Luffy's Past

Chapter 13 - Guiding Lights

Luffy was struggling with the darkness in his head. He heard negative thoughts and voices, telling him to give up and rest, but he knew that what they were saying was wrong. He wasn't going to give up, but he couldn't continue.

People he cared for were gone because of him just because he was the 'chosen' one. He felt trapped. Imprisoned in a cage. Just like the cage he was in when Kai took him. It was dark and cold. There was no warmth to comfort him nor a light that could heal him and guide him. He wanted to be free. The person who had the most freedom.

"So, that's why he wanted to be pirate king." Shanks said.

"What?" Asked Smoker. "What do you mean?"

Benn explained. "Before we met the kid, all he wanted to be a pirate, since we told him they were free on the sea. Then he got the idea of being pirate king after we left. The pirate king has the most freedom of the sea, I think that's what he is thinking."

"Well, your correct." Replied the strawhats. "He wants to be pirate king because he wants to be the person who has the most freedom on the sea."

"That's it!?" Exclaimed Kid. He was also one of those people who were looking for the one piece, but after hearing that Luffy was only trying to find the one piece just for freedom, made him sound greedy. "Just for freedom? Not the treasure or conquering the seas?"

Law answered, "Mugiwara-ya doesn't seem to be the person who would want that."

Ace and Sabo looked at each other and smiled. Luffy would always yell out that he would be the pirate king, but never told them why. Now that they knew, they thought it was kind of funny. Luffy seemed to be free in their childhood, but they knew thanks to watching his memories that he wasn't free completely.

Luffy could only see the darkness consuming him and he was about to give in, which made the audience worry. Then, suddenly multiple lights shone in front of the child. They started to form into figures. They were all so familiar.

Once the figures could be seen clearly, Luffy's eyes widened. The people he had known all his life were all in front of his eyes. Luffy let his tears to continue to flow done.

"Mum... Ni-chan... Everyone..." Luffy mumbled.

The black aura around him was still there, and his wings were still black, but Luffy didn't care. He was seeing his family and friends. They were all in front of his eyes.

"YOHOHOHO." Brook laughed. "It seems that Luffy-san's family won't have him get consumed by the darkness."

Robin nodded. "They really don't, but I wonder how that happened. It's like they are their ghosts."

"GHOSTS!?" Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Brook screamed.

"Brook, your dead." Zoro sighed. "How are you scared of ghosts?"

"They go through things and that's not normal." Brook answered.

Sanji shook his head. "Brook, you're a walking and talking skeleton. That's not normal either."

"Luffy." Clare said as she walked up to her youngest son. "Don't give up. Never give up."

Luffy sobbed with tears on his hands. "I'm sorry. You all died because of me. I should have never existed."

Ace flinched at those words. It was the same ones, well the last ones, he would always think. He never wanted Luffy to feel the same way he did, but it seemed that he already felt it. Sabo looked at him and Luffy in pity. He had heard Ace say it repeatedly when they were younger and when they didn't meet Luffy. Luffy was the one to get rid of that thought from Ace's mind, it maybe because he had already experienced the same feeling as him.