermaid nods. The blonde man then steps up and bows. 

“Thank you for saving Camie. It was our mistake that she ended up in that mess in the first place. Is there anything we can do to repay you?” 

“No need,” Rayleigh says, the man stands up straight again, “Any friend of Hachi's is a friend of mine.” 

“You’re the mechanic Shakky and Hachi were talking about right?” The blue haired guy says, he takes a step further into the room to address Rayleigh. 

“Probably,” Rayleigh stands up from his stool then, the bottle still in his hand, “Names Silvers Rayleigh,” The whole room gasped at that. Ace took a second to sneer before a loud noise was heard outside. 

An echo of ‘Cammmmiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee’ Can be heard outside, it’s a voice that Ace hasn’t heard in a long time. Yet, even after all these years, it hasn’t changed one bit. Ace’s breath hitches. 

The door to the bar slams wide open and a figure rushes in practically flying and body slams the mermaid to the floor. The next moment Ace is running through a random door in the bar. He runs through another one and glances around before he’s in three different rooms in the matter of seconds.