Winter break can't come fast enough... One Piece belongs to Oda. Actually, this series is winding down; I didn't really expect it to be, but... well, time goes fast. Anyways...

Review Replies: To BrightIdeas: Thank you! I've thrown a bit of fuel on the fire, too.(Shhh...) To UnderTaker: Thanks! To Moony: Fuel to the fire. To Kiri Kaitou Clover: Always. To cantor: Probably not... To LongPastMidnight: Thanks! I think I did well on them, if I do say so myself. To Lunapok: Thank you! To Amanda: XD

Onwards!


"There's a black den den mushi in Rainbase?" Sabo questioned incredulously, and Rene hummed.

"Well," she replied calmly, "There was. From what Dragon heard, it's been in a roundabout transition: it set sail yesterday."

"Where is it headed?" he questioned, brow furrowing.

She was silent for a moment. "From what we know, it's next stop is G-2. And, after that, Marineford."

The den den mushi appeared grim.

"We need this, Sabo."

And he knew that, of course. Knew that gaining it would put them countless steps closer to victory; years ahead of where they were.

Before he could respond, however, there was a bit of conversation on the other end. He waited, and soon enough, Rene spoke once more. She was grinning.

"Got a bit of extra news, Chief," she said, "Turns out your rouge pirate was hanging around G-2," her eyes were serious even as she smiled, "Take your idiot brother and be careful about it, yeah?"

Sabo snorted.

"Of course."

(He would ask when he hadn't been but...)

(Mission MIA was a pretty good example.)


The next few days were full of Sabo's restlessness, ready to jump overboard and storm Alabasta—would have already if Rene wasn't reassuring him—and alternately pacing or occupying himself with training.

At the current moment, it was training. He had shed most of his clothing, and was sitting, cross-legged, on the deck, eyes closed, hands on his knees, and brows pulled together.

A metallic black sheen was covering both of his arms, and was slowly spreading to cover his shoulders, neck, and chest. As the black crept over his face, he took a deep breath through his nose, letting it out through his mouth, and opened his eyes.

He abruptly slammed his fists together, grinning triumphantly as a spark of black lightning sprang from the impact. The celebration was short, however, as the color began to recede, and he took another deep breath, closing his eyes and resting his fists against one another in front of his chest.

He let the breath out, and the bososhoku haki began to spread over his stomach, then down to his legs.

It was as the tips of his toes were covered, and Sabo smiled, that there was a tap of feet hitting the deck.

He looked to the side.

And Luffy's chef, Sanji, and the swordsman, Zoro, stared back at him, gaping as the black slowly faded.

Sabo grinned at the pair, but, before the open-mouthed Sanji could say anything, the rest of the crew hopped aboard. They were all entirely unharmed, and Sabo felt the coil of worry in his gut unravel.

Luffy's eyes grew wide as his gaze landed on Sabo, however, and the younger brother paled, gaping, and, soon after, Ace did the same. Sabo tilted his head, confused, but, after a moment, followed their gazes to his stomach.

Ah.

That.

The large mass of scar tissue on his abdomen was all that remained of the hole from what was now dubbed as Mission MIA— to Sabo, it a reminder to not underestimate ones opponents—but, suddenly, he realized what the large amount of concern on his brother's parts was about.

"It was nothing," Sabo dismissed immediately, setting his shoulders and standing up.

"Sabo..." Ace frowned, "That doesn't look like 'nothing.'"

As Sabo opened his mouth to respond, pulling on his clothing, another set of feet landed on the deck.

"Wasn't 'nothing' either," Rene scoffed, pulling down the hood of her cloak. "What was it again, Chief?" she questioned, ignoring Sabo's glare, "One week missing-in-action and another out of commission? As I recall, your doctor friend said that you would've died if he wasn't the best in the world."

"One," Sabo growled, gesturing, "I'm sure he exaggerated. And two," he raised a second finger, "We aren't friends."

Rene gasped, suddenly. She looked at Sabo, hand to her chest, and batted her eyelashes innocently. "My, Chief of Staff, I hadn't realized!" she exclaimed, "For you to be so forward with your relationship..."

Sabo gave a strangled groan, but, blessedly, Luffy and Ace appeared more confused than anything.

"Did you at least tell Ace about the mission?" he questioned instead.

"Well, why would I do that?" she asked in return, "That's classified information, Chief! I don't have the clearance to be spreading it around."

Sabo cast her an unimpressed glance. "Do they even know who you are?" he inquired blandly.

The cackle in reply was enough of an answer, and Sabo gave a long-suffering sigh, running a hand down his face, before pointedly turning his back to Rene and facing the Strawhat crew.

"This," he said, gesturing to his companion, "Is Rene. She's the branch head of the Red Sea outpost and our specialist in covert operations on summer islands."

At several confused glances, Sabo blinked.

"Have I not told you?" he questioned curiously. At the blank stares, he shrugged, "Either way, it's somewhat of an open secret." He pushed down his grin, putting his hat to his chest and adopting a stern expression.

"My name is Sabo," he introduced, "Brother of Strawhat Luffy and Firefist Ace. Also Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army. This is Rene. Branch head and covert specialist."

Nami's eyes widened.

"WHAT!?"

"What's the big deal?" Zoro muttered, leaning away from her.

"You idiot!" she shouted, "How can- What-" she stammered, before giving a strangled groan of her own, "He's probably one of the most wanted people in the world!"

"You shouldn't be surprised," Ace advised, "Apparently our family is made of monsters, or something." He shrugged.

Nami's gaze was wary, but curiosity prompted her to gesture for him to go on.

"Well, Gramps is a marine admiral, and Pops is the strongest pirate around," he elaborated, "And Sabo said something about Luffy's dad being strong too."

"Gramps," Sabo supplied mildly at the vague reply, "Is Monkey D. Garp. And 'Pops' is Whitebeard. Luffy's father is my... boss."

Nami dropped her head into her hands.

Turning from the chaos to follow, Sabo faced Luffy. "We'll be leaving," he stated, before glancing at Ace, "I've received a bit of news regarding our runaway traitor, and, to catch up to him, we need to hurry." He smiled, "It was nice to see you again Luffy: we'll be sure to meet up every so often, yeah?"

Luffy nodded vigorously, and Sabo's smile widened. He pulled two small pieces of paper from his pocket.

"These are vivre cards," he explained, pinching them between his fingers, "They will lead the one holding them to the assigned individual: mine is the triangle," he said, "And the square is Ace's. If you ever need to find us, follow it's tug."

Rene cast him a glance then, but watched as the group exchanged farewells, and approached him as he and Ace prepared to board Striker.

"You didn't tell him," she remarked, unreadable, leaning against the railing next to him.

Sabo kept his gaze on the ocean. "He would have worried too much," he stated simply.

She hummed, watching as Ace jumped down.

Sabo looked over, and she met his eyes. "Be careful," she warned instead of persisting, eyes dark, "There's no telling what could happen: don't be reckless."

Sabo smiled, bowing his head. "You know I can't promise that," he murmured.

She sighed. "I can still try, can't I?" she questioned, smiling wryly. "Just come back in one piece."

"Of course, Rene." He flicked a salute before jumping down, "I'll do my best."

Rene sighed once more, watching as the raft rocketed away.

'Do your best...'

Your self-preservation skills are the worst, Chief.


Sabo glanced up from where he sat at a local restaurant, eyes narrowed suspiciously. It had only taken them a few hours to reach the next port, and, by the shouts in the distance, something was already amiss.

Looking around, it took only a moment to spot Ace on one of the rooftops, an irate chef shouting from across the bridge.

Sabo sighed.

He cupped his hands in front of his mouth. "ACE!" he shouted, "That's the second time today! Stop mooching!"

Ace looked down. "Sabo!" he greeted cheerfully, jumping down to where his brother sat, "The food's great here! Have you tried some?"

Sabo raised an eyebrow. "I have," he confirmed, "In fact, I'm eating some right now." And suddenly the plate in front of him was gone, Ace's mouth opened wide as he began to tilt the food towards it.

Sabo tackled him.

Ace squawked in protest, flailing, and the two began to wrestle. Somewhere along the way, Sabo's pipe became involved—likely about the time Ace's fire did—and, about a minute after, they lost balance, tumbling into the river.

It was after a few leagues in the surprisingly swift river that Sabo heaved them both out, and just as quickly after, Ace was raring to go once more: a nearby fishermen had mentioned a man named Blackbeard.

While Sabo absently wrung his clothing, Ace was demanding location, and by the time Sabo belatedly realized that they were talking about a Doctor Blackbeard, Ace was already off.

Sabo gaped at Ace's dwindling form, paled, and sprinted after him.

"ACE! THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT BLACKBEARD!"


Sabo arrived at the scene just in time to prevent a crisis: performing a jumping tackle on his brother as Ace raised his foot.

And though that crisis was averted, another was caused: the momentum of Sabo's impact sent them both careening into the river.

Several meters of rolling water later, Sabo broke the surface, heaving Ace over his back.

"Why the hell are you so heavy?" he groaned.

Ace muttered something unintelligible in reply—along the lines of 'your fault'—and Sabo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, Mr. Dead Weight," he groused, using his free hand to paddle with the current.

As the water calmed, Sabo threw his brother onto the bank, pulling himself up soon after. He sighed, but stood, taking a moment to stare morosely at his waterlogged clothing.

Suddenly, a voice piped from next to him. "Are you okay, misters?"

Sabo looked down, to be met with the sight of a young girl, surrounded by several cows.

He blinked.

"Well enough," he sighed, shaking his hat, "Though my friend here will be... indisposed for a while."

"Do you..." she started hesitantly, "Want to rest at my house?"

Sabo stared contemplatively, eyeing the grasp she held on her skirt, before smiling. "Sure," he replied, "And in return, feel free to ask for whatever you need."

She smiled as well. "My name's Moda! I'm taking care of the cows for my parents while they're away."

"I'm Sabo," he introduced in return, "And this is my brother, Ace. We're on our way to find someone, though we got a bit sidetracked."

(He smirked, pulling Ace's arm over his shoulder. "Let's go then, Ace, it's impolite to make a lady wait."

Ace grumbled, and Moda giggled.

"You two are funny.")


Short, but sweet... In other news, Captured!Sabo has gotten a narrow win, so we'll see what comes of it in the following chapters. Hope you liked it!