Chapter 2 (Happy Birthday! Part 1) rewritten

Jackson POV

"It starts again…"

I grumbled as a familiar cold, bit into my legs. This shit has been going on for almost 5 weeks, starting each time when I close my eyes to sleep. The world around me would suddenly shift—cold stone walls would rise, and a voice would begin to call my name, over and over.

"Jackson! Jackson! Jackson!"

I knew the voice; I was certain of that much. But I couldn't place where or when I'd heard it before. Yet, what happened as soon as it began calling my name was far more concerning. My control over my limbs—and every other part of my body—vanished. All I could do was watch as my body moved on its own.

With a well-practiced ease 'I' swiftly navigated through the maze, taking turns at intersections where paths branched out into multiple routes. Some led to dead ends, others to shortcuts that looped back to the start.

Left, right, left, straight, straight—after countless twists and turns, I arrived at the spot my body always sought out. It was a dead end, blocked by a towering 20-meter stone wall, impenetrable and unyielding. Yet, this was where the voice was loudest.

"Jackson! Jackson! Jackson!"

Drawn to the voice like a moth to a flame, 'I' pressed my ear to the wall, straining to hear it better. My hands reached out to touch the cold, hard stone, desperate to overcome the barrier. To reach what felt so close yet remained frustratingly distant.

But tonight was different. To my surprise, the stone felt warm under my touch. Instead of rejecting me, the wall began to emit a soft glow, spreading across the floor. For a few seconds, the light blinded me. When my vision returned, I found myself in a completely different place.

I was no longer inside a hard, cold stone maze but on a warm and calm water surface. Above me, the all-covering blue sky, beneath me the infinite blue sea, both seemed equally endless as they seemed to become one along the horizon line.

In between were only me, and a child, a boy to be more precise. I could not tell his age accurately, but he looked a bit younger than most 1st graders. Maybe he was still visiting a kindergarten or maybe I am just bad at guessing.

The boy reminded me of someone, with his wavy hair, big eyes, and freckles. But the blonde hue of his hair and his amber eyes threw me off.

He looked at me and I looked back. He came closer and offered his hand for a handshake, to which my body autonomously responded in kind. As soon as our hands touched, a head splitting shock drove through my brain.

[Condition fulfilled]

[Initiate memory restoration]

"ARGHH!!!!"

Scenes, Images, sounds, emotions and so much more flashed my mind, forcibly clearing a persistent fog, I didn't even know existed up until this point. Things slowly became clearer as memories resurfaced again. I finally understood where I was and what was happening. The voice that had felt so familiar—it was my own.

[Restoration complete]

I also understood that this was no dream. I had died—a long time ago. Five years ago, to be exact. And yet, I had lived. I had lived another life for five years as a different Jackson. As Gol D. Jackson. We are the same person. My life became his and his became mine in a fusion process that was impossible to fully comprehend yet.

Suddenly, cracks appeared in the air around me—clear signs that this mysterious space had fulfilled its purpose. It was time to return to my second life as the son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. And so, I woke up.

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1st of January 1507

East Blue, Dawn Island, Mt. Colubo.

My eyes shot open, quickly followed by my body abruptly raising from the dirty mattress that was my bed. I moved too sudden and quickly to notice that someone was eagerly trying to wake me up, resulting in a painful collision of heads.

""OW!!!""

We both exclaimed clutching our foreheads in pain.

"Hey, what are you doing?! Can't you wake up like a normal human?" Ace, my sharp-tongued twin brother, immediately launched into a tirade, as was his custom. This time, though, it might have been my fault since I had nearly bashed his skull with my own.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?! Can't you wake me up like a normal person?"

Of course, there was no way I was going to admit fault in front of my brother.

Ace scowled at my retort, rubbing his forehead while glaring at me. "If you didn't sleep like a log, I wouldn't have to wake you up like that! And on our birthday, no less."

'Ah, that's right! Today is our birthday!' I thought, after being reminded that today is my favourite day of the year. Nearly half a decade passed since we were brought into this world, and today marks the beginning of another year on Dawn Island.

"Well, if it's our birthday, you could've been a bit gentler about it," I muttered, feeling a slight twinge of guilt. But that didn't stop me from firing back. "Besides, who wakes someone up by headbutting them?"

Ace rolled his eyes, clearly not in the mood for my excuses. "I didn't headbutt you, you idiot. You sat up too fast."

"Whatever," I said, brushing it off. "Let's just go see what's for breakfast."

My brother's irritation quickly faded at the mention of food. "Right! Dadan said we're having something special today. We'd better hurry before the others eat it all."

With that, we scrambled out of the small room we shared and dashed toward the main area of Dadan's hideout. The smell of something sweet hit me before we even entered the room, making my mouth water.

"Pancakes!" Ace shouted excitedly as we burst into the room.

The sight that greeted us was almost surreal. Dadan and the rest of the mountain bandits were sitting around a table laden with stacks of fluffy pancakes, syrup, and fruit. The usually rough-and-tumble group looked almost peaceful as they dug into the food.

"Morning, brats," Dadan grunted around a mouthful of pancake. Despite her gruff exterior, I could tell she'd put some effort into making this breakfast special for us. It was probably the closest thing to a 'happy birthday' we'd get from her.

"Morning!" we both chorused, practically diving into our seats. I reached for a plate of pancakes, my stomach growling in anticipation.

'Tsk, tsk, tsk. She still acts like a tsundere despite being so easy to read. If she was 20-25 years younger, then she might have been cute but as of now? Better not think about it further…'

As we ate, I couldn't help but reflect on me regaining all my memories. The implication behind living a second life were still sinking in, while everything from my first life, that wasn't related to anime or One Piece, was slowly being erased. Meaning I most likely won't be the same person as I was on earth but whether that was something positive or not, still remained to be seen.

But today wasn't the day to dwell on that. Today was for celebrating. So, I pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the here and now.

"Oi, Jackson," Ace said through a mouthful of syrup-soaked pancake. "Do you think the old man will visit today?"

The 'old man', which my brother was referring to, is our adoptive grandfather, Monkey D. Garp. That man was a force of nature, whenever he showed up, it was like a whirlwind tearing through the hideout. He was loud, overbearing, and never hesitated to 'train' us in his own brutal way. But despite his rough methods, he cared about us—or at least, that's what I liked to believe.

"Gramps? Sure, as hell!" I said after swallowing a bite. "He never misses our birthday. Though I hope he doesn't bring any more navy stuff as presents."

Ace groaned at the memory whereas everyone else began laughing, especially Dadan. Last year, Garp had given us matching marine caps. We'd both been disappointed, to say the least. What five-year-old wants to be a marine when every child knows that the sea is the territory of free men, called pirates!

"Yeah, no kidding," Ace agreed. "If he brings more navy stuff, I'm throwing it in the river. He should bring us something cooler, like swords!"

I chuckled at the thought. Knowing Garp, he'd probably just laugh and then make us fish it out as 'training.'

"But Ace, you don't know shit about swordsmanship. What if you accidentally stab yourself during a fight or training?" Dadan chimed in, not hiding her teasing smile.

"Shut up! Why would I stab myself? It can't be that hard—pointy end towards your opponent, same with the sharp side!" My brother's quick outburst caused another round of laughter. For a moment, it almost felt like we were a normal family having breakfast together.

Almost being the key word. Our reality was far from normal. We were the sons of the Pirate King, hidden away in the mountains to keep us safe—or perhaps to keep the world safe from us. It was a heavy burden to bear, especially for Ace, who seemed to struggle with the weight of our father's legacy more than I did.

As breakfast wound down, he nudged me with his elbow. "Hey, Jackson. Let's go exploring after this. I want to find that hideout we talked about."

I nodded, remembering our plans. We'd been searching for a place to call our own, somewhere we could hide out and make our own rules. It was a childish idea, but one that had become more appealing as the years went by. It was also a way to escape the ever-watchful eyes of Dadan and the bandits—and more importantly, Garp.

"Yeah, let's do it," I agreed. "We'll find the perfect spot today."

With that, we finished our breakfast, thanked Dadan in our own begrudging way, and set off into the forest. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting long shadows across the trees. The air was crisp and cool, but not unpleasant. It was a good day for an adventure.