Chapter 3: The Attempt
Dadan was used to not seeing the three monsters for days at a time. Hell, she looked forward to it. And no, you couldn't rely on the little shits to tell you anything, so it wasn't like she knew where they ran off to whenever she tried to hand one a mop or a broom.
But, well, they hadn't been in their tree fort last night. They hadn't even reset the booby trap in their fort last night, which they always did, regardless of whether they were sleeping there or gonna be gone for any respectable amount of time. Not that Dadan was keeping track or anything. It was just that she'd been launched out a window a few days earlier, and figured that they would have had time to reset the damn thing by now.
She visited again in the morning, this time with her men. Because if those kids had come back again in the middle of the night, she'd rather it was one of her faithful crew that got launched through the treetops. She'd had enough of this flying business to last a lifetime, thankyouverymuch.
"No sign of 'em!" Shouted Kozo. He paused to knock on wood. "And I'm still in one piece, so no traps!"
Dadan frowned, grinding her cigarette between her teeth. They were probably just off training, and had lost track of time. Or they'd been caught out after dark, and decided to camp in the forest and wait until it was light out. She could turn away with a clean conscience, and just save herself the effort. Go home. Read a magazine. Terrorize some hikers.
"Start looking." She ordered. Gah! Mutiny of the mouth!
"Yes boss!"
"I want no rock unturned, no tree unclimbed! We find those little brats before Garp gets here. We can't make his kids into marines for him if they've gone missing."
Shivering, Sabo woke up to an almost-dry floor. But the pebbles were still damp, and if he dug just a tiny bit, water filled the holes.
Still, it was an improvement.
Rubbing his arms to try and generate heat, the blond thought warm thoughts. Fires. Chili peppers. Fried Fish. Blankets. Warm, thick, soft blankets. Dry clothes. Oh dry clothes sounded so great right about now.
Huddling in on himself to keep warm, Sabo watched as hints of what might have been sunlight crept in from the hallway. And even though it was barely enough for Sabo to see his hand even when it was only inches from his face, it was still an improvement. Not by much though. He was still gonna be walking into walls and tripping into puddles.
Next to him, he could hear Ace shift and turn. Luffy must have snapped back to normal at some point during the night, so the three of them were scattered around the cave. Explained the cold, at least. He had to wonder how long they'd been out, or at least how long they'd been separated.
It was freezing in here. Had he mentioned that already?
Sabo took Luffy's sneeze to be one of agreement.
But it was impossible to tell what time it was in the cave. Sabo shivered as he tried not to linger too long on that thought. Else he'd start wondering how long they'd actually been here. Start wondering if they hadn't been drugged some more after all. Start wondering if it had been weeks instead of the hours that it felt like.
Gahhhhhh.
Sabo staggered to his feet, determined to wipe away the thoughts of the cold and the dark and the freezing and the distinct lack of time. A good piss would do. He made sure to kick Ace awake on his way to somewhere less populated; he felt the need to rub it in that it hadn't gotten any lighter.
"Hmm? S'up?"
"Cave is still dark." Sabo answered back, more than a little smug that he'd been right. There was the sound of pebbles crunching underfoot, probably Ace trying to stand and shake the sleep out of his eyes, then a high pitched whine and some cursing that was almost definitely Ace tripping over Luffy.
"So now what?" Sabo asked as he felt his way back from the corner.
"We break out of here! Dumbass." Ace wasn't really a morning person. Though, again, Sabo wondered if it was really morning at all.
"I knew that already, smartass. I meant how. You were the one going on about how we needed light to get outta here." The blond parried.
"Hey guys, can I be hungryass? Cuz I'm hungry." Said Luffy sleepily, still rubbing the sand from his eyes.
"Stop thinking with your stomach! You can eater later!" Luffy's hunger whines had been funny at first, but now all they did was serve as a reminder that Sabo's stomach was growling too. And probably Ace's as well. Maybe those tins were enough for other people, but their appetites demanded more. They could demolish an entire crocodile for dinner – that kind of spoke for itself.
Starving wasn't a pretty way to go.
GAH. Pessimism. It wasn't helping anyone.
"There's a way outta here somewhere." Ace mumbled resolutely from somewhere to Sabo's left, leaving a whimpering Luffy in his wake. Fumbling in the dark, the blond tried to pat Luffy on the back, possibly even give him a one-armed hug kind of thing, to remind him that they were all hungry and grumpy. Not because he was soft or anything, but because if Luffy started sniffling or crying, Ace would just get more pissed, and then they'd never get anything done.
"Ow! What was that for?" Though, in the end all Sabo ended up doing was adding another lump to Luffy's already abused skull. Hey, it wasn't his fault; he wasn't the one who'd decided to turn out the lights.
We-ell anyway, they could focus on feeling better when they were outta here.
Sabo stumbled over to where he knew the bars were, feeling around for where he remembered the lock being. He could feel his lockpicking stuff still snug and safe in his boot, but he was used to dealing with the things from the other side. And with a great deal more light. At this angle, all he'd get were arm cramps and a broken pick.
For a brief moment, he considered the fact that Luffy could stretch, and would be able to reach the lock no problem, funny angle and all.
And then he remembered that the last time he'd tried teaching lockpicking, in a well lit room no less, the only result had been more broken picks, and a fire-breathing Dadan when they told her that yeah, the lock on her chest of nice-ish clothing and cute little animal figurines was kinda sorta totally broken beyond repair.
No good, they definitely needed a key for that thing. Though, as he brought his arms back through the bars, a thought came to him. One so simple he was surprised they hadn't thought of it last night. Hell, he was surprised the bandits hadn't thought of it, and taken preventative measures. It wasn't perfect, it wouldn't work for all of them, but it was definitely a start.
They were the big brothers after all. It was their duty to make sure that their weak little brother was looked after.
"I think we don't need light after all." Sabo grinned. "I mean, feel these things. I can almost fit my head through there. And if I can almost do it…" Sabo trailed off meaningfully, glancing at where he thought Luffy was.
Silence.
Eh, crud. Visual cues weren't working.
"We'll push Luffy through." Sabo supplied.
"What?" Yelped Luffy.
Ace didn't say anything for a moment, though the blond could just about hear the cogs turning in his brain, hacking out the same though that Sabo had just had. And although they could barely see each other in the dark, Sabo could feel it when Ace caught on; could feel the silent agreement. It wasn't the best plan, not by a long shot. It wouldn't do anything for them, but if they were able to get at least Luffy out, it was a start.
"That's a great idea! C'mere you." Said Ace.
"What? No! Stop! I'm not gonna fit!"
"Yeah you are! Sabo, grab his legs!"
This was easier said than done.
The moment Sabo pounced, Luffy flailed. And while the rubber boy's aim was, on a regular basis, more than horrible and always in need of correcting, the law of annoying younger brothers dictated that it was pin-point accurate in the dark. Luffy scored a kick to Sabo's chin before bounding off to some corner of the cave. Ace's cursing meant that the rubber boy had probably landed a matching punch on him as well.
Two hits in less than a minute. Well, miracles did happen.
Relentless, Sabo chased after Luffy in the dark, tripping and slipping and almost crashing headfirst into several walls in the noble and tedious quest to actually grab the idiot by the ankles. The cave was only so big, but Luffy was made of rubber and could bounce off walls whenever he wanted to.
"That way!" Ace shouted from somewhere to Sabo's left.
"Which way!" Directions did absolutely no good in here. If Ace hadn't been so pissed already, Sabo would've loved to point out how good a training exercise this was. You never knew when you were gonna haveta chase dinner into somewhere dark. Sabo's outstretched arms came up against cave wall before he could run full into it, and he rebounded, hoping to catch Luffy off guard.
Instead, Sabo grunted as he collided with something decidedly not rubber and more Ace-shaped.
"Watch where you're going, moron!"
"You're the moron! Or have you forgotten that we can't see!"
"Shishishi, can't catch me!"
"Why you little-!" But the laughter had given their brother away. With a blind lunge, Sabo managed to loop an arm around Luffy, tackling him to the ground. In the chaotic scuffle that followed, the blond even somehow managed to pin one of the boy's flailing arms.
"Ahah!" The blond crowed. "Not so smug now."
"Noooo! Lemme go!"
Ace damn near tripped over them again in the dark, but came through all the same as he grabbed onto Luffy's wrists and held tight. He was like the anti-houdini, God help any mugger, tiger or rubber idiot who happened to get a limb caught in his iron grip. Sabo grunted as they began pulling Luffy through the pebbles. It took way more effort than it should have. The rubber arms and legs had gone slack, making it impossible for the two of them to actually carry Luffy anywhere; a slow drag was the only way to go.
"Headfirst, so he can't get his legs caught on purpose." Sabo nodded, hefting Luffy by the ankles so that he had even less leverage to break free.
"Nooooooo!" Luffy whined as they began pushing his head through the bars.
"Stop complaining! What're you worried about anyway?"
"I'm gonna get stuck!"
"Yeah." Ace grunted, trying to use Luffy's armpits as leverage to push him through. "You'll get stuck on the other side of the bars instead of in here, and then you can get outta this stupid cave. So like I said, stop complaining!"
There was a pop.
Not really sure what had happened, Sabo frowned as he felt the bars. Well, he was still holding Luffy's legs, so they weren't done yet. But…ah. That was it. Luffy's head had popped through to the other side of the bars. This close to the grate, Sabo could just make out Ace's grin of triumph in the dark.
"Ah! I'm gonna be stuck here forever! I really am!" Luffy screeched.
"Quiet, idiot!" Sabo wasn't quite sure why Ace bothered shushing Luffy, they'd made much more noise trying to catch him.
In any case, the shoulders were proving to be the hard part. Too many bones to squeeze easily. "Turn him sideways! Maybe he'll fit that way."
"This way?"
"No, the other way!"
"Be more specific, I can't see anything!" Frustrated with the whole directions thing, Sabo gave up trying and just put all his extra energy into pushing. Bit by bit, the two of them wedged Luffy through the opening. The shoulders gave way to the chest, and the chest to the stomach. The pebbles didn't give the best leverage, and both of them kept slipping whenever the ground gave way. In short, Sabo was really beginning to hate pebbles. Especially wet ones. All they did was get stuck in your boots and made you trip.
Then with one last push, Luffy's hips were through, and the rest of him followed without so much as a nudge. Luffy was out. He was free.
This took a moment to sink in.
Then the rubber boy sprung up from the ground with a whoop of excitement. "Ah, I'm not stuck anymore! Not stuck not stuck not stuck!" Luffy did a happy little tap dance on the other side of the bars, and Sabo couldn't help but smile. At least one of them was happy now.
"Good for you." Ace panted, still a bit wiped from the pushing. "Now get outta here." He added, voice dead-serious.
"Wait, what?" Said Luffy, pausing in his victory celebrations.
This was the part Ace and Sabo had wordlessly agreed on. That they'd get Luffy out of here first. He was their little brother, and no way were they gonna let some messed up bandit sell him as some noble's plaything. That was sick and wrong and disgusting, and they'd seen a lot of stuff in Grey Terminal. They were experts on depravity.
They were brothers goddammit. They weren't going to let some sicko noble have him.
"But…but what about you guys?" Luffy couldn't hide anything if he tried, much less the worry in his voice. Sabo could just about see Luffy's fist curled around the bars, straining like he could suddenly bring them down now that he was on the other side.
Nothing like knowing there was someone on the other side of the cage to drive home the fact that you were trapped.
"I have to get you out!" He said, shaking the bars, and when that failed, punching at them. "I'm gonna get you out!"
"No, you're not." Sabo countered, fighting to keep his voice calm. "You can't."
"But we're brothers!" Cried Luffy, who had gone back to shaking the bars since punching them had returned nothing. "I'm not leaving you here!"
"Yeah, you are. Look, we'll be fine now that we don't have to look after our weak little brother." Ace's dismissal caused Luffy to falter, his grip on the bars loosening. Sabo could almost hear Luffy's resolve crack at the words. They called Luffy weak all the time, but it was always a joke, always something to make them laugh after he'd been eaten by a gator or caught by a thug and they just needed something to bleed away the tension that he could've died.
Calling him weak now wasn't quite the same.
"You can stowaway on a ship, can't you?" The older brother finished, turning away from the bars so that his back was facing Luffy. It was probably so his face wouldn't give him away. "Just go home."
Luffy's fingers slowly slipped from their place on the bars, and he stood there, unsure of what to do, trembling in the dark. From the cold or from fear, Sabo didn't know. Either way, it only tightened his resolve to get their younger brother out of there before he could be sold.
"Go." Sabo urged. "We don't want you here!"
And that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Luffy inhaled sharply, almost like a sob, then was gone, tearing down the cavern. Sabo couldn't watch him go, but could hear him, hear the sound of sandals slapping against stone growing fainter. He could hear shouts from their fellow captives, cries for help, jeers, the occasional laugh.
And that was it. Luffy was out. They'd pulled it off – in the dark! One down, two to go. And Luffy, Luffy could take care of himself. Really.
"He'll be fine." Ace answered before Sabo could even ask. "He's good at running away. If he can get eaten by a gator and live, this will be a cakewalk. Hell, with this much of a headstart, he might just beat us home." Sabo almost laughed at that. Yeah. Maybe for once, Luffy would make it to the fort first.
Though, Ace's voice lowered to an almost somber tone for his next words. "And even if he does something dumb and gets caught, they're not gonna hurt their meal ticket. He'll be okay. Really." Or maybe Ace was just reassuring himself. Who knew, sometimes.
"Yeah." Sabo gulped. "Yeah, he'll be fine."
But what about us? Hung unsaid in the air.
Still don't own it.
Thanks so much to Nakama-ship, Llaelien, Shiary, Minstrano, and Ariiel for their reviews! I swoon a bit (a lot) whenever reviews pop up in my email inbox. Gets me some funny looks at work. Also, of course, thanks to everybody who read/fav'd/alert'd this.
As for the question of what is going to happen to Ace, Sabo and Luffy, and whether this will remain true to canon...well, you'll find out later. Will they really get sold? Will Dadan rescue them? Will Makino rescue them? Or will they stage a jailbreak of epic proportions? Eventually, that'll be addressed.
Next time: Luffy's awesome adventure! Well, I mean, I guess it depends on your definition of awesome. Maybe your definition of adventure too...
