A/N: Had the urge to write this after rereading Sabo, Ace, and Luffy's past for what must have been the third time. I think it's my second favorite One Piece arc after Water 7/Enies Lobby. Made me cry…made me laugh...Oda is such a friggin genius.
And yes, I do think Sabo's alive. More explanation will be found at the end of this fanfiction.
You can love, you can hate. Up to you!
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Freedom Within Reach
"Hey, hey, who sent a boat out there?"
"Heeey! Come back here! You're gonna ruin the ceremony!"
"Is that a fishing ship? There's a kid riding on it!"
"A kid?"
"Just which family is he from?"
He was oblivious to all of the yells and shouting.
His pirate flag, stuck proud and tall on the mast of his small ship, flapped strongly in the wind. The waves were not rough; in his eyes they were just perfect along with the stretch of blue skies above him. It was not a cloudless day, but as they hung in the air, it blocked out some of the sun so the rays were not in his eyes.
A big smile went onto Sabo's face. "What a nice weather!" he exclaimed as he stood by the helm of his boat. A hand went up to the ridge of his trademark hat, and he clutched it. "Today," he continued, "is the perfect day to set sail!"
He wore his regular attire, the one he had worn during his days in Gray Terminal and the one he had worn while he was with his brothers, Ace and Luffy. It was his uniform. His uniform of freedom. And today, his uniform as a pirate. There was no way he was going to wear those snob clothing of a Noble.
Sabo had on his large jacket which had always been a few sizes too large for him. He knew that once he grew up, it would fit perfectly. Along with the proud flag he had made just the night before, his ragged pants and cravat around his neck flapped against the wind.
He was going to really do this.
Ace... Sabo thought. Luffy...What do you guys think? I'm setting off right now.
He closed his eyes, imagining their expressions and reactions when they received his letter that he had written. He had been in his room...supposed to be studying...But instead of doing that...
"I can't wait to see you guys again," Sabo said as he opened his eyes. "Just you wait, both of you…I'll be so strong you'll both be surprised!"
"Hey, hold on! He stole my fishing boat!"
"Where does he think he's going?"
"He's raised a black flag! He thinks he's become a pirate or something!"
"Preposterous! A lone child becoming a pirate?"
It was then that Sabo realized all of the shouting was directed towards him. He turned his head to face them. A large crowd of citizens were gathered at the dock of the city, waving their arms frantically and cupping their hands around their mouths whilst yelling in his direction. Yes it was true that he had stolen the fishing boat. Sabo had wanted to use the money that he and his two brothers had been collecting for all those years, but in the end he could not.
The complaints of the citizens continued.
"The World Government ship will be here soon!"
"At any rate he's going to ruin the ceremony!"
"HEEEY!"
"YOU! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"
The smile did not falter off Sabo's face. Nothing would cause him to falter. "The thing I'm most scared of...is getting swallowed up in this country," he said, "and becoming a completely different human being! I'm not turning around!"
It did not bother him if they could hear him or not. It was directed mostly to him, to himself.
Though he could have sworn that he saw a familiar face in the crowd...Not familiar as in the Nobles that he sees while locked up in his father's house...but familiar as in a friend...
But he could not ponder about it any longer, for there was a large rippling of waves coming from behind him, causing the water around Sabo to shake along with it. He found out what was the cause even before he turned back around.
Somebody yelled, "THE GOVERNMENT SHIP IS HEEEEEERE!"
The thing was massive.
It easily towered over his small fishing boat by millions its size. The World Government symbol was etched largely on the canvas of the humongous ship. It was so huge and tall that Sabo had to lean back and tilt his head up almost all the way to see it all, and he was still rather far away from it.
"What a huge ship..." Sabo mused in awe, now gripping onto his hat. The waves were causing his little ship to rock back and forth, so he made sure that it would not fall off. "It looks like I might get swallowed up in its currents."
He then reached over to the small steering mechanism of the ship with the intent of moving away to a safe distance. He had no idea that two men, boarded on the large Government ship, were talking to each other about his presence. He had no idea about the large gun that one of them held.
By now, he could no longer hear the screams of the citizens at the dock.
"If I could become the captain of a ship like that, it would be awesome," Sabo pondered joyfully as his own small ship moved away from the monstrous one. He could imagine himself as captain with Ace and Luffy behind him...Their ship would be large...even larger than the ship that now towered over him...And with that ship they would sail the seas...fighting proudly to gain their name...stealing treasure to prove to the world that they were notorious pirates...becoming more and more infamous by the day...And—
BANG.
What might have been an exploding cannon ball suddenly smashed into the side of his small fishing boat, causing him to be blown off his feet. He let out a scream as he was thrown in the air. When he opened his eyes he saw red. The red was not due only to the fact that he had hit his head and landed painfully, but because now large flames were licking and spreading throughout the deck of his ship, engulfing everything in its path.
"Damn it..." Sabo groaned as he climbed to his feet. He had no time to see and search for the exact person who had shot him. He knew that it was one of the bastards on the Government ship. The only thing that went in his mind was that he had to get rid of that fire—and fast.
He tore off his coat and ran towards the growing flames. "Damn it!" he yelled, this time louder as he smacked his coat over and over the fire. His panting grew. "The ship's on fire! Why would they fire all of a sudden—"
By now all sounds had disappeared, replaced with the roaring flame in his ears. Sabo could feel the sweat sliding down his face and body. The fire was growing and surrounding him…
Then it happened.
It was as if the world had been switched to slow motion mode. Over the fire, he heard the sound of a cannon ball being shot away from its muzzle..He turned towards the sound...and there it was. He saw with his bloodshot eyes the small, dark ball filled with gun powder that was heading mercilessly towards him.
His body froze. He could not move.
Then—
BOOM.
The world was blown apart.
The last thing Sabo saw before being engulfed by the darkness was his hat and pirate flag, torn due to the explosion, falling through the air.
He himself was falling. He knew that he had been thrown into the water, tucked in the folds of the sea... But his skin continued to burn and he could not help but let out screams of agony that caused salty and metallic liquid to fill his mouth. He didn't know what was more painful: to close or open his eyes.
Sabo's vision was becoming darker and blurrier by the second. He knew that he was not going to last any longer.
He was a kid that was going to die in the way pirates feared most: drowning in the sea, with his pride torn apart and not making even a single mark on the world.
And worst, he was dying in the way that he himself thought of to be the worst: to leave the world without gaining his freedom.
No.
That one thought was faint, but it made way into his mind.
No. I can't die here.
Slowly and painfully, Sabo raised his arm. He threw one hand in front of him and clawed at the water. He drew back his hand and shot out the other. He realized how red and disoriented his limbs were. Although they felt as if they weren't there, he forced himself to kick out his legs. He had to get out of this watery hell.
Sabo felt as if he making agonizingly slow progress. The horrible thought that he was not going up but actually going down had dawned on him many times, causing him to panic. There was nothing to indicate that he was getting any closer to the surface. His lungs screamed for air. The salty water was making him sick. He bent over and threw up.
He tore away through the tainted, dirty water and continued to swim. There was a light above.
Ignoring his fear that the light was not the sun but a sign that he was on his way to the afterlife, Sabo continued to make his way up.
At this moment, he was completely out of breath. He opened his mouth and let out the bubbles, giving himself a couple more seconds. Every second mattered.
Then his fingertips felt the air, quickly followed by his body.
Sabo broke through the surface of the sea and he gasped madly for breath. His ears felt like they had popped; he could not hear a thing.
But he made it...He made it. Made it, made it, made it, MADE IT.
He nearly screamed a thanks to God when a slab of wood—possibly debris from his ship—floated by. It was wide enough for him to hop on and keep him up the water. He threw his arms over the wood and hung on tightly. He could not gather the energy to climb on top of it.
After coughing and gasping for seconds, Sabo observed his surroundings. The large World Government ship seemed so far away...It was getting ready to dock. The citizens were screeching with joy at the honor of meeting the important people aboard. Around Sabo were bits and pieces of wood and other debris. There was no sign of his ship. They had probably shot it a few more times to completely get rid of it...
His arms felt limp. Now that he could take a good look at them, he wished that he could not. They looked like slabs of raw meat along with his legs and body. His clothes were torn apart and he saw by the reflection in the water that he was missing nearly all of his teeth. His hair was nearly completely singed off his head. His face...it was so horrible that Sabo quickly looked away. He was beginning to plan out what he was to do next when he heard voices. It was hard to make them out due to his injured ears, but he managed to through the gargle.
"Hey, hurry up! We're late!"
"I know! The excitement of meeting a Celestial Dragon caused me to not be able to think straight!"
"Me too! But look, they're here already! Oh dear, I wonder what they thought of this disgusting little pirate ship."
"Well, they blew it up. "
Sabo shut his eyes and played dead. The voices were close...too close. He hadn't collected enough energy to paddle his way to shore yet. If they saw that he was still alive...and realized who he was...and showed him to his father... He did not want to think what would happen. What would happen to Ace and Luffy if they were pulled into trouble because of his own clumsiness? He couldn't have that.
"Oh dear," one of the voices said. Sabo realized how close they were now. They were about an arms length from him. "This child is..."
"Oh my goodness. What will we tell the father? He is a Noble!"
"This is the child that once fought with my child! I knew he was rotten from the start!"
"Oh my..."
"Well, get him and all this rubble out of the way! We are making a fool of ourselves in front of the World Government!"
He felt himself being lifted into the air. Sabo tried his best not to groan or hiss in pain as he was rolled over onto what must have been the floor of a boat along with the other bits of debris. There was a scream.
"His filthy blood went on my dress!"
"We will clean it up later! Moreover, is he still alive?"
"I don't care! He proved himself as utter filth! Leave him be!"
"We must check first."
"You check. I am not going to get any dirtier than I am now. There, we can dump him there!"
Sabo carried on his lifeless act until suddenly he was thrown through the air again. He landed on the ground and grunted. He was followed by the clumps of wood tossed by the Nobles who were sent to clean up the destroyed ship's rubble. Fortunately, the debris missed him.
He waited for the voices to die away. Finally he opened his eyes.
He truly was on the outskirts of town. He was out the walls, as he could see. The Gray Terminal was on the other side...He had no strength to drag himself all the way there.
He was wrong. He had no strength to even stay conscious. The world was fading faster than he could have caught on. All noise he heard turned into a gargle.
Then everything went black.
X
A/N: At first I intended to make this a one-shot. But I soon found out that Sabo was just too much fun to write and I got into it like a mad man, so it stretched on longer than I thought. And since loading errors tend to occur when I try to load long fanfics, I decided to divide this story into three parts.