If Ace had to describe the place he was currently trapped in, he would emphasise with the words dark, dank and miserable.
Honestly, why did bad guys always insist on hiding their prisoners in some sort of basement area? Well, so others couldn't see said prisoner, obviously, but why not conduct their illegal business down there too, then people wouldn't get suspicious!
Wait, then the prisoner would hear. In the end though, does it really matter?
-Prisoner dies? No more prisoner, thus secret safe!
-Prisoner escapes? Well, it's not as if the information is going to change anything because, you know... kidnapping.
(It was probably on principle; to cement their place as the big tough enemies.)
Ace sighed, sagging against the cold stone wall behind him. Things could be worse, he supposed, it was a miracle they hadn't killed him as soon as they'd gotten their hands on him, really.
That thought only served to further depress him, reminding him that, yes, he'd indeed been caught.
Thinking back on it, he should had been more careful. What had he been thinking, straying so close to the edge of the forest? There wasn't even any animals to hunt there! But of course, the one time he went too close to the boarder and wham! Ambushed.
He always felt safer in the forest, no one but him and the animals, and it was near impossible to miss them due to their size.
'I swear, if I live to escape from here, I'll be more aware of my surroundings.' Although practically a plea, Ace couldn't care less as long as it was in his head, his pride would never allow him to voice such thoughts aloud.
Ace shuffled, trying to become more comfortable. The coldness of the floor having rendered his behind numb several hours ago.
His movement shifted the rope restraining his hands and feet, rubbing the coarse material against his already chafed skin. A sudden sharp bout of stinging pain earned a hiss from its victim. He quickly froze, hoping for the burning sensation to subside.
Creaking from the only door in the room drew his attention from his injuries and to it, his body tensed as he stared.
Reddish light blinded him for a few seconds, leaving Ace blinking in order to readjust. The natural light was a lot brighter than the decidedly dodgy light bulb that hung from the ceiling, even if it was light from the sunset.
What he saw when his vision did adjust though, he wasn't entirely expecting.
Instead of a adult standing in the doorway, Ace glimpsed the faded details of a child, head tilted to the side not unlike a small confused animal.
'He's confused, what about me!' Ace mentally Screamed. 'I'm the one who is seeing a kid just waltz into some thug's hide out!'
The kid finally trotted down the stairs, two at a time, before making his way in front of Ace.
"Why are you tied up?" Ace wasn't sure what he been waiting for when the kid, probably a few years younger than him now that he got a good look, had opened his mouth, but what ever it had been it sure wasn't that if the over whelming need to face-palm was any indication.
"I'm tied up because I've been captured."Ace explained in a slow voice. Nice and simple so this little kid would understand, then again there wasn't much more to it in the first place.
"Do you want to be tied up?" The kid questioned, face as innocent and curious as they came.
'Of course I want to be tied up, it's my favourite pass-time, right below being beaten to death.' Ace sarcastically remarked inside of his head, but didn't voice in fear of accidentally confusing the child as he was quite plainly on the dull side when it came to intelligence.
"No, I don't."Ace replied, teeth clenched in order to bite down any scathing retorts. "Think you could help free me?"
The kid had adopted a think pose, hand on chin and forehead scrunched up in concentration. Eventually he returned his focus to Ace, pointing a finger at his chest to emphasise his next words.
"What do I get out of it if I do?" Ace gritted his teeth together instead of just clenching them. What could he give the kid. Ace was one who believed in doing nothing for free, he didn't feel like becoming a hypocrite because of this small child.
'Think Ace, think! What do young children like?' He would have pulled up memories of his own past when he was this kid's age, but he never got a childhood quite like most others with his living arrangements. His ideas of a good gift being a good meal and surviving for another day.
'Which might not happen if you don't think of a way to get him to cut you loose!'
"A story!" Ace finally exclaimed, before hushing himself once he realised the door was still open and the two would be heard if they didn't keep their voices down.
"I'll tell you a story if you get these ropes off of me." He repeated his offer, voice now softer.
'Children like those sorts of things, right?' Ace internally wondered. From the grin and overly enthusiastic nod he received, he guessed so
"Okay, deal! You look like someone who knows good stories." Ace wasn't sure what sort of logic that was, but decided to roll with it if it would get him untied.
Ace directed the kid over to where he had seen a knife in the basement earlier. He had wanted to use it to escape, before realising that his bonds prevented that from happening.
"Just cut the rope tying my hands together, I can do my feet." The kid nodded, before over cautiously cutting Ace free. Once so, Ace took the knife and swiftly hacked through the rope on his ankles.
Free once again, Ace practically sprang up, purposely ignoring the aching in his ankles that the action brought. He raised his arms above his head and stretched, taking a deep breath as he did so.
Done with exercising his regained freedom. Ace turned to the one that was responsible for said freedom. He was watching Ace and grinning happily. Ace couldn't quite figure out why.
"Alright. Thanks for helping out, kid." In the blink of an eye, the kid's grin faded into an annoyed frown.
"I'm Luffy! Not kid! You can't be that much older than me anyway!" The now named Luffy huffed, arms crossed as he looked away from he elder boy.
"Still older." Ace teased, a small smirk crawling onto his face at the other's attitude. "As extra thanks, I'll tell you my name. I'm Ace and thank God that I met you."
Ace's last comment brought that grin of Luffy's back, along with some giggling.
"Before we make our great escape, I need to ask." Ace paused, trying to figure it out himself before asking. "How the actual hell did you manage to get in here in the first place?"
Luffy blinked, then if possible, his grin got wider.
"That was easy! I snuck past as they were arguing about if they should lock the door or not!"