Chapter Text
Just like everyone else on the forsaken planet, Sabo was interested in the One Piece. And really? Who wouldn’t be? A mysterious treasure that half the world was sailing across seas to find, a wild goose chase that the most famous pirate of their era started. And it wasn’t like Sabo actually wanted it for himself. He didn’t care for the One Piece, so to speak. There was certainly curiosity there, but mainly, he just wanted to know what it was Luffy was going to find.
So-
So you couldn’t blame him for not realising what it was that lay in front of him. Nor could you hold him accountable for the accidental wish he made. ( Seas above, he was never going to live this down. Ace was laughing himself sick from the hell he was watching from.) If anything, it was the fault of Gol D. Roger for making the One Piece such an unassuming object.
A mirror of all things. Honestly.
Sabo had gotten himself separated from Luffy and his crew after he had accompanied them all the way to Laugh Tale. And it was a good thing he had come, much to their surprise as soon as they landed, they had been attacked by some undead pirates! If Sabo hadn't been there to burn a path through the zombie-like creatures, then he would have written it off as some tale from a horror book. But no, they were there, being attacked by thousands of these dead pirates. And so, as was on par for the blonde, he lost his brother and somehow found himself in a cave. And then managed to fall into a hole.
Sabo brushed himself down, glaring around himself. Gods. Why was this his luck? It was well and good joking that he had the opposite luck that Luffy held, but seriously? He glanced around himself, the flames licking up his arm as he lit up the room. Surprisingly, he was alone. The cavern was large, hollowed out with barely anything in it. Sabo eyed the walls nervously. It vaguely looked human-made, but the crack he had fallen through- he glanced up, honestly, if he had been a couple of centimetres to the left, he wouldn't have fallen in, the crack was barely open. But apparently open enough to fall through. He sighed.
Something caught his eye. Sabo blinked and looked down at the center of the room. Huh?
And okay- let's get this straight. Any other day, he would have turned around and noped right out. His skin prickles uneasily. But… even he had to admit, being separate from his partner in crime, a.k.a his entire self-restraint at this point, Koala- he found himself at a disadvantage against his own curiosity.
You know what they say, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back!
After all.
It was just- sat there.
So, like any good Revolutionary/Pirate hybrid he had become, Sabo walked forward without a care in the world and picked up this random treasure.
The mirror wasn't anything special, much to his disappointment. It was a simple wooden mirror. No carvings, no paint or jewels adorning the mirror. Just, round, blank, and boring. He sighed again, ignoring the feeling that curled up in his stomach, the feeling that he had just done something stupid. Instead, he just held it up. The flames on his arm lit up the room enough that Sabo could see his reflection perfectly.
Except-
He dropped the mirror with a yelp.
“Wh- Hey! Don't drop me, kid!” Sabo gaped down at the mirror. Where he had just seen his face was now replaced by an older man's face- okay, well. Sabo shook his head slightly, readying himself to walk away and leave whatever bullshit this was alone. “Kid?”
“I’m not a kid,” Sabo grumbled, reaching down to pick up the mirror. Wow, Koala was going to pummel him once she heard about this. He could already hear the echo of her voice ‘Drop the fucking talking mirror, you imbecile!’
“Heh, you look like a pipsqueak.” Sabo gasped at the mirror. How fucking rude?
“And who the hell are you to judge?” he glared. The man just chuckled, grinning at him. Sabo took a moment to take in the appearance, everything about it screaming recognition to him, but he couldn't place it. With piercing grey eyes that shone with amusement, a black moustache that curled up and mid-length black hair. Honestly, if the man had softer features and freckles, he would remind Sabo of-
Oh. Oh.
Oh man, he must have hit his head on the way down. There was no way this was happening. Unless he had died at some point and his ghost decided to wander down into a cave, but why would he be in a cave and not following one of his old crewmates?
“What would you wish for if you could have anything?” The man asked. Midway through the panic attack, Sabo didn’t really process anything beyond the fact that his brother's father was staring at him with a grin. But as it was, he was so preoccupied that the words slipped past his lips without permission. But the second his brain caught up with his mouth, he slammed his mouth shut, a hand covering it immediately.
But it was too late.
The man in the mirror began to grow, his grin stretching and warping. A light shone out, and Sabo flinched back, the mirror slipping from his fingers. A loud crash. The mirror shattering. The blonde stumbled back, hands flying up to cover his eyes as the light grew brighter, blinding him. He let out a panicked cry, squinting to try to see what was going on. In the light, he could make out a large figure that stood up. The light died down a little, but it was still bright enough that he couldn’t see that well.
“Holy shit.” He hissed, eyes now making out the figure’s features. And seas above he was huge. Was Ace supposed to grow that much? Fuck he hoped not. This man was a monster, what the fuck? Standing there in his full glory was Gol D. Roger. The man grinning and looking at him in something that could almost pass for fondness. “Holy shit.”
“Good wish, kid,” he winked, and panic engulfed Sabo, the blood draining from his face.
“No!” He waved his arms, alarmed as Roger began to walk towards him. Sabo let out a half yelp half scream and backed away, his back slamming into the wall. “No! This wasn't- I didn't mean- I don't want the One Piece.” Roger paused. Sabo let out a sigh of relief. Fuck, Luffy would never forgive him if he took the One Piece. His brother couldn’t hold a grudge even if his life depended on it, yet this would be the exception.
His moment of relief soon dropped into terror as a giant shit-eating grin stretched across Roger’s face, the same expression he saw Ace do as a kid just before he did something Sabo hated, and he knew very well the blonde hated. Oh fuck-
“Too bad, I like it.”
HAAAAAH? That piece of fucking shi- Roger leaned forward and flicked his forehead. Sabo felt his entire body tense up.
He blinked. Roger winked.
Then-
He fell.
“I would wish to save my brother.”