AN: So I welcome you all to the first chapter of Wretched and Divine. I hope everyone enjoys what will become some wonderful SaboAceLuffy goodness~

And thanks to Niji Hitomi Kabra for betaing~!

1

The day the Celestials came was the day the whole world changed.

They came from the heavens, all bright and pure, full of kindness and promises that enchanted the mortals - and immortals - who dwelled upon the Earth. They were blinded by the majesty of the Celestials, the gifts that they brought, and the world began to thrive.

It was all a plot. The Celestials were not what they appeared to be, and when the world had been completely ensnared by them - they revealed what they truly were.

They didn't come from the Heavens.

They came from the Void. A place where the darkness was eternal and all encompassing, and they had been waiting for their chance to strike. The world was taken by surprise, and fell in a matter of days.

Human, creature, fae… None could withstand the Celestial's power.

"Ace."

The boy gave a start when he heard that familiar voice, and he quickly extinguished the fire that danced across his knuckles. He looked up with wide eyes and shoved his hands behind his back, as if that could somehow hide the fact that he'd been doing something he wasn't supposed to, and his tail began to twitch anxiously.

Sabo stood above him, lips pressed together to form a thin line, and blue eyes dark. "You know you can't use your abilities. You know what happens if we get caught."

Ace scowled and stood up, matching his adoptive brother's height. "Yeah, I know , I know. But it's not as if anyone's around…"

At the blond's glare, Ace winced.

"Yes I know that's not an excuse, you don't need to say it…" He sighed. "It was just… itching. I needed to either let it out or… scratch up my skin." He wilted. "Sorry…"

Sabo's gaze softened, and he shifted his hold on the pipe in his grasp. "I understand, Ace. But… next time, just tell me, and I'll help, alright?"

He stepped closer and raised his free hand to his mouth, tugging off the black glove with his teeth and carelessly dropped it onto the dusty floorboards. He raised his scarred palm in invitation, fingers splayed, and Ace immediately mimicked him. Palms pressed together and fingers linking, Ace's skin began to buzz and heat up as his fire stirred - but it was calmed seconds later as Sabo drew on it, pulling it into his own body and causing his skin to light up, his scars taking on an eerie, orange glow.

Ace was left feeling drained and empty - calm for the first time in days. They hadn't had the chance to do this in a while, what with constantly being on the run.

When Sabo pulled his hand away, he caught Ace as he slumped and gently lowered him to the ground. His pale cheeks were flushed fever bright, brown eyes dancing with flickers of yellow and red as Ace's fire settled within his body, and he smiled gently.

"There. Better?"

Ace nodded, a euphoric smile spreading across his face, and the blond's smile widened into a grin.

"Good. We can rest here tonight, I think. We made good time, so we should be able to make it tomorrow."

"Thats good…" Ace mumbled tiredly, pressing into his brother's now very warm body for comfort. "We can finally see Lu…"

"Yeah." The blond ran his gloveless hand through Ace's dark hair. "We can finally get 'im."

"Take him away from it all…" Ace yawned and his eyes fluttered closed. "Won't be their pet anymore…"

"Mmhmm." Sabe shuffled back a little and pulled Ace further against him, still petting his hair. "He'll be free, like we are now. Well… like we almost are. Once we get him, we just have to lay low for a bit - maybe a few years, somewhere isolated, and they'll have forgotten we ever existed."

"Yeah…"

Sabo's lips twitched into another smile. "Go to sleep, Ace. I'll keep watch."

There was no reply, other than a light exhale as Ace slipped into unconsciousness and his tail moving to wrap around the blond's ankle. Sabo remained still, content with being Ace's pillow, and continued stroking his hair. He wouldn't need to sleep for a long while now, after the amount of energy he consumed from Ace. The glow from his scars was only now starting to fade, and he was thankful that they'd found this condemned house to stay in for the night. He would have been the perfect target if they had to stay out in the open.

So he remained still, a warm, comforting presence by Ace's side, and stared at the stained, crumbling wall opposite to them. Thinking.

They were so close. Soon, they would all be free…

Sabo woke Ace just before dawn broke. The temperature had dropped severely during the night, and frost covered the glass window. The blond was thankful for the fact that he'd consumed some of Ace's fire and was able to keep them both warm - he never did well with the cold at all, and would have been next to useless had he not taken it. It should last him for the next few days, up until his brother needed to be drained again.

His fire was destructive, and needed to be let out and used, lest it build up and consume him from the inside. It was horrible for Ace, who was used to fighting and letting it free to destroy as it desired, but because of their situation he had been forced to keep it contained. He'd been wary of letting Sabo consume it in the beginning - after the last time, when they were both young and hopeless and had no idea what they were doing…

But Sabo had convinced him. Ace had agreed reluctantly - because really, what choice did they have?

It worked out for the best though. Ace didn't have to fear his fire consuming him, and Sabo didn't get burned again.

Now if only Sabo could get Ace to stop being so stubborn. He insisted on doing everything himself - fighting, when Sabo could quite easily defend them without needlessly calling attention to their presence. He wouldn't back down from a fight, and that pissed Sabo off to no end - they never would have gotten away in the first place if Sabo hadn't thought quickly and snuck them through the gaps in the wards that he'd spent months scoping out.

To put it simply, Ace sucked at stealth. He was fire, loud and destructive and big and bright. Hot-headed, terribly easy to anger, and a downright pain to keep him from blowing a gasket when something pissed him off.

Draining him usually calmed him quickly. Sabo would happily admit that he'd done so on numerous occasions. He did so like it when Ace was all placid and obedient, and Sabo always got such a buzz ordering Ace around.

But now… Sabo had been trying to make sure that they were extra cautious. They were so close to enemy territory now, and if they took one wrong turn… then Ace'd end up back where he was, and Sabo would most likely end up dead.

Sabo would not like to die. He was quite happy being alive, even if the world around them had gone to shit. Once they had Luffy, he would be even happier.

Ace was grouchy at being woken, as usual. His ears drooped and the dark circles under his eyes were more prominent than before, but Sabo ignored the pang in his chest and kept prodding his brother to alertness.

The fae hissed at him, scowling angrily and his tail flicking irritably behind him, but he managed to crawl to his feet without any assistance, and leaned his weight against the decaying wall.

"I'm hungry, 'Bo." He whined softly and yawned, and at the same moment his stomach growled. It was obnoxiously loud in the abandoned house, and Sabo winced.

"We'll see if we can scavenge some food - there's a marketplace close by, there's bound to be something we could steal…"

"Could just glamour them into giving us food." Ace muttered darkly, and matched the glare Sabo directed at him.

"We can't." The blond stated, trying to keep the irritation from his voice. "You know we can't, especially around so many humans. There will be trackers there, they'll sniff out our magic and alert the authorities and then you'll end up exactly where you were before I got you out."

Ace pressed his lips together and stared angrily at the ground, and then said, "But they can't sense your magic. You can still do it."

Sabo was trying really hard to refrain from smacking Ace. "No I can't. Not after I've consumed all of your fire. Whatever magic I cast now will be tainted by fae magic, and that will result in the Trackers finding us. We just can't risk it, Ace."

The fae's shoulders slumped. "... Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Sabo stepped closer and ran his fingers through the fae's dark hair. "Just - try to be logical for once, yeah?"

Ace pressed his lips together and nodded, and Sabo smiled ruefully and kissed him on the forehead.

"We'll have Lu soon. Then we will go far away from all of this."

"Yeah…"

There were too many people around. Normally Ace didn't mind that - he liked being social and interacting with others. But when those others were human and radiated fear and greed from their very beings, Ace found that he really, really disliked it.

The energies he felt from them… it made him feel sick. It was all he could do to stick close to Sabo and not vomit what little he had in his stomach.

But Sabo wasn't faring any better. Considering he fed off the energy off of all living beings, all of the negative emotions in the air was just as nauseating to him as it was to Ace. He explained that everyone was on high alert because of the recent attacks against the Celestials, and the Trackers and Guards that swarmed all of the major cities. Luckily, this was only a small town, but like Sabo said…

There would still be some Trackers. Because news of Ace's escape was bound to have reached the outskirts of the country, and with a Celestial manor so close by…

"Sabo…" Ace murmured. "I don't… I think I need to go…"

Clutching tightly to Sabo's black cloak, Ace shuddered and pressed against him, trying to keep the bile down. The blond pressed his lips tightly together, but only said, "Almost there. Just… have to wait for them to move…"

There was a pair of Trackers a few meters down the path, talking beside one of the numerous food stalls that dotted the market place. Normally, this wouldn't have been a bad thing. Sabo would have been able to simply walk over to one of the stalls, pay for some food with some of the pick-pocketed gold he had snagged, and then they'd be on their way.

But these Trackers had a Blood Sleuth with them. This one was in the form of a large wolf that was almost as tall as the Trackers themselves, and it was pawing at the ground impatiently, large claws scratching at the dirty stone. If it caught even the slightest glimpse of them...

They might as well be considered caught.

Ace held back a whine and pressed his forehead against Sabo's back. He hated feeling like this; like a burden, someone that needed to be constantly watched over and taken care of.

But really… what choice did he have? It was like Sabo said. They stood no chance until they were away from the Celestial's territory, and as soon as they had Luffy, the sooner they could go.

"Almost…" Sabo said softly, keen eyes - shielded from the sun by a pair a of dark glasses - trained on the Trackers, watching as they readied to move. They started forward, moving to pass the alley where Ace and Sabo hid, and the vampire let out a panicked hiss. He whirled, grabbing Ace by the wrist and tugged him behind a pile of crates, pressing his thinner frame against Ace's broader one.

Jolted by the movement, Ace brought his hand up to cover his mouth as his stomach churned, and Sabo placed a kiss to his jaw in apology. The vampire kept him pinned for almost a full minute, wary to move away and check that the Trackers and Blood Sleuth were gone - when Ace prodded his ribs gently, Sabo moved and peeked his head around the crates.

They were gone. Nowhere in sight.

Letting out a breath of relief, Sabo said softly, "Stay here."

Ace nodded mutely, watching as Sabo procured one of their supply bags and began speaking to a few of the vendors.

A few minutes of bartering, and skipping from vendor to vendor, Sabo returned with enough food to last them for the next week, and he gently ushered the fae down the alley.

The further away from the public place that Ace moved, the better he began to feel, and he grew a little less tense.

And hopeful. If they could get to the Celestial's manor, get Luffy…

"Portgas D. Ace." A low growl reverberated through the air, and there was something about it that made his ears hurt. "Finally found you…!"

All of Ace's limbs grew tense, and terror crept up his gullet like bile.

He could feel it behind him, the hot breath that washed over him like a fever, and before him Sabo whirled around with a loud, panicked curse.

"Ace, move!"

The fae managed just in time. His limbs, as weak as they felt, still had some strength in them, and he darted out of the way just as the Blood Sleuth's teeth snapped right where his head had been.

AN: Any thoughts, questions or feedback is greatly appreciated~