Chapter 14: Anger and a So-Called Betrayal
(Hey guyz~! So I'm starting pretty late... Let's hope I can make it through. I changed my mind and decided to combine my plans for chapters 14 and 15 into one chapter. Let's hope it works. On to the crap!)
As the sun rose, so did the crew of the Moby Dick. The morning was usual. As soon as breakfast began cooking, the three youngest boys had woken up and raced to the dining hall. Immediately, the boys were at the counter and watching the chefs cook all the various foods. Every once in a while, a chef would secretly sneak the boys a little taste of what they were cooking.
When the chefs had deemed most of the food ready, they asked the boys to ring the bell, announcing it was time to eat. Luffy had immediately stood from his spot and ran to the bell, ringing it happily when he got there. During their time on the ship, Luffy was the one to ring the bell. He had found it entertaining and had rang it loud enough that people within a mile or so of the bell could hear it.
Soon enough, the crewmen, and women, started entering the hall and smiling when they smelled the food or saw the boys. Slowly, everyone faded into a single file line so they could get breakfast. After about a half hour, the three youngest boys had finally gotten their food. The boys had agreed they would be the last in line during every meal seeing as how they weren't as hungry considering they had been given snacks while the chefs were cooking. That was Sabo's mind set at least. Ace and Luffy had considered it as, they got everything that was left over which was a good amount of food.
After an hour of eating and talking with each other, the crew finally remembered their prisoner. Just as Thatch was about to leave the room with their prisoners food, Luffy had stretched his arm to grab it. As Luffy's arm returned with a new plate in his hand, Sabo had reached up enough to grab the plate before the contents were eaten.
"This is for the prisoner, right?" Sabo asked as he turned to the head chef.
"Yeah. Why?" Thatch asked curiously.
"I'll take it to him if you want." Sabo volunteered.
"Are you sure? He was stalking you three and now you want to talk to him?" Thatch questioned.
"All I'm going to do is give him his food. I'm not going to talk to him unless I absolutely have to." Sabo said as he stood from his chair and started walking towards the door.
"Just be careful around him alright?" Thatch asked worriedly.
"Don't worry." Sabo said with a smile before leaving the room.
-x-x-x-
After thirty minutes of the young blond not returning, the crew started worrying. Soon enough, Thatch, Vista, Haruta, Ace, and Luffy all went to find the young noble. Almost as soon as they left the room, they started running to the cells. Once they got to the staircase leading to the cells, they all saw Sabo lying face down and unconscious on the stairs.
Immediately, they all started panicking and ran to the boy. Vista quickly picked him up and turned him over. The large man and the ones around him were shocked to see the condition the boy was in.
Sabo looked to have been beaten pretty badly. He had a black eye and small nose bleed, which seemed to have stopped, along with a cut on his lip. His arms and legs had small cuts, scratches, scrapes, and bruises. A well-sized bruise on his neck. His blue clothing having small hints of crimson on them. His face slightly contorted into one of pain.
"Sabo…" Thatch muttered, feeling a tinge of guilt for letting the boy go on his own.
Slowly and weakly, the mentioned boy opened his eyes and looked at the people around him. Once his eyes landed on the worried looks of his brothers, he gave a small smile.
"What happened..?" Ace muttered in shock.
Sabo slowly and carefully shook his head, attempting to tell his brother it was nothing. The look in his eyes betrayed the motion however. He stopped shaking his head when he was facing the cells, his eyes watching as if scared something will come after him.
"Was it him? The prisoner?" Haruta questioned.
Sabo looked at her for a second before slowly nodding.
Instantly, the group was angry. No, not angry. They were furious, even Luffy had been angry. With or without knowing, they were all glaring towards the cells. They were all so busy glaring, that they all failed to realize someone was walking down the stairs towards them.
"What are you doing, yoi?" Marco questioned, startling them all.
"Marco!" Thatch exclaimed as he ran up to said man. "The prisoner attacked Sabo! We found him unconscious on the stairs."
Marco was quiet as he stared at the young blond in Vista's arms. Slowly, he walked closer to the large man and took the ten year-old from his arms. Now carrying Sabo, Marco continued walking down the stairs.
"Marco! Where are you going? He needs help!" Haruta shouted to the older blond.
Marco ignored the protests and continued walking. He looked down at the noble in his arms and noticed shock, confusion, and slight anger in the boys eyes. He allowed a small smirk to grace his lips, confusing the boy further.
Once they were at the bottom of the stairs, Marco turned to the cell and allowed his smirk to grow if only a little. "Sabo. How do you feel, yoi?"
"Could be better. I have to admit I'm pretty hungry though. Damn brat showed me the food then threw it out the port hole…" The prisoner said while playing with a piece of pipe, muttering the last part as he glared at said port hole.
"I see. Remind me to bring something down later, yoi." Marco said thoughtfully.
"Marco… What are you talking about? And why did you call that bastard 'Sabo'!?" Haruta questioned.
"Hey!" The prisoner sounded, his head snapping back to his visitors.
"Because he is Sabo, yoi." Marco stated simply.
Suddenly, the smaller Sabo's eyes widened in realization. He stared at Marco with shock covering his beaten features. Marco couldn't help the amused smirk that crossed his lips as he saw a flash of anger cross the boys features.
"Liar!" Luffy shouted. "There's only one Sabo!"
"Don't you dare try and say that man who beat up our brother is Sabo!" Ace yelled at Marco.
"Ace… Lu…" The prisoner muttered in shock before letting it set in. "Wait. 'Beat up'? I didn't beat up anyone."
"Then explain his injuries!" Vista shouted, pointing at the small boy in Marcos arms.
The prisoner simply pointed to the pieces of blood covered metal near the bars, far from him. "I'll admit, he may have pissed me off last night and I may have broken a bar or two but he's the one who used the pieces to wound himself. Do you know how weird that is?"
"What? The fact that you're lying?" Haruta growled.
"Now, now. No need to growl. First of all, I'm not lying. He picked up the pieces and started cutting and bruising himself. Secondly, the weird part of it all is watching you destroy your own body. I mean… It was like an out of body experience. Kinda like a ghost possessed my ten year-old body and forced me to wound myself. So strange…" The prisoner said, voice fading off into thought towards the end.
"Don't talk like that! You aren't Sabo! You aren't our brother! You're just some weird ass stalker!" Ace shouted angrily.
Instantly, the prisoners eyes widened in shock, sadness, and fear before he pulled his hat down to hide his eyes. Everyone had seen the emotions though. The prisoner was even shaking slightly.
"You don't mean that…" The prisoner muttered, his voice shaking slightly. "Ace would never say that to one of his brothers… Maybe with Lu at first but not now… Not to me…"
"Stop calling him that! You don't know Luffy so stop calling him 'Lu'! Only Sabo and I can call him that!" Ace yelled, getting angrier by the minute.
The man was silent as he fell back to lay on the floor, not caring much about the pain from the fall and just focusing on the boys. "Lu… I know you want to say something… Just say it. You feel the same as Ace right?" He muttered just loud enough for the rooms occupants to hear.
"I said stop calling him that!" Ace shouted, interrupting the younger raven.
"You've always had great instincts. Maybe not that much brain power, but you could always tell when a person was good or bad. So what do you think of me?" The prisoner asked, ignoring Ace, as he slightly turned his head towards Luffy, his hat still shadowing his eyes.
"I… I don't know… You seem familiar but… I don't know how. But I do know one thing. I feel like I can trust you." Luffy said, smiling at the end.
"Luffy!" Ace shouted in slight anger and shock.
"Ace, you and your trust issues need to calm down." The prisoner said with a small chuckle.
"You stay out of this!" Ace yelled angrily at the prisoner.
"You really shouldn't act so calm with him just yet, yoi. Considering just yesterday you were a stalker." Marco reminded.
"Oh yeah…" The prisoner said as he turned his head towards Marco, his eyes still not showing. "You mind putting him down? It's a little weird seeing that."
"I'd be happy to, yoi." Marco said as he walked over to a smaller cell that was across from the prisoner and dropped the boy inside before locking it.
"Marco!" Thatch, Vista, Haruta, and Ace all yelled while Luffy continued staring at the prisoner with curious eyes.
Slowly, Luffy walked up to the prisoners cell and stared at him carefully. He was about to touch the bars when the prisoner put up his hand and stopped the young straw hat wearer.
"These bars are kairoseki. Pretty strong too. I'd prefer you not get hurt." The prisoner said kindly.
"Who are you?" Luffy unknowingly asked.
"Like Marco said. My name is Sabo." The prisoner said as he sat up and looked fully at Luffy, his dark blue eyes finally being revealed.
When Luffy saw those eyes, he felt like he was going to cry. Those dark blue orbs were practically glowing with kindness and familiarity. He didn't know why, but he felt like he knew those eyes. They were a little dark shade of blue than Sabo's eyes and he had to admit it was a better shade.
"Sa…bo..?" Luffy muttered softly, almost as if testing if the name fit the man.
The prisoner smiled kindly at the young raven. He missed his little brother and knew he would meet him again. He just never expected to meet the boy when he was a child still. He could still see the innocence in the boy's eyes that was there ten years prior.
Luffy, completely dazed and still staring at the man's eyes, reached out again. His small rubbery hand grazed the bars causing him to get weak and quickly pull his hand back. When he saw worry in those dark blue orbs, he blushed lightly in embarrassment.
"I warned you, didn't I?" The prisoner asked with a kind tone as he stood and walked over to the boy.
Quickly, the prisoner hit certain spots on two of the poles and gently pulled on them. When the bars came off, there was a hole in the cell large enough for the man to walk out. Immediately, the three commanders were on guard and waiting for him to come out and try to escape. Much to their surprise, the prisoner had returned to where he had been sitting and tossed the bars to the side. He sat cross legged as he leaned against the wall and looked at Luffy with a small smile before patting the spot next to him, inviting the boy in.
Without a second thought, Luffy ran in and stood in front of the noble looking prisoner. He stared at the man for a little while before staring intently at the top hat.
Noticing where the boy's gaze landed, the prisoner took off his hat and put it in front of the young raven. "Look familiar?" He asked simply.
"Yeah. That's Sabo's hat and goggles. Why do they look so old and beat up?" Luffy asked innocently.
"I've had this hat for over ten years. It's carried all of my adventures. A lot can happen in that amount of time." The prisoner stated with a fond smile, remembering a few of his favorite moments.
"Cool!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Oi. Get out of there Luffy. You can't trust that prisoner." Ace said while glaring at the man.
"Okay, I know you won't call me by my name, and I'd much prefer you not call me prisoner. Please address me as 'Hatter' if not by my name." The prisoner said before mentally slapping himself when seeing Ace's confused look.
"Why 'Hatter', yoi?" Marco asked.
"A lot of people know me as 'Mad Hatter'. It's easier to call me 'Hatter'." The prisoner, Hatter, said.
"Understandable." Marco commented.
"How are you taking this so lightly!?" Thatch questioned in shock, confusion, and anger.
"I spoke to him last night. I'd say I know almost as much as he does about this whole situation, yoi." Marco informed calmly.
"What's he mean?" Luffy asked Hatter innocently.
"You wouldn't understand. Don't worry about it just yet. But I'll be sure to tell you when I figure it all out." Hatter said with a smile as he put his hat next to him.
Luffy nodded before smiling. Once noticing the hat was moved, Luffy took his chance and sat in Hatter's lap. He had his legs crossed as well with his hands on his knees and was leaning against Hatters chest. Once feeling the somehow familiar warmth, Luffy snuggled in a little closer.
Hatter looked at the boy with some surprise before relaxing and letting the boy do as he wished. He leaned his head against the wall behind him and closed his eyes momentarily, remembering the last time the small raven and he had sat like so.
"I never thought we would do this again. The last time we sat like this was after I had fished you out of the river for the third time that day. You wouldn't calm down any other way." Hatter said with a small chuckle at the end.
"Yeah… It was really nice. But then Ace came out and got upset because he thought we were ignoring him." Luffy said in a slightly deeper voice before laughing.
"Oh yeah! I forgot about that! We started picking on him and it ended with him chasing us for three hours!" Hatter said before laughing as well.
"Remember all the times we played Connect The Freckles?" Luffy asked between bits of laughter.
"Remember how we never won because Ace would beat us up? That game was funny but always ended painfully." Hatter said as he and Luffy shuttered lightly at the thought.
"It was worse when it was just me and Ace! I'd get close and all of a sudden he's awake and angry! He had been out cold for an hour once and I was bored! As soon as I took a step towards him with that marker, he woke up! It wasn't fair!" Luffy whined, his voice getting slightly deeper again.
"Why would you play alone? We couldn't win when it was both of us!" Hatter exclaimed.
"You were already gone. You had already been gone for a year…" Luffy said sadly.
"What?" Hatter muttered in shock as he looked down at the young raven.
He instantly noticed the boy looking at him both sadly and happily. The boy's eyes were flashing with happiness, sadness, slight loneliness, knowledge, and maturity. They didn't belong to a seven year-old. Even a seven year-old noble didn't have those eyes.
"We missed you Sabo… More than you could ever know. I cried for a week… Ace even cried! But… Now you're back. Promise you'll stay this time. Promise you won't leave us like that again. At least give us a warning before you disappear!" Luffy practically begged.
"Lu…" Hatter muttered in shock. From what his impersonator had told him, the boys had no memories of their life beyond a certain point. So how did Luffy remember that?
"Please Sabo. I don't want to lose my brothers again. I want at least one to be there…" Luffy muttered sadly.
Hatter stared at the small raven for a moment before pulling him into a hug. "I promise. I won't up and leave ever again. I won't put you through that ever again Lu."
"Thank you. Sabo… Please fix this. Something's stopping me from taking control of my body for too long. I can barely do this much… I want to go back. Now that I know you're alive, I want to go back to how things were and back to my crew." Luffy whispered so that only Hatter could hear.
"I'm trying. How about, when this is over, we all have a huge party and feast? You, me, Ace, your crew, and all of this crew. It'll be a huge party for your guys' return." Hatter whispered with a smile.
"Sounds awesome. I can't wait. I have to go now… My control's slipping… I'll see you soon Sabo and Ace will be there too." Luffy whispered with one last hug before closing his eyes and letting his control fade.
"It was good talking to you again Lu…" Hatter muttered at the last second before placing the boy in his lap again like nothing changed.
"The hell was that!?" Ace shouted before running into the cell and grabbing Luffy, pulling him away from Hatter.
"Just a little conversation." Hatter sighed before muttering. "I have to admit, he's gotten smarter."
"What'd you say?" Ace nearly growled.
"Nothing at all." Hatter said simply.
"Ace? What's going on?" Luffy asked confusedly, his eyes now open and shining innocently.
"Nothing Lu. He's just messing with you." Ace said in a slightly calmer tone.
"But he's not like that." Luffy stated.
"You don't know that Lu." Ace stated, calming down more.
"Yeah I do. I don't know how, but I know he's nice. He's like you, Ace." Luffy said with a smile.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ace questioned, getting slightly angrier.
"I can't help but trust him. He's nice and fun and caring like you!" Luffy said with a grin, catching everyone off guard.
Everyone in the room stood frozen as they let Luffy's comment sink in. Especially Ace. Taking it as his chance, Luffy once again walked over to Hatter and sat on his lap like before. Once comfortable, Luffy looked up at Hatter and grinned at him.
Hatter couldn't help but smile back before looking at Ace's still shocked face. 'I promise. You guys will be back to normal soon. I'll take care of it.'
(Aaaaaaaaaaaand done! How was that? What did you think about Luffy and Sabo's little chat? A little different from my plans but hey. Sometimes different is good! For those of you that think I ignored Little Sabo towards the end, well he gets a chapter to explain himself next time. Also with the whole 'Mad Hatter' thing. I read something or saw a picture where Sabo was called 'Mad Hatter' and I just thought it was perfect. I've stuck with it the past few months. I considered using 'Blue Gentleman' but then I realized that would be stealing from Anjelle… So he's 'Mad Hatter'. It also helps when that's the only Alice in Wonderland character I like other than Cheshire. Anyways. Fave, follow, read my other stuff, and review! Bai~! c(X )
Start time – 10:30 P.M.
End time – 4:10 A.M.