HWM: Chapter 21

Summary: Wings!AU. In a world where people born with wings are considered inferior to humans, Sabo does his best to fight for equality. His whole world changes when he meets Ace and Luffy, two Fae living on the wrong side of the law. ASL Centric.

Warnings: canon-typical violence, mentioned or referenced explicit themes, cursing.

Enjoy!

Chapter 21 - War

"Have you heard?"

"Word on the street says-"

"Jesus Christ, no way!"

"-What else do you know?"

"Have you even met the guy? No way would he do something like that-"

"-It's true, I swear-"

Ace blinks. "What did you just say?"

"Didn't think it'd need repeatin'," Blackbeard cackles. The grin on his face is like that of a snake, about to strike. "Trafalgar Law and the hearts have declared war on us."

There's news - the streets are alight with it. Law's name is on every set of lips and Ace can't seem to get away from it. It seems as though everybody he knows is trying to get in contact with him all at once; that is, everybody except Law himself.

Why would he do this?

There's something hot and heavy, a strange kind of anger, boiling inside of him. Ace knows better than anybody that Law wouldn't be the type to do something this rash unless he had a good reason. Something must have happened. Blackbeard's smug smile is enough to confirm it, and Ace can't get out of the base fast enough, heart pounding. And he can say completely honestly that he has no idea what he's going to do.

Sabo already knows, and he's in the house by the time Ace gets there, brow furrowed with worry.

"I heard the news - Nojiko told me. Everybody's talking about it; what happened? Why did he-"

"I got no idea." Ace checks his phone for the fourth time in the last minute. "There's no news from Law. He's not the type of guy to just do this for no reason, no matter how little he and Blackbeard get along."

"What does this mean for you?" Typical Sabo - concerned for others over himself.

"I don't know. It doesn't mean anything good," Ace says grimly. "I can't fight Law. I know his gang, I know him. He's hardly a friend, but we've looked out for one another for a long time. I can't throw that away. I can't betray him like that."

"What about Blackbeard?"

"It's not like I can betray him either - he'd kill me." Ace runs a hand across his face. "This is a mess. Fuck."

"Alright, let's just try to stay calm. Can you think of any reason Law would have done this? And what does a war entail? Could it be a temporary thing - do you know that all the rumours are true?"

"They're definitely true," Ace confirms, "I got it from Blackbeard that this is really happening. And war… it means destruction. Of one or both of our gangs. Somebody's going to die, one of the leaders, and then the war won't end until everybody on the losing side is six feet under. I've done this before. It's hardly fun." He makes a noise of frustration. "What the hell is he thinking?!"

"Is this completely out of the blue?"

"Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the hearts and the Blackbeards have never gotten along per se, and there've been spats, but war… Blackbeard considers the hearts kinda small-fry, not worth his time, and the Law I know would never go as far as to declare war. He's too smart. Blackbeard'll crush the hearts in a second - his forces are too strong for them, and Law knows it."

"So why?" Sabo shakes his hand through his hair. "Ugh. Alright. So this means a dilemma for you and in extension, me."

"Why you?"

"Didn't we promise to deal with shit together?"

"What about Luffy, then?"

"I doubt he particularly cares about the politics of the gang underworld, trust me," Sabo snorts, still with his game-face on. "Alright. I'm guessing you've got radio silence from Law?"

"Yep. And trust me, I've tried pretty much everything."

"We're going to his base," Sabo decides suddenly, standing. "Come on."

"Wait, wait, wait, what?!" Ace doesn't move to leave. "Hold up. We don't even know where his base is - and why the hell do you want to come?"

"I know where it is. I used to go there all the time, remember?"

Ace nods awkwardly. " ."

"Anyway, like I said - we're dealing with this together. And... I know I'm going to have to face the guy eventually. Better sooner than later. Okay?"

"...Okay," Ace agrees eventually. "But please try not to attack the guy. We're hardly friends, but he's been there for me a hell of a lot."

"Okay, okay, I'll try. Come on, let's go."

Law's base is on the very outskirts of the grey district, near the city limits. It lies in the shadow of the Stacks, a little terraced building with a scruffy, dried-out patch of grass in front of it. It looks unremarkable. Sabo knows it well and seeing it like this brings back a horrible feeling in his stomach, so overwhelming that it makes the backs of his eyes burn. The air smells faintly like smoke. The last time he was here…

Sabo shakes the memories out of his head, forcing them back as firmly as he can. There's no use reliving it all now. It's far too late for that - there's too much pain there, too much bitterness. He has to leave it behind.

Ace is peering at him, concerned. "You gonna be alright? I can take it from here, if you need me to…?"

"No." Sabo swallows. "No, really, I'll be alright. Let's just get it over with. This is about you and Law, not me."

"Alright," Ace agrees, "But remember what you said. If it concerns me, it concerns you, too. We're doing this together."

Sabo smiles a little. "Alright. Let's go."

They pick their way through the overgrown little garden and Ace knocks - once, twice, three times. There's no answer. The house is motionless and mostly silent, but Sabo thinks he can hear somebody moving inside - the occasion murmur of hushed conversation echoes from inside. His throat is very tight.

Ace tries knocking one more time before sighing in exasperation. "Hello? Anybody there?"

There's no answer. Nothing moves. Sabo quashes the urge to run.

"Hello? It's Portgas - Ace Portgas. I come as a friend." Ace pauses. "I'm not here on behalf of Blackbeard."

Nothing.

Finally, Sabo swallows and calls, "I'm here, too. It's Sabo."

There's still no acknowledgement. They exchange looks and then Ace pulls his leg back as if he's going to try to kick in the door. Just as he does, however, there are sudden footsteps right behind it and the handle twitches downwards, as if somebody is trying to decide whether to open it or not. There's a tense silence.

"...Why are you here?" asks a voice finally, shaking slightly. Sabo recognises it. Shachi.

"We heard about what you guys have done. What Law's done. And it's a bit of a dilemma," Ace says shortly. "We're friends. Can we come in?"

The handle twitches again. Then, slowly, it turns down and the door opens a crack. Half of Shachi's face is visible and he meets Sabo's eyes and his jaw goes slack with shock. Sabo tries to smile at him and doesn't quite manage it.

A moment slips by and then Shachi opens the door fully. It's dark inside. Ace looks like he wants to say something but Shachi's wide eyes are glued to Sabo.

"Uh," Sabo says eloquently, "Hi."

"You're alive… crap, you're here…!"

"Is that a bad thing?" Ace cuts in sharply.

"Ace, leave it," Sabo says softly. Then, "Shachi… It's been a while."

"I... " Shachi shakes his head. "Why are you here? I'm glad to see you alive, trust me, but this ain't the best time…"

"We need to see Law," Sabo says. "And see what happened to cause… all of this. The whole dilema."

"He doesn't exactly want visitors-"

Suddenly, a door opens at the end of the corridor and somebody Sabo knows very, very well comes through. There's a little gasp and then Bepo is there, asking, "Sabo? Is that really you?! Sabo!"

"Maybe we should take this inside," Ace says. "We can't do this kinda thing in doorways."

"...Alright. Fine. Come in."

The second the door closes behind them, Sabo has two arms full of Bepo. The hybrid hugs him so tightly that he feels something in his back pop. Sabo pats his back helplessly, suffocating but not willing to complain and upset Bepo more. He meets Shachi's eyes over the bear's shoulder and Shachi says, "Fuck it," and joins the hug too.

After a moment, Sabo pulls away, brushing a little fur off of his shoulders. "It's good to see you too, Bepo."

"Where have you been all this time?! And how are you? And-" Bepo gasps, "Please say you know it's not our fault! We didn't know the plan until afterwards and we didn't-"

"Bepo, Bepo! It's fine, I promise. I know."

The polar bear ducks his head. "Sorry."

"You haven't changed a bit," Sabo laughs. "I'm happy you guys are okay, really… but we're here for a reason."

Bepo and Shachi exchange looks. "Boss is…"

"He's in the kitchen," Shachi says firmly. "Look, we'll let you talk to him, just… be careful. He ain't doin' so good right now."

"Okay, got it," Ace says dryly. "Lead the way."

Outside the kitchen door, Shachi steps back. "I'm not going in there."

"Why?"

"Boss is upset, but… he's scary, too…"

Ace laughs a little, but Sabo's frowning. "You call him 'boss' now…"

"A lot's changed," Bepo says. "We're… different now. I guess."

Sabo takes a deep breath, turning to the door, and with one last look at Ace, he pushes it open and the pair of them step inside, leaving Bepo and Shachi in the hall outside.

For a moment, Sabo is overwhelmed by memories. This place is so familiar. The walls are painted with the same dullish teal and grey sunlight drips through the half-open blinds onto the kitchen table. There are pictures lined up on the windowsill. It looks like any normal kitchen but Sabo knows it so well that it hurts to see it, like this, after all this time.

Then, he sees Law.

The man is sitting at the kitchen table. He hasn't looked up at them. There are still dark shadows under his eyes but they look somewhat more severe now. His eyes are visibly bloodshot. Ace curses under his breath at the sight of him.

After a long, tense moment, Law looks up. He looks barely surprised to see them. His eyes flit from Ace to Sabo and back again and he says after a moment, in a raspy voice, "You're here to ask why."

"Yeah. I guess you could say that."

Sabo stays silent, watching Law intently. There's a pause and then Law says, "Why's he here?"

"Sabo? Well, he knew where your base was-"

"-And I'm not going to hold a grudge forever," Sabo finishes, surprising even himself. The other two stare at him. "If there's something I can do to help one of my brothers I'll do it, even if it does mean I have to see you."

"...'Brothers'?"

"Yeah. Brothers."

Law stares for a moment and there's something very, very sad in the lines of his face, in the set of his jaw. Sabo's curiosity intensifies tenfold. But all too soon Law looks away, snorting derisively. "Sit down, then. Go on. Ask your goddamn questions."

Ace sits slowly, on the chair furthest from Law, and Sabo sits across from the man. From this close up, he can see that his hair is unwashed and his skin is paler than it should be and there are little red marks on his forehead like he's been kneading a headache.

"I guess…" Ace starts cautiously, "Why? Why did you do it? You're not stupid, Trafalgar. I know you. You wouldn't do something like this without a reason, so why?"

"Hasn't Blackbeard told you?" Law asks, bitter. "I'm sure he's patting himself on the back right now. And you'd do anything to suck up to your master, wouldn't you?"

The aggression is unexpected, both by Ace and Sabo. "What…?"

"All these years all I've done is save your ass; all I've done is help keep you in that man's good books. And-" His voice cracks. "I'm not doing it anymore. Not now. This is war and no matter what my reasons were to do this, you have to choose a side."

"How about you tell us what's going on first," Ace suggests. It's obvious that he's getting a little angry now. "Because you know it's not that simple, Law. You know it. I have to protect my own; my brothers' lives are riding on me getting food on the table every night. I can't just choose a side like that, I have to bear my family in mind-"

Something in Law seems to snap. "Family?" he whispers, throat scratchy. "You think you have the right to lecture me about family?"

"I-"

"Blackbeard is the reason my family's dead!"

"Wait, wha-"

"You heard me!"

Ace shuts his mouth and for a second the room is silent. Law is breathing very hard. Sabo realises that his fists are clenched very, very tightly.

"He's dead," he says, voice rising to a bellow. "He's dead! Because of you! BECAUSE ALL YOU CARED ABOUT WAS YOURSELF-"

Sabo wrenches himself back to the present roughly. Now's no time to start thinking about that, not when he's only just started to get away from it. He pushes the memory to the back of his mind and tries to focus, keeping his breathing steady as he looks at Law, whose bloodshot eyes are trained on Ace.

"Last night," Law says in a shaky voice, "Blackbeard sent one of his cronies to a boarding school across the city. Third floor. Girls' dorm. The culprit was tall, in his teens. A Fae. Witnesses say he had very large wings."

All of a sudden, in a rush of horror, Sabo understands. A boarding school. The girls' dorm. The red rims of Law's grey eyes.

Lami.

"I don't know what you're trying to imply," Ace growls, "But I was home last night. With Sabo and Luffy. Wasn't I, Sabo?"

"Yeah," Sabo breathes absently, "But- Law… Lami...?"

A choked noise erupts from Law's throat without his permission and his fist comes down hard on the tabletop. The knuckles are already split and bruised anyway. Ace flinches.

"My sister's dead. Because of him. Because of Blackbeard." Law is staring hard at the tabletop, avoiding their eyes, and something inside of Sabo aches. "They carved Blackbeard's symbol into her neck. The police are saying that… that it was slow. Painful. She's dead-"

"God," Ace murmurs, "Fuck."

"It wasn't Ace," Sabo manages to say, though he's still reeling. "He was home last night. With me. And he wouldn't do something like that-"

"You don't know the kinds of things the Blackbeards do everyday, then," Law bites back harshly. "Your brother is far, far from innocent."

Sabo glances at Ace, who doesn't meet his eyes. After a moment, he looks back at Law. "Look. I know it's awful. I know Blackbeard is the worst and I want him dead as much as you do and I can't even imagine how it feels, but… there's still time to take it all back. Go to Blackbeard, sort out a peace treaty before it's too late-"

"No. No way."

"But-"

"I said no. I want him dead and I'm not going to stop until he's six feet under. And if I die trying… it's what I deserve for not protecting her when she needed it."

"And you're not gonna change your mind?"

"No."

Ace leans back in his chair, rubbing his eyes frustratedly. "This is so fucked up."

"Tell me about it."

"I mean… what I don't get is… why?"

Law scowls across the table."I answered that one already, Portgas-"

"No, I mean, like, why would Blackbeard do… that? I know you and him don't get along that well but he's got no reason to go out of his way to kill... to kill somebody important to you," Ace settles on saying. "So why?"

"Ace, maybe this isn't the best time for this-"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Both Ace and Sabo look over at Law. "Isn't what obvious?"

"He's trying to get rid of his opposition." Law rubs at his tired eyes. "Ugh. And he knew I would do this - or hoped I would, anyway."

"Aren't you just playing into his hands, then?"

"There's not much else I can do," Law grunts. "I'm not just going to carry on my life. For her sake… I'm at least going to try."

"And is this what she would have wanted?"

Law looks away, and there's a break in the conversation for a minute or so. Then, Ace says, "What were you saying just now? About trying to get rid of opposition?"

"It's the perfect time for him. Just after the Hunt. Everybody's weakened. And he's taking the opportunity to knock off his enemies while he can. He's already planning to meet up with Kidd and that group of lunatics - if there's an alliance there, then that's one less enemy to consider. Word on the street says he's planning on ambushing the Strawhats, though we don't have much on that yet. Lami was just collateral to him, so long as he can get me to come out of the shadows and fight him. He's expanding. Blackbeard's on the move."

Sabo tries to stay calm, tries to think rationally. "But even with all of that… Law, you know as well as I do that starting this war isn't going to bring her back. All it's going to do is kill Bepo and Shachi and Penguin and everybody you love, and then it's going to kill you, too. And she's not going to come back."

"Trust me, I know. But I told you; I'm not letting this slide. If I don't manage to kill him and I die, then I die. If I do manage, then so be it. But I'm going to try," Law says, still looking at the table, jaw tight. "That's it."

Law looks up, finally, and meets Ace's eyes. He hasn't made eye contact with Sabo once.

"So I've made my decision - now, you have to make yours. What are you going to do? Because you know as well as I do that I've done a lot for you. I wouldn't call us friends, but we're allies, Portgas. And if you're just going to let that go-"

"I'm not," Ace interrupts. "I'm not going to let it go. You've done a lot for me. I'm not

going to fight against you."

"I can sense a 'but' coming."

"Look, I can't just betray Blackbeard. He would kill me. He would kill everybody I love and make me watch." Ace's eyes flit sideways to Sabo for a moment. "I can't let that happen. But… I'll do what I can to help you. If he sends me after you or I have to fight you or… anything. I don't care. I just know I'll try to do what I can to keep you and your crew alive for as long as you can. But we've seen this before, Trafalgar. You know we have. And you know how this war is going to end."

Law nods, simply, and for a moment, Sabo wants to yell. He keeps it in. Something deep inside of him is splitting with fever.

"I know," Law agrees. "It's only a matter of time. But we're going to fight on until then."

Ace nods, simply, and a kind of understanding passes between him and Law that Sabo can't even begin to understand. Then the freckled teen stands and Sabo follows. Law stays sitting, and he doesn't look up as they leave. Ace and Sabo walk down the hallway and to the door in silence, and they let themselves out and then it's all over and they're back it on the street.

It's dark outside now. Neither of them talks as they start the trek home. After that talk… something about the city feels a lot more dangerous. Sabo feels eyes on him from every direction. His and Ace's arms brush and the places where they make contact burn harshly. Sabo keeps his eyes on the ground and tries not to think about Law or Lami or Ace or Blackbeard or war or anything at all.

Something deep in Sabo's gut tells him that soon, the city's going to change for good.

"Have you heard the news, sir?"

The man looks up. The room is dimly lit but he can make out the indistinct form of one his his newest recruits across the room, poking her head through the door.

"As much of it as there is, yes," he replies wearily. "The hearts, Eustass Kidd, the fiasco with the ambassador, and the murder last night involving Blackbeard. Yes, you could say I've heard the news."

She laughs a little, sliding into the room. She's still limping. "Busy times, especially after the Hunt."

"Do we have an official death count?"

"No, sir, but Hack's estimates are rarely wrong and he reckons it's at least over nine hundred this year, if not more."

"And how many of those are from the grey district?"

"Over half, sir."

The man sighs. "So it's very much similar to last year. Thank you for letting me know."

She brightens up. "Anytime, boss! And also, Hack wanted me to tell you that we've picked up on something… slightly strange."

"Elaborate?"

"You know, every week, we make sure to keep tabs on the Whitebeard guy? Marco?"

"The man who visits Outlook Sabo at his workplace, yes. I'm aware. What about him?"

"Well, this week… he came with somebody else. Another man. And we've searched and searched through our files on the Whitebeards and… we can't seem to find anything that matches up with him. He's definitely not a Whitebeard."

"Did he leave the city with Marco?"

"Yes, sir."

The man thinks for a moment. "Alright. Get me everything you can about the guy when you can, okay?"

"Got it, boss; though that might be a while."

"I can wait. Dismissed."

She bows out of the room, still smiling. She's so happy nowadays. It's good to see her up and about.

Dragon sighs, glancing out of the window. The snow is going to come soon. This time of year (long nights, little light, shadows at every turn) always seems to remind him of what it was like back then.

He has to go back eventually. He knows he does…

But maybe not quite yet.

Sorry, son. Duty calls.

Wait a little longer.

Dnfbjdvkejasvk im so so sorry guys its late as hell and i cant answer reviews this time (I'm a piece of trash) but anyways please review if you have time! I read and treasure every last one of them they're brilliant youre brilliant I'm going to go to sleep now gnight folks

-lee