Chapter 4: That Night
(Hey Guyz~! So at the moment it looks like I won't be able to even write a chapter during my week away from internet. My tablet got stupid and deleted Microsoft Word on it's own and won't let me download any other typing app. So at the moment I'm using Google Drive. If anyone has a Windows Surface - the tablet - mind helping me out and telling me if there's a free typing program? It would really help a lot! Also, I'm not sure I said this before but the timeline the boys think they're in is a little before the storm that practically destroyed their tree house. So Sabo wasn't taken by his father, no fire, nothing bad has happened to them yet except for Luffy being tortured by Porchemi. Other than that they have almost no bad memories with each other. Also, since this is before the timeskip, Sunny still has the paddles in the Channel 0's and Channel 4 is going to be empty. I have an idea for that. I hope you guys liked Striker by the way. I know I loved it. On to the crap!)
For about an hour, the Strawhats and brothers sat around their little campfire, talking about anything and everything. Within that time, everyone had heard about how the boys had beat the Tiger Lord and how they decided to live on their own in the forest. Most of the Strawhats were surprised that such young kids were this strong and were already living on their own.
"You said you built the whole tree house by yourselves right?" Usopp asked curiously.
"Yeah. Why?" Sabo asked.
"How did you do it?" Usopp asked. "I don't get how some kids could make something like that by themselves."
"Because of my family, I had to study a lot. Eventually I got bored with everything they were teaching me so I started learning architecture. It was easier than I thought it would be." Sabo said with a smile.
"Because of your family?" Robin asked calmly. "What do you mean by that?"
Ace and Luffy looked at each other, almost worried. It was Sabo's biggest secret. Was he really about to let these strangers know?
"My parents were scholars on our island. They always wanted me to follow in their footsteps but I didn't want to. After a while, I just ran away." Sabo said.
"That doesn't make sense. You sound like you enjoy learning but you didn't want to be a scholar?" Chopper questioned.
"It's not like that. I liked learning some things but then they started pushing me too hard, complained about the smallest things, fought for no real reason, and just didn't care about me. I figured, if being a scholar made someone like them, then I wouldn't be one." Sabo explained.
"Not all scholars are bad. Robin's a scholar and she's really nice." Nami said.
Robin giggled before placing the bookmarker in her book. "Thank you for the complement, navigator-san." Robin said.
"You're a scholar?" Sabo asked.
"Yes, I am." Robin said with her usual smile.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I didn't mean to say anything bad about you miss." Sabo said with an apologetic bow.
"No need to worry dear." Robin said. "If what you say is true, then I believe you would like our ship. Sunny is a truly unique ship."
"Speaking of Sunny, how about the three of you look around our ship and stay with us for the night?" Nami asked.
The three brothers looked at each other for a few moments before Sabo and Luffy settled on looking at Ace. Nami already knew Ace wasn't very trusting and after hearing some of the stories and reading the news about Fire Fists father, she knew why.
"Okay. But only for tonight." Ace finally said.
"Yes!" Sabo and Luffy yelled in excitement.
"Super!" Franky shouted as he jumped into his usual pose.
Luffy laughed. "You're weird star-guy!"
"'Star-guy'? My name's Franky, bro! Don't forget that because if you do I might have to use my powers." Franky joked as he walked over to Luffy.
"Powers? What kind of powers?" Luffy asked.
"Robot powers. I'm a cyborg." Franky said with a smirk.
"Cyborg?" Luffy questioned.
"It means he's half human, half robot, Lu." Sabo said.
"Really? Cool! Can you still poop?" Luffy asked.
"Why do you always ask that, Lu?" Ace questioned.
"I just wanna know." Luffy stated.
"What part of you is human?" Sabo asked Franky.
"My entire front half is made of steel while my entire back half is still human." Franky explained.
"Cool! Can I see?" Luffy asked.
"Sure." Franky said before taking off the glove on his right hand, showing it was made of steel.
"Awesome!" Luffy shouted. "You're amazing star-guy!"
Franky sighed while putting the glove back on. "My name's Franky."
"Don't try. As soon as Luffy comes up with a nickname for someone, he won't call them anything else. Unless its a serious matter. Then I think he might call them by their real name." Sabo said, muttering the last part almost as if it was a joke.
"Ready to go?" Nami asked the brothers.
"Where?" Luffy asked.
"The ship. Where else?" Nami said with a smile.
"Yay!" Luffy cheered.
"Let's go!" the three boys said in unison.
Nami laughed. "Alright. We're heading back to the ship everyone." Nami called out to the crew.
"Wait Nami-swan~! I'll come with you~!" Sanji sang.
"Sandi's funny!" Luffy said before laughing.
"'Sandi'?" Sanji questioned.
Luffy nodded. "Pretty lady said your name was Sandi."
"His name is Sanji, Luffy." Nami tried to explain.
"No! His name is Sandi!" Luffy stated, matter of factly.
Sanji chuckled. "Alright. You can call me that if you want, Luffy."
"Yay!" Luffy shouted before grabbing Sanji's hand as well as Nami's. "Let's go!"
"Alright alright." Sanji said with a smile.
"Come on Ace! Sabo! You're gonna be left behind!" Luffy stated.
"Yeah right!" Both boys shouted before running up to Luffy.
"Are you coming Robin?" Nami asked.
"Of course." Robin stated before grabbing her book, standing up, and following the group.
"Hurry up you shitty bastards!" Sanji yelled to the rest of the crew before they stood up and started walking with the group.
"Shut up curly brow!" Zoro shouted.
"What did you say marimo!?" Sanji shouted.
Luffy laughed. "Sandi and Zero are funny!"
"'Zero'?" Sanji and Zoro said in unison.
"Yeah. Zero." Luffy said, pointing to Zoro.
There was a few moments of dead silence before everyone, except Luffy,Ace, and Zoro, started laughing. After a while, Luffy started to laugh as well. Eventually Zoro's eye started twitching and he started walking away.
"Hey Zero! You're going the wrong way!" Sanji shouted before laughing again.
"Shut up dumbass cook!" Zoro shouted before turning in the right direction and walking away.
"Hey Luffy. Do you have a nickname for everyone?" Nami asked, catching everyone's attention.
"Yup." Luffy said with a nod.
"Like what?" Usopp asked.
Luffy pointed to Usopp and said, "Long-nose!"
"Not surprised…" Usopp said with a sigh.
"What about me?" Chopper asked.
"Deer!" Luffy said with a smile.
"I'm a reindeer!" Chopper shouted.
Luffy pouted before muttering, "Same thing…Both are still snacks… Sandi! Can we have deer for dinner?"
Ace and Sabo licked their lips. "We haven't had deer meat in a while. I almost can't remember what it tastes like." both boys said in unison.
Chopper screamed in fear. "Don't eat me!" he shouted before running towards the ship.
"Were you seriously considering eating him?" Sanji asked.
"Yes." The three boys said bluntly.
"You can't eat Chopper." Usopp said.
"Why not?" The three boys asked in unison.
"Because Chopper's our friend and the doctor on our ship." Nami said.
"Really!? The deer is a doctor!?" The boys questioned.
"Reindeer and yes he is." Robin stated.
"Didn't see that coming…" Ace muttered.
"Yeah…" Sabo muttered.
"He's actually a great doctor. He saved my life." Nami said.
"Really?" Luffy said.
"Yeah. He's helped all of us more than once. If it weren't for Chopper then we probably wouldn't be here." Nami explained.
Luffy just stared at Nami with slightly wide eyes before looking at the ground.
For the next thirty minutes, everyone was just talking about whatever. Everyone except Luffy, that is. Every once in a while, someone would look at the boy, but no matter when you looked at him, he didn't seem to look up. Everyone was worried about him but chose not to show it. The Luffy they all knew and loved was always hyper and almost always talking, so him being quiet and almost serious was worrying.
"We're here." Nami said to Luffy, hoping to get reaction.
The small boy looked up at Nami and smiled before running up to the Thousand Sunny, stretching his arms to the railing, and flying up to the deck.
"Since when could he stretch that far?" Ace whispered to Sabo.
"He's stretched farther when we fought the Tiger Lord." Sabo informed.
"Yeah but we stretched him then. I mean, since when could he stretch that far on his own?" Ace said.
"Don't know." Sabo said.
"Want some help getting up?" Sanji asked.
"No thanks. Luffy!" Ace and Sabo called in unison.
Moments later, a rubber arm was lowered and both boys grabbed on before the arm was raised, lifting both boys up.
"That works." Sanji said before picking up Nami and Robin then jumping on deck.
After a few moments, everyone was on deck. The first thing everyone saw was a curious ten year-old, an excited ten year-old, and a seven year-old, almost pouting. All three looking around curiously.
"What's wrong, Luffy?" Nami asked, gaining Ace and Sabo's attention.
"Where's the doctor?" Luffy asked curiously.
"Why? Are you sick? Do you feel alright?" Ace and Sabo questioned with worry.
"I'm fine. I just want to talk to him." Luffy stated.
"He's usually in the infirmary." Nami stated.
"Can you take me to him?" Luffy asked.
"Sure." Nami said before walking towards the infirmary with Luffy right behind her.
"What's wrong with him?" Ace questioned.
"Maybe he's finally growing up." Sabo said.
Ace and Sabo looked at each other for a few moments before finally agreeing, "Nah."
Nami lead Luffy up the stairs, through the dining hall, and to the infirmary before knocking on the door. "Chopper? Are you in there?" Nami called.
"Yeah. Come in." Chopper called from the other side of the door.
Nami leaned down to Luffy and said, "Go ahead."
Luffy nodded before slowly opening the door and stepping in.
"Luffy? What are you doing here? Are you sick?" Chopper asked, worried.
"No. I'm fine. I just…" Luffy said, voice fading off.
"Just what?" Chopper asked, telling the boy to continue.
"I heard you were the doctor and that you saved everyone a few times. I wanted to say… Sorry for trying to eat you and thanks…" Luffy said, staring at the ground while playing with a piece of his shirt.
Chopper smiled before jumping off his chair and walking over to Luffy. "It's my job to help people, especially my friends. Don't worry about wanting to eat me either. Our captain did the same thing, only worse, when we met."
"Really?" Luffy asked curiously.
"Yup. When I met him, he was one of my patients, along with Nami and Sanji. When the captain and Sanji woke up, captain was just trying to catch me while Sanji just kept thinking about how to cook me." Chopper explained with a smile, remembering it like it happened just yesterday.
"You keep calling him 'the captain'. Zero calls him captain also, but I haven't heard anyone say his name. Also, when you first saw me, Ace, and Sabo, all of you said my name but I've never met any of you. What's your captain's name and how did you know my name?" Luffy asked, fear hiding deep in his eyes.
Chopper's smile nearly fell from his face. "Our captain's name was Luffy. He always wore a straw hat like yours, so when we saw your hat we thought you were him. Sorry for the confusion." Chopper said.
"Oh." Luffy said. "It's okay."
Chopper smiled again. "How about we join the others and let you and your brothers look around the ship?"
"Okay!" Luffy cheered. "Wanna race?"
"Sure. Just don't break anything." Chopper said with a smirk.
"No promises." Luffy said with a grin.
"Ready…" Chopper and Luffy said in unison.
"Set…" Both boys got into a stance, ready to run.
"GO!" The boys shouted before taking off.
As soon as Nami started walking down the stairs, she saw a group of curious pirates and two slightly worried brothers. Once everyone noticed her, she smiled, attempting to cheer them up.
"Where's Luffy?" Ace asked.
"Still talking to Chopper." Nami said.
"Why? Did you hear what they were talking about?" Sabo asked.
"No. I figured if Luffy doesn't want to tell us, then I shouldn't listen in." Nami stated.
"I guess you're right…" Sabo stated, still slightly worried.
"I'm sure he's fine. He didn't look sick." Nami said.
"It actually looked like he was thinking." Usopp stated, causing the brothers to freeze.
"Luffy? Thinking?" Ace and Sabo questioned in unison.
"Do you think…?" Ace started, turning to Sabo.
"It can't be…" Sabo said turning to Ace, shocked.
"You're right. It's not possible. Especially for Luffy of all people." Ace said.
"Maybe… Maybe it is. Luffy is pretty strange…" Sabo stated.
"Does he even know what it is?" Ace asked.
"I don't think so…" Sabo said.
"What are you two talking about?" Usopp asked, confused.
"Luffy might be growing up!" Ace and Sabo shouted as if it was the end of the world.
"Yeah… He's a human being. It has to happen eventually." Sanji said.
"No! You don't know Luffy! Growing up means serious, Luffy growing up means he'll be more serious, Serious Luffy could mean the end of the world!" Ace and Sabo shouted.
After a few seconds of thinking, the pirates all remembered how terrifying their captain was when serious, causing them to be almost scared. What if Luffy was always serious? All the pirates felt a chill run down their backs at the thought of how huge their bounties would be but also how many people would have been dead because of it.
Within a matter of seconds everyone heard two high pitch voices scream "GO!" before the sound of doors slamming open and chairs falling.
"Nevermind." Ace and Sabo said.
As soon as the boys said that, the door to the kitchen flung open with Luffy and Chopper running out, the two small boys were running, obviously racing, and tied. Once the boys got to the deck, they tried to stop but only fell onto their faces.
Luffy was the first to jump up and shout, "I win!"
"Yeah right! I won!" Chopper said after standing up.
"Nu-uh! I did!" Luffy shouted before sticking his tongue out.
"Not! I did!" Chopper shouted before mirroring Luffy.
"What are you two fighting over?" Ace asked.
"We were racing! Whoever got here first was the winner! I got here first right?" Luffy and Chopper shouted in unison.
"Luffy got here first. Only by an inch though." Sabo stated.
"No fair! You're just saying that because he's your brother!" Chopper said. "Come on guys! I won right?"
"Sabo is correct. Luffy stepped foot on deck first, only by a second or so." Robin stated, everyone on the ship nodded except for Chopper and Luffy.
Luffy grinned. "Told you!"
"Fine…" Chopper said with a pout.
"You three still want to look around?"Usopp asked.
"Yes!" The Sabo and Luffy shouted with excitement.
Ace merely nodded.
"Where do you want to start? Top or bottom?" Usopp asked.
"How about best for last?" Sabo asked.
"Super!" Franky shouted. "I like you, bro! Follow me!"
"Pretty lady? Are you coming?" Luffy asked.
"Sure." Nami said.
"What about you Sandi?" Luffy asked.
"Sorry, brat. I have to start cooking." Sanji said before heading towards the kitchen.
"Chopper?" Luffy asked, head tilted.
Chopper was confused as to how Luffy knew his name. He didn't remember saying his name. He didn't care though. Chopper just smiled before saying, "I can't. I have to check over my supplies."
"Aw… Okay. Book lady?" Luffy asked.
Robin smiled. Apparently that was her nickname. "Sure."
"Yay! What about you Zero?" Luffy asked.
Zoro's eye twitched when he heard Sanji chuckle from the stairs. "No thanks, brat." Zoro said before climbing up the mast to the crow's nest.
Luffy pouted. "Bone-guy?"
Brook laughed. "If you would like."
"Yay!" Luffy cheered.
Before long, the group had started their tour. First they went to the Living Quarters. Second was the Kitchen - where they stopped for a few minutes so the boys could see Sanji cooking. Then the Observation Room. After that they went to the Aquarium Bar. Last they went to Franky's and Usopp's workshops.
"It's pretty cool but is there anything better?" Sabo asked.
"Yeah it seems pretty boring if you ask me." Ace said.
"Who said that was all?" Franky asked with a smirk.
"There's more?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah. Do you remember the numbers on the sides of the ship?" Usopp questioned.
"Yeah. Why?" Sabo commented after a moment of thought.
"That's part of the Soldier Dock System." Usopp said with a smirk.
"The Soldier what?" Ace asked.
"Soldier Dock System. It's my pride and joy." Franky said with a smile.
"When do we get to see it?" Luffy asked.
"We're on our way right now." Franky said.
"Really? Is it big?" Luffy asked.
"It takes up almost the entire bottom of the ship." Franky informed.
"Really?! It's that big?" Sabo asked with excitement.
"Yup. You'll see real soon." Franky said.
Not even a minute later, the group got to a door that Franky was blocking. Franky looked at the kids. Apparently what he said about it got them pretty excited. From what he knew, Ace was either curious, shocked, angry, or calm. If those were the only emotions the boy had, then Franky was seeing a miracle. Even Ace was getting a little excited, even though he was trying to hide it.
"Ready?" Franky asked the boys.
"Yes!" The Sabo and Luffy shouted, Ace shrugging instead of speaking.
"Alright." Franky chuckled before opening the door behind him and moving out of the way.
Sabo and Luffy ran into the room excitedly, while Ace just walked in, and looked around. After a few moments the boys excitement fell. They didn't understand what was so cool about the place. It looked like a bunch of random rooms.
"What is this?" Sabo asked, slightly disappointed.
"The Soldier Dock System." Franky said with a smirk.
"What's so cool about it?" Ace asked, his expression back to a mixture of calm and annoyed.
"Pick a number, bros." Franky said.
"Three." Ace said with boredom.
"One." Sabo said calmly.
"Hm… Two." Luffy said after a moment of thought.
"We'll go in that order. Three first." Franky said before walking over to Channel 3.
As soon as Franky opened the door, the boys curiosity was struck. The three boys ran to the channel and stared at the blue, ship that looked like a shark. After that, the boys noticed the water and figured out why it had the word 'dock' in its name.
"Shark Submerge 3." Franky said. "Seats three people and can go up to 5,000 meters under water. Usually for scouting."
"Cool!" Luffy and Sabo shouted.
Ace didn't say anything. He just merely smirked at how excited his brothers were.
Franky walked over to Channel 1 and opened the door for the boys. "What do you think?"
"What is that?" Ace questioned. "It looks like an ugly horse."
"Shiro Mokuba 1." Franky stated. "Seats one person."
"It looks weird…" Luffy said.
"I still don't like it, Franky." Nami stated.
"What do you mean?" Sabo asked Nami.
"It's a Waver from the sky island, Skypiea. We found it a while back and once Franky saw it, he decided to turn it into that." Nami explained.
"So it's yours?" Luffy asked.
"Yup." Nami commented.
"Can I ride it later? It looks fast." Luffy asked.
"Maybe later." Nami said with a smile.
"Okay!" Luffy said with one of his famous grins followed by his unique laugh.
"Hey Lu. You said two, right?" Sabo asked.
"Yup." Luffy nodded.
"Okay." Franky said before going to the second channel.
"This one's my favorite." Usopp said with a smile.
"Why?" The three boys and Brook asked.
"Because it was modeled after our last ship one of my close friends let us have." Usopp explained.
"What happened to it? Your last ship I mean." Sabo asked.
"Our adventures were too tough on her. She could no longer sail. She even broke in half on our last trip with her." Usopp said with a sad smile.
"You really liked the ship, didn't you?" Luffy asked, almost serious.
"Yeah. Like I said, my friend gave us that ship. Merry was good to us. Any other ship probably would have been completely destroyed a lot earlier. Merry had a spirit. She wasn't just our ship. She was one of our nakama." Usopp explained.
Luffy looked amazed. Slowly his features calmed and he was just smiling as if remembering an old friend. After a few moments Luffy lowered his head so that the brim of his hat was covering his eyes.
"Merry…" Luffy muttered. "That name… It's nice…"
"Lu?" Ace and Sabo questioned.
"Hm?" Luffy sounded as he looked at his brothers with innocent eyes.
"You okay?" Ace asked.
"Yeah. Why?" Luffy asked.
"You were serious for a moment there. That's not like you… Are you sure you're alright?" Sabo said.
"I'm fine." Luffy said.
"If you say so." Sabo said worriedly.
A sound from above gained everyone's attention. When they all looked up, everyone saw an open hatch then saw Chopper show his head through it.
"Hi Chopper!" Luffy shouted, waving with a grin on his face.
"Hi Luffy! Sanji wanted me to get you guys. He says dinner will be done soon." Chopper called down.
"Okay! We're almost done." Nami called up. "Can you tell Sanji to make Robin and I some tea, please?"
"Okay." Chopper said before moving his head and closing the hatch.
"You boys still want to see Channel 2?" Franky asked.
"Sure." Ace and Sabo said.
Luffy only nodded.
"Alright." Franky opened the door before saying, "Mini Merry 2. It can hold up to four people and is usually used for shopping purposes."
"A sheep head?" Ace questioned.
"Yup. Going Merry had a sheep figurehead and since everyone liked the ship so much, I gave this one the same figurehead." Franky explained.
"Cool." Sabo said. "What do you think, Lu?"
Luffy was staring at the figurehead.
"Luffy? Earth to Luffy!" Sabo shouted while waving his hand in front of the youngers face.
"Can I sit on it?" Luffy asked, not taking his eyes off the figurehead.
"Why?" Sabo asked.
"I just wanna." Luffy said, still staring at the sheep head.
"Maybe later, Lu." Sabo said. "But right now we have to go eat."
"Okay!" Luffy cheered, finally taking his eyes off of the sheep face and looking at his brother.
"Come on." Ace said as he passed by his brothers, playfully punching Luffy's arm.
All throughout dinner, the boys didn't say a word. They were too busy eating. They were so busy eating that the boys actually forgot how to breathe at one point. When the boys caught their breath again, everyone started laughing while they just continued to eat.
Once dinner was done, the boys were lead to the men's quarters where they were told they could use the captains bunk. Once they were alone in the room Ace and Sabo turned on Luffy, scaring the boy.
"Okay. What's up with you Luffy? First you get all friendly with these guys, when you know nothing about them and they somehow know you. Then you start getting serious, call someone you don't know by their name, and then you start spacing out. What's going on?" Ace questioned.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Luffy said nervously.
Sabo sighed. "Come on, Lu. You know you can trust us. Just tell us the truth."
"I am! I don't know what you're talking about!" Luffy said, slight fear showing in his eyes.
"Did you at least ask how they knew your name?" Ace asked.
"Yeah. Chopper said their captain has a hat a lot like mine and his name is Luffy too! He said they all thought I was their captain." Luffy said.
"I knew it. They are with that crazy guy." Ace said.
"What do you mean?" Sabo questioned.
"That mad man was talking to Lu like they knew each other, but not under the best circumstances. From what he said, it sounded like Lu had been older and was now a kid and now it sounds like these guys are saying the same. They're all insane." Ace said.
"I guess it really was a good thing I lied to them about my past. You didn't tell them anything important, right Lu?" Sabo asked.
Luffy shook his head. "I don't think so. I just said the same as what you guys said."
"Good." Ace said.
"So, Ace, what's the plan?" Sabo asked.
"Easy. When they all go to sleep, we get out of here. If we have to, we'll fight, but only if they attack us or try to stop us from leaving." Ace said.
"Sounds good to me." Sabo said.
"Yeah." Luffy said with nod.
"Hey, Lu?" Ace said with a small smile.
"Yeah?" Luffy asked curiously.
"You did good. Because of you, we know most of their weaknesses and who to avoid in a fight." Ace said, ruffling Luffy's hair.
Luffy smiled before putting his hat on and laughing.
Tonight is the night they escape. Escape all the mad men looking for them and even the island if needed.
(God damn A.D.D.! For those of you that don't know, A.D.D. is Attention Deficit Disorder which pretty much means I can't pay attention for long. Which sucks when there's a TV in the room I'm writing in. Then when the TV turns off, I need sound to think so YouTube is turned on. Imagine how that turns out. Now you know why it takes me over 12 hours to write these! By the way, if there's any spelling errors that I didn't fix, it's because my tablet is being stupid! Onto a somewhat different subject, I'm leaving to go to a desert in 12 hours and will be there for five days! Yay~! Please tell me an app that lets me write these chapters without need for internet before then! I really want to keep writing but I can't do that when I have no internet. Please hurry~! Anyways, I hope you guys liked the chapter. Fave, follow, and review! Bai~! c(X )
Time started: 2:30 p.m.
Time stopped: 3:17 a.m.
