Bleed All Mercy Now

They were unusually excited for it. As far as missions went, this one was incredibly important but also special to more than just a few of them. It was the long awaited return, the so called eye for an eye. The retribution. And as much as their leader had made sure to note that neither of them should let their feelings and their deep rooted disgust rule their actions for whatever reason, it was clear that not all would heed the warning. They tried to burn us. So this time we'll burn them, was the cry left unheard but not unfelt. A thought shared yet unspoken as no one would dare admit the vengeance they were hoping for in their hearts.

One revolutionary girl however was only worried for one person's involvement in this mission. Sabo had been eerily quiet for the past few days, always with a thoughtful expression on his face as if he were troubled, planning or what Koala feared the most, remembering. Although the woman had already suggested enough times that perhaps the blonde should not participate in this, the importance of the mission was high enough and the man determined for her request to be ignored.

The shadow of the forsaken island started to appear far off in the distance and as the anticipation rose the woman's heart clenched painfully at the sight of her friend, standing stiff and deadly silent, waiting for the impending confrontation, as well as the slideshow of memories that was bound to come upon arrival. She wished she could share the burden with him, she wished she could be able to say she understood and really mean it. Most of all, she wished she could save him from his return to this haunted, tainted place.

It couldn't be avoided for long. Soon they were so close they could discern the buildings even at this time of night, close enough for orders to be given and preparations to be made. Sabo listened carefully to their leader's orders until, almost unwillingly choked out an order he felt like everyone had to listen to. Yes, a lot of their troupes tonight were rightfully angry at the nobles. Yes, those people deserved punishment. But no. No one should be killed unless there's a reason to. Because the people of this army weren't the ones who would burn everyone to death. Sabo refused to let them sink as low as the ones who claimed themselves to be higher than anyone else.

He flinched at his friend's remark. "Make sure to follow your own advice, Sabo-kun." Yes, you're angry. Yes, they deserve it. Please don't kill anyone you don't have to.

Despite the comment about them never going as far as to burn everyone, the fire didn't take long to start. Between the second in command's furious embers and the riot caused by the people of the Gray Terminal and outer towns that had joined in the chaos it wasn't long before the temperature rose sharply and raging waves of red and orange filled the air around them, enhancing the chaos, embracing it in their fiery grasp.

They'd be disposing of the trash tomorrow night. Wasn't that what they had said? Well, then. Maybe- Maybe they were right.

After carefully making sure everything was going as planned regardless of the added panic and disorder, the commander headed off on his own, running through the painfully familiar city streets like he had done so many years ago after committing an eat and run with his brothers or screaming in horror from the knowledge of the burning death this town had planned for them. These city streets were now filled with charred walls and broken people, people who had once broken him and who had thought themselves indestructible. Protected. Privileged. The shattered illusion might have hurt them more than any injuries they acquired in the process.

But it was nothing compared to the ashes of a boy's dreams who only wished to be free. Was this nightmarish scenery the price they paid for ruining it? For his and countless other dreams that perished for the sake of their corruption. And in the wake of his reunion, he built this anger up inside of him and he took all these shattered wishes with him.

The sight in front of him though couldn't manage to spark his anger, just emptiness. It didn't feel like home. But then again it never truly did. This house was his prison, the source of his terrors and abuse, a golden cage created to raise the perfect son. It raised their greatest fear.

The building itself seemed dark and cold; he didn't spare a though about where the owners were at the moment. The mere view of it caused his stomach to twist painfully in all the wrong ways as an unknown force wrapped around him, constricting, suffocating. More than a decade later and the feeling of being trapped still took over.

This shouldn't be here. This couldn't be here.

His gaze turned down and blue eyes reflected the bright color of the flames that quickly enveloped his fist. This wasn't his technique, it would never be, but Sabo was certain his brother would have wanted to help him take down this prison. He pulled his arm back and with a mighty cry containing all of the emotion and anger hidden within, a blast of fire flew with unforgiving precision to the building which was soon engulfed in flames, doomed to turn to ashes. If only he could have done this years ago.

A shriek from behind him snapped him out of his trance, yet the sound caused a coldness to spread all the way down his spine once the voice, even in the form of that high pitched sound registered in his brain and was almost immediately matched with old memories better forgotten.

"What have you done?" A woman screamed at him, her tone almost vicious as she watched on in horror. One hand was covering her mouth while the other was on her husband's back as if ready to usher him forward, so he could somehow put an end to this.

Mother, the word formed on his lips but was never spoken. No sound came out, for the word held no meaning and the woman was undeserving of it. Sabo didn't know what a mother's love felt like and yet even he could understand that this person never had and never would give it to him. She didn't seem to recognize him at this moment. Whether it was from how much he had changed or from pure denial of the fact that this was her son, this was the boy who was supposed to make her proud, this was the boy who had died all those years ago, he couldn't possibly know.

Outlook on the other hand looked with an ever growing terror not at his home but at the man alone, a sign that could only mean he was fully aware of who he was facing and just how horribly this would end up for him. His wayward son was back. But this time he was the one with the upper hand, the power to bring it all to ruins.

"It is the responsibility of every child to live accordingly to the will of the parents who gave him life."

"Stop this ridiculous pirate game now!"

A soft laugh escaped his lips. "Are you proud?" He called out to him, causing the other to flinch as if struck. "I did as you asked. Gave up piracy. Lived accordingly to will of the parent. But you were never truly my father, were you?" No, Dragon-san was more of a father to him than this man would ever be; he had given him freedom, saved his life. But most of all, he had listened to him in a way no one here ever had.

"Sabo…" The man croaked out. He ignored the gasp of the woman beside him as she too understood who the person in front of them was.

Hurried footsteps were heard as the last member of the family joined in, wearing an expression of both panic and aversion. "Father!" The man called. "The whole town's on fire! What is happening?"

Sabo turned to him, an unsettling smile plastered on his face. "The inferior world as you called it is finally fighting back." He hadn't considered running into Stelly as well, yet he couldn't care less about him. The brat was as bad as the rest of them if not worse and his replacement who had been all so happy to see the Gray Terminal burn should be here tonight to see the tables turned.

Outlook finally snapped then, breaking off from his wife's grasp and all but marching towards the blonde. "What have they done to you, Sabo? You had always been out of line, but this goes too far!"

That outburst could never be as strong as his son's. Within seconds Sabo closed the space between them and lean, strong fingers grabbed his collar, pulling their faces close together. "You did this to me," he growled, a low, menacing sound that was capable of shaking the other to the core, making cold fear reach all the way to his bones. The fire near them cast light and shadows on his face and at this distance the large mark was glaring, a remnant of his lost dream now a mark of accusation towards the man who took it away. You did this to me.

With his mind wrapped in a blinding rage built up by years of frustration and resentment, the very thing he had warned his soldiers not to do now completely escaped him. With one shift move the noble was slammed hard on the ground and then dragged back up. His expression that was previously only angry had now adopted one of pure horror, wide eyes and a gaping mouth that matched perfectly the thin trails of blood on his face.

"You truly are a worthless father," words spoken in anger years ago were now spat back on his face in the form of a quiet, empty sound, the utter stillness of which rendered it even more terrifying. The boy who would scream at him full of passion to be heard now spoke with a voice void of any signs of life and a cold detachment from the reality around him. The man was clearly dangerous and yes, that former family of his would probably be the one to pay the price.

"S-Sabo.. Stop.."

The revolutionary's eyes drifted over to the side where the other two stood, too scared to interfere in any way. A smirk tugged on the edges of his lips. Sabo. The lives of your two friends in the Gray Terminal are currently in the pirates' hands. "Father, the lives of everyone here are currently in the army's hands." One order from me is all it will take. "One order from me is all it will take."

"S-Sabo.. please.."

A hand was raised in his trademark position, ready to strike. It was odd to hear him beg. But like his own pleads as a child these would fall on deaf ears once again.

"Sabo.."

He wouldn't let this monster hurt anyone anymore. "Dragon style…"

"Sabo-kun! Stop!"

His hand shook then stopped mid air, before he turned his head towards the voice.. How… Why was she here? "Koala…" came the breathless whisper, yet his companion was promptly ignored. If he had gotten this far, there was no stopping it now. He was going to go through with it. Would his father be happier, Sabo wondered, to be killed not by those of 'inferior' blood but rather by his own? Yet mostly he wondered if his so called father realized his mistakes now, if he regretted his actions even a little.

His fingers adopted the correct position once again and prepared to give the final strike, the pounding of his heart loud enough for him to ignore any doubts or regrets that may have settled there.

"Sabo-kun! Remember what you said, please!" Koala yelled at him, her voice reflecting her concern and desperation to stop her friend before he crossed the line once again. "I know you want to kill them. I would do it for you in a second. But is it really worth it? Don't get your hands dirty for people so worthless, Sabo-kun."

The revolutionary struggled for a second, his hand closing in on a fist that shook and hit the air as his actions were stopped for a second time, his friend working as the voice of a conscience stronger than he ever thought he had. There was nothing but hatred boiling in the pit of his stomach when he looked at the man he called his father yet now he wasn't certain, not certain enough, that killing him was what he wanted- what he needed to do to put his past behind him. Was it revenge the thing he truly needed to get away from his childhood or was it forgiveness?

Was forgiveness even possible at this point?

With a low scream of frustration, he pushed the noble away from him. He fell on his back with a grunt, yet soon stood up, staring at his son with a look filled with repulsion. "You wanted to kill me. Why didn't you…?"

Sabo had already began to walk away at his point. Slowly and while portraying almost as much disgust as his father did, he turned to face him, his gaze shifting from the other's face to the burning wreckage behind them. "She's right. You're not worth the blood on my hands. Besides, death would be a relief to you, now that you've lost everything. Don't you realize, father? Your title is gone. Your wealth too. Have a nice life."

And that would be it. It would be over and each would go on their own way, even if neither of them knew exactly which one that was. However some people truly hated to lose. And unsurprisingly Stelly was one of them. After all he hadn't worked so hard for the worthless firstborn of this family to come and take everything away from him as easily as that.

When Outlook had made that offhanded comment about the pirate in the newspaper possibly being the same kid that had corrupted his late son, he would have never thought his adopted boy would ever use it in such a way. Why push the person who was this close to killing them all anyway?

"That man who died at the war… That was your brother, wasn't it? I am so sorry for your loss." It came with a laugh. A mocking, smug, sarcastic laugh that pierced the blonde's heart and caused an anger unlike anything else to spark and spread within seconds, shaking his nerves, clouding his mind so much that rage was all that could register, the sudden urge to kill- to make him pay for it.

Koala's gasp fell in sync with his scream.

"How dare you. HOW DARE YOU!"

Fire flared up and spread all over his body, a torch of pure, smoldering hatred, uncaring of anything else around him but the person who had dared speak of his brother in such a manner. He would never speak again.

"Sabo-kun!"

"Sabo! NO!"

Crack.

He studied the small droplets of blood that tainted his gloves as his mother's screams echoed in the background. They would need to find another replacement.

Then again, they had nothing left to give.

Once the mission was done, the two of them headed back, neither saying a word. Sabo was too lost in his thoughts, too out of it and the girl was scared she might upset him even further. The proper words to say in a situation like this escaped her to begin with. If there was even an appropriate response in such a time.

The revolutionary leader waited for them as they went on board and once he saw them approach, a questioning look was given to the woman, a silent request for an explanation to the other's stillness. A shake of the head was all he got, a single reply to a hundred questions, yet it was all that was needed for him to understand. The man sighed without a word, knowing there was nothing he could do about it now.

As they sailed away from the island, Sabo took off the gloves from his hands and took a good look at the crimson red that stained them.

"Be careful! You got some of this inferior filth's blood on my face!"

The gloves were aflame within seconds, left to burn until nothing but ash would remain.