Chapter XX: Aftermath

"Speech"

Thoughts or emphasis or scenery changes or significant time gaps

ANGRY VOICE

*noises* (except laughter)

*actions*

'Telepathy' (Only for the telepath's voice)

/ Flashback or brief summaries of events /

Moby Dick

Late at Night / Hours Before Dawn

Marco

The first commander had just settled Luffy into a medical cot when the two boys rushed into the infirmary. The few nurses in the room gave their newest guest a disapproving look.

"WHERE'S LUFFY? WHAT HAPPENED TO KIT? DID SOMEONE REALLY ATTACK THATCH AND OUR TWO BROTHERS? WHEN I FIND THAT SON OF-" Sabo slapped a hand over his foul-mouthed brother.

"Sorry commander. Ace and I are just really worried with what rumors are floating around the ship. We were getting worried when Kit didn't arrive with Luffy after an hour. Then we heard all that ruckus on deck. If you don't mind, can you please explain what happened?" asked Sabo. The blonde always did have better manners than Ace even when as equally worried as his older brother.

Luffy stirred in the cot next to the commander. Giving the boy one last concern look, he faced the other two.

"According to what evidence we've gathered, someone severely hurt Thatch and Kit - yoi. The doctors and nurses have not yet report the damage as of yet since most of them are prepping the back rooms for surgery. Thatch suffered a severe stab wound in the back. Kit fared better as the assailant only managed to shoot him in a noncritical area and throw him. The nurses here are about to check on Luffy since he may have been hurt."

"Right, so the three of you can stand outside in the lobby while we do that," coldly commanded Mara from the doorway. "I will give you three until the count of five. One, tw-" Marco got up, his hands held in surrender, before strolling out the door with the boys dragged behind him.

Fifteen minutes passed. Ace would not stop glaring at Marco. The phoenix couldn't exactly blame the boy for being almost as hostile as when he first arrived on the Moby Dick. Heck, he probably have a pretty scary expression if he was not the first division commander and unspoken first mate of Pops. The door to the examining room open. Standing in the doorway was the Head Nurse Mara and Luffy.

"The boy's fine. I gave him some medicine in case he caught a chill from the rain. I have some sleeping pills if the boy has trouble with nightmares, but Luffy escaped from the encounter without a scratch. Kit probably distracted their attacker, so Luffy would have a chance to escape."

"That's good. Pops asked me to take Luffy to his room tonight if he well enough - yoi. How about Kit and Thatch?"

"Good idea. As for other Mythical Zoan, the bullet did not pass cleanly from his shoulder. We've found several seastone shards in the entry and exit points. They're small but detrimental to his innate healing powers." Marco started at this. "Calm down. The boy is an unusual case. The shards are small but any amount of seastone should completely shut down his powers. Kit's body actually tried to burn away the fragments or heal around them. Wipe off that worried expression, Commander, we extracted the shards just fine. The child's regenerative skills are operating to full capacity. We're lucky that his fall only cracked two of his ribs. Give him a few days, the boy will be back on his feet. However, the biggest issue is when he will wake up."

"What?" Ace and Sabo both jumped out their chairs.

"Kit had gone into a coma-like state. We believe it has to do with him using his devil fruit powers even with seastone embedded in his wound. The pain of it drove his consciousness deep into his own mind. He'll probably wake up soon, whenever his body recovers. Thatch, on the other hand, may not fare as well. His condition is critical. The stab wound narrowly missed his heart but probably caused one of three broken ribs to puncture a lung. The ship's doctors have him in surgery right now. He also sustained trauma to the head, at the very least a concussion.

Now, I must ask for the four of you to leave. We need to clear away all interruptions and distractions. I have allowed you three to stay past visiting hours since Luffy needed only a check-up, but he is well. And tell those outside to quit loitering by the infirmary doors. I will report Thatch's condition after surgery to Pops directly and no one else. Everyone else will know in the morning. Go, scat!" Mara's eyes became laser-like. Ace and Sabo cringed under her gaze. Even Marco flinched. He grabbed Luffy into one of his arms and pushed the two boys out with the other.

Captain's Quarters

Edward Newgate

The old pirate sighed. He had checked in the infirmary earlier to only have Mara shoo him off. Even the captain had only limited authority in the domain of his head nurse. The girl even had the audacity to threaten cut off his booze if he didn't return to bed. He snorted. Ah, but she is one of my daughters after all. Several knocks interrupted Edward Newgate's thoughts.

"Permission to enter?"

"Come in, Marco. I see you have three of the brats." Newgate sat up. His first son tentatively walked into his room, trying his best not to wake up the youngest brat. "Is Luffy okay?"

Marco's worried expression brightened a bit. "He's fine - yoi. Kit did a good job protecting our youngest brother," said Marco, his voice beginning to lower at the last. "Mara said she going to come later to give you a report on Thatch and Kit, but Kit at the least will make a full recovery. Whoever attacked the two, he used seastone bullets on him - yoi. The bullets left some shards, Mara's girls got them all out. He's healing his wounds as we speak. The only problem is that his body's attempt to use his powers despite the seastone drove him into a coma. Mara said he should theoretically wake up as soon as he recovers, but…" Newgate saw Marco's struggle to not lose his composure in front of the young ones. He patted the side next to him.

"Marco, Ace, Sabo, Luffy, why don't you four take a seat. It has been a long night."

Without a protest, the four walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. Ace didn't even give a moment's protest. The phoenix took a seat directly next to him, Ace sat next to him, and Sabo pulled himself right of the elder. Ace reached over Marco let the older raven put the sleepy Luffy in-between the younger brothers. Marco tangled a hand into his hair.

"Pops…Thatch's condition was not good - yoi. Mara said that the bastard who attacked them managed to break three of his ribs, knocked his head hard enough for a concussion, and the stabbing dislocated one of the ribs into a lung. On top the blood loss, Thatch may not make it. He's in surgery right now with Doctor Ana."

"Don't give us so easily on your brother. Any leads on their attacker?"

"Nothing - yoi. The other men on watch were knocked unconscious from behind. Teach is missing, but there's not def-"

"He did it." The whisper was barely audible but caught the attention of the Whitebeard and Marco. Newgate looked down on Luffy who had woken fully. The boy had tears welling up in his eyes. Ace reached over to rub soothingly on the younger's back while Sabo made comforting noises. He waited a moment before addressing their only coherent witness.

"Son, what do you mean?"

"Teach, the fat, scary guy that is always eating pie. He was the one that hurt Thatchy and Kit. He wanted the fruit, Kit tried to protect me, and Teach…" Luffy dissolved into full-blown sobs. Newgate reached over to put his poor son into his lap. He could see the shock of the phoenix, but Ace and Sabo took the information with grim understanding.

"Ace, Sabo? You two have something to add? I can see that this information doesn't quite faze you a badly as Marco." Hearing his name snapped the commander back to the conversation.

"Do you guys know something?" asked Marco gently. Ace and Sabo engaged in a silent debate before speaking.

"Luffy and Kit, well, they always had a bad feeling about Teach. They would clam up a lot whenever the guy came near, even if they couldn't see him. Kit would always pull his face into a snarl or glare before consciously hiding it a second later. Kit described the feeling as a flight or fight reaction minus the flight. So, Sabo and I kept an eye on him. But, the guy never did anything," finished Ace. Sabo nodded in agreement.

"The guy never put a toe out of line with Luffy or Kit, he took their reactions well, and he was always pretty helpful around the ship. But Luffy doesn't lie. He can't lie well for the life of him. If he says Teach did it, then I believe him," affirmed Sabo.

Newgate crinkled his brow. He knew Luffy couldn't lie. The boy also had superior instincts. There was one island where Luffy would hide behind Marco the whole time he talked to one store owner. Kit heard something odd below the store's floor. Turned out that said owner was part of a slave ring and had a few children locked in the store's basement for transport. Marco dealt with this information with the expected ruthlessness as one of his sons. Marco evidently remembered this as well as he raised a brow to his father and fisted the hand in his hair. Newgate gave another long sigh.

"Regardless of the attacker's alleged identity, we cannot do anything right now. Marco, don't argue. Thatch and Kit need our attention right now. We also need to confirm what exactly happened tonight from the two of them. Luffy's not really in the state to talk about this, and we shouldn't have to interrogate him. Also, this entire situation gives me an uneasy feeling. For now, we'll spread the word to our allies to keep a lookout for any sign of Teach. Boys, you look a bit tired. Why not stay with me tonight. Marco, you go and gets some sleep, too."

Marco nodded his head in acquiescence and got up. Luffy finally stopped crying.

"Pops, I don't want to go to bed."

"That's fine. Why don't you boys listen to a story?" Marco gave a small smile as he closed the door behind him. They will be alright. All of them. Teach…you better keep running because when I find you…

Mara stopped by her father's room to report the Thatch's condition; the fourth commander had made it through surgery but had slipped into a coma.

Days After the Attack

Kitsune

Kit woke up on the second day. He panicked for a moment as the night of the attack flashed through his mind. He nearly set the infirmary on fire, as foxfire flames came to life around his cot. The nurses had to get Marco and his brothers to bring him back to coherency. Once calmed, Kit could gather his thoughts to ask the most relevant question.

"How's Thatch?" The grim expressions of his brothers and the first commander set the boy on edge.

"Thatch should be fine. But, he's in a coma like you were."

"A coma?"

"You have been unconscious for two days. The bullet had seastone, and some of it lodged into your shot wound. Your body tried to get it out using your powers. A near impossible feat considering devil fruit powers should not work in the presence of seastone or when their users are unconscious."

"Oh. I used to do that sometimes, the whole power things while asleep, not the other thing. Ace used to yell at me all the time when I accidently dragged them into my dreams when I had a sleep attack. Never had tried using them with seastone, though."

"Well, it's something to think on for later. You need to relax for a while yet. According to Mara, your devil fruit increases your regenerative ability but at the cost of stamina. So no leaving the clinic." Marco's bland expression did nothing to ease the iron of his words. The fox gulped. He could almost feel the first commander channeling Mara. "What can you tell us of that night?" he asked a moment later. Kit managed to sit up in the cot. His eyes glanced down before meeting Marco's.

"That night well…"

Marco

DAMN IT. That traitor, how can one of their brothers betray them? Pops treated Teach like a son. The first commander fumed. His father's grim expression gave away none of his thoughts.

"Kit's account correlates with much of what evidence we do have. Thatch's devil fruit is missing, and no one can find Teach. One of the life boats is missing as well. Kit could even describe his exact type of knife and pistol he usually carries. But, until Thatch makes a full recovery, we will wait."

"Pops, he attacked a member of the crew - yoi! There's only one punishment for even trying to deliberately kill a crew member. He needs to-"

"Enough. I understand the one law on this ship very well, Marco. But we cannot act rashly. We do not know Teach's motives for targeting that one specific devil fruit. If he had joined this crew just for a chance at finding it, then something about the fruit must be special to risk the wrath of the crew. We will go after him when we have a more substantial plan than simply chasing him across the sea. Understand?" Marco's expression pinched. He struggle for words for a minute. At last, he gave his acknowledgement.

"Understood, captain. Should I inform the others?"

"For now, just the commanders."

Six days later, Thatch finally blinked his eyes open.