Hey Guys, So because the last update was all late and junk, I think it's appropriate for this one to be early.

Anyway, news at the bottom!

Enjoy!~

"Oh man it's so good to get out of that castle, who knew being stuck in such a large place could feel just as constricting." Koala exclaimed while stretching her arms over her head and sighed happily.

Sabo, could relate to her enthusiasm to get out of the castle grounds. The place was in no way constricting and they both liked the residents more than they would have ever thought. The family not only grew on Sabo but also on Koala over the two months that they resided within the vampire kingdom, she was still unnerved by the thought of being surrounded by vampires. But she was considerably more at home amongst the others, she and Ace had even achieved some sort of common ground, though the freckled vampire was still an ass to her, something they both decided was his way to adjust to change. And needless to say that Koala had fallen in love with Luffy.

But Koala and Sabo were hunters, they weren't used to being rooted to one place for too long. They were getting stir crazy and Sabi had repeatedly appealed to Marco for a single day outside the castle walls.

At first it was argued that Sabo was not well enough to travel and that he could be repeating the incident of a couple of months ago, but then when he healed they had no more viable protest and they had to agree to his relentless persistence. Sabo was counting this day as a great victory, knowing that it was a great show of faith in the eyes of the family. They had agreed he was free to come and go as he pleased, but they went beyond that and allowed him to take little Luffy with them.

Sabo was ecstatic that the day they chose to take their stroll was working out in their favor more or less. The overcast sky shielded Luffy perfectly from the sun. As full of energy as the child was, the sun still had its weakening effect on him as it did on all vampires. But still, Luffy–being true to the boundless ball of energy that he was–swung from tree to tree around him and Koala while he pointed to things he knew every now and then. Sabo had to smile at Luffy's own enthusiasm as he recounted tales of how Ace once headbutted a nearby tree, or the rock Luffy tripped over and scraped his knee, and so on.

"Shishishi, and that upside down tree right there, Acey pulled it out because we were having a throwing contest, to see who could throw the biggest tree the farthest. Mr. Mustache won." Luffy laughed and continued to babble about his next attraction.

"Speaking of the world's grumpiest vampire, was Mr. Prince charming too busy with the paperwork you finished for him to come with us or does he dislike me so much that he would rather not be here?" Koala mused lacing her hands behind her head as they walked. "Seriously what did I do to that guy for him to give me the stinkeye every time I even consider coming near him? Is it the way I smell, cuz not all of us can smell like strawberries."

"So he claims, but I heard he lost a certain bet with Thatch and is paying up today." Sabo said with the barest of smirks on his lips.

"And it's more the fact that you're human than anything you've done or smell like." Sabo added with a chuckle. 'That plus he's still jealous' Sabo mentally tagged on with a smirk.

"Typical vampire behavior I swear, he's the sort of vamp the trainers paint in your mind." Koala sighed and rose a brow, "Did you hear what kinda bet he lost?" Koala asked curiously.

"Unfortunately no, no one would tell me about it so I'm assuming that means I'm involved in some way," Sabo shrugged as they continued down the path Marco had marked down for them. Some things were better left unsaid when Thatch was involved, Sabo had learned that the hard way.

"Maybe." Koala conceded letting the matter slide away as she spoke to Luffy about the owl he saw in a nearby tree.

"And we're here!" Luffy cried out all of a sudden hopping off of the tree and dashing forwards, leaving Sabo and Koala behind to follow after him.

That was bound to happen, Sabo supposed, Luffy did know the surrounding area better than he or Koala and the place Marco had suggested they have their picnic at was probably a place Luffy visited often enough. Koala was quick to run after Luffy and burst into the clearing, giggling in excitement as they chased one another and flung snow back and forth; the picnic basket momentarily forgotten.

The clearing Sabo found himself standing in had an amazing view of the land below the mountain and even that beyond it, it was in a spacious ridge surrounded by forest on one end and on the other side a clear view of the land beyond them and he suspected the view of the sky was spectacular on a day when the sun was actually out and shining.

Sabo made his way over to a large flat rock, brushing off the snow on top before setting down the basket looped in his arm and pulling out the blanket that Izo had provided them. As soon as the basket was opened, the lunch's scent escaped and made Sabo's mouth water. The contents of the basket smelled amazing, and Sabo had to resist the temptation to take a peek at what was inside on the way here, he had an image to uphold after all.

"Luffy! Koala Come on, let's eat!" he called to the pair who were running around the clearing, leaving messy tracks in the perfectly undisturbed snow.

Koala bounded over with Luffy. "Finally, all that running around only made me hungrier…" she trailed off and her eyes widened slightly before she creased her brow.

"Sabo, are those heart shaped sandwiches? And pink colored drinks? Does Thatch still think we're together even after all the times we've said no?" Koala asked looking into the basket and over the meal the chef had prepared for them.

Sabo raised a brow and peeked into the basket along with her to discover that they had in fact been packed up with what he could only assume Thatch considered a lunch fit for two lovers. And of course he had, the chef was still refusing to give up on the idea of he and Koala together, no matter how many times he had denied it over the past two months.

Luffy, however, had no qualms about the food and instantly took the box that was labeled with his name into his hands, wasting no time to open the container and dig into his meal. "Shishishi, I really hope mine is meat!"

And as it turned out, he was not disappointed.

"Thatch's a hopeless romantic, what can you do. It's your fault he thinks we're together anyways. You were the one that continued to play along with his speculations so you've lost any right to complain." Sabo chided giving Koala a pointed look.

Personally Sabo had been done trying to convince the chef after the first day, but as luck would have it Thatch was having none of it and continued to tease the two friends endlessly over their closeness.

Sabo picked one of the sandwiches up and took a cautious bite, but as he expected, the simple–or what could be classified as simple with Thatch's culinary skills–dish was exceptionally good.

"Not bad, no poison that I can taste," Sabo joked and handed Koala one of the other sandwiches, "here try one."

"Oh c'mon Sabo don't pin this on me, that dork had that idea in his head long before I ever got involved. I heard from a highly reliable source that he even had a little head cannon going on that you wanted to escape because you had a girl waiting for you." Koala explained and bit into her sandwich, making a pleased sound in the back of her throat that indicated that any and all of her annoyance with Thatch vanished.

"It's not my fault he's living out his nonexistent love life though me," Sabo huffed.

"Ah, say what you will about Thatch but his cooking is amazing. In fact I won't even hesitate to say that it's better than Hacks." Koala praised taking her time with the sandwich. "Roast beef is great in itself but damn him for making it better."

"Seriously? You've always said Hack's food was godly, how can you get any better than that?" Sabo stated with a light chuckle as he continued to eat his sandwich in a calmer manner.

"I'll tell you how you can better than that Sabo, as soon as I find the right word for it. But seriously this guy is like on his own level and still you manage to keep a straight face, I seriously don't know how you do it." Koala shook her head and handed Luffy his bottle of juice.

"But if he's as big of a romantic as everyone claims, what makes you think his love life is nonexistent? For all we know he has a major crush on some far away princess?" Koala mused and tensed, her eyes narrowing and sliding to the side.

"How much of the mountain did you say the Whitebeards ruled over?" She asked, her voice changing considerably to Sabo's ear. It a subtle shift that he would have never been able to pick up on had he not known her for years. If they had never hunted together and been witness to that serious tone in her voice more than a couple dozen times.

"Years of practice," Sabo said seriously, finishing off the sandwich and picking up another. "From what I know though, they rule over the entire thing and some of the land around the base of it, why?"

Koala frowned setting her half eaten sandwich down. It was eerie, the way she had done the task and her steely gaze was putting Sabo on edge. He was not liking the change in the atmosphere at all, and he disliked the cold shiver that went down the length of his spine even less. The hair at the back of his neck was standing in end and the suspense was near suffocating that Sabo nearly spoke up.

Just then Koala took a steadying breath and smiled in Luffy's direction. "Hey Luffy, wanna see a cool trick?

The small boy looked up from his his empty hands where a now devoured sandwich used to be and nodded eagerly. Koala looked mildly pleased with his answer and with her practiced grin still in place, she raised her hands and cupped them around her mouth mimicking a bird call, the danger whistle of the hunters.

Sabo's visible eye widened slightly but he made no other outward sign to indicate that he understood her warning. There was only one deduction that Sabo could guess as to why she had gone so still and why she had used that particular call; Koala had heard something nearby. It could have been a simple animal that she had heard, but on a mountain run by vampires, it could just as easily be an enemy. This realization on placed Sabo's limited senses on high alert, straining his ears as he tried to pinpoint anything unusual in the surrounding area.

"Oh that's cool, I didn't realize you could make bird calls too Koala," Sabo commented seemingly impressed.

"But, can you do this one?" he challenged and cupped his hands around his mouth to coo softly. Sabo's bird call was the code for vampire, his eye conveying the question his call posed.

Koala nodded, "Wow Sabo-kun, you're really good at this, do you know this one?" she asked and followed suit with a chirp, one that alerted other hunters that the surrounding area was most likely infiltrated by the enemy.

Koala tilted her head slightly and again Sabo strained to hear what she could, but with his injuries he was unable to do so. Koala chirped again a low two tone one. Northeast.

Koala fingered the blade at her hip, and Sabo could see the way her muscles tensed with each second that passed by. An animal wouldn't dare venturing so close and it wouldn't be so light on his feet that Sabo wouldn't be able to hear even with his recovering hearing.

Sabo watched as Koala's eyes flicked to Luffy and back to Sabo, and immediately he could tell what she was thinking; Koala was placing all the responsibility on herself. She would do whatever it took to get Luffy and himself home safely.

Sabo wanted to protest, to tell her it might just be the wind messing with their minds and that it could just be them making thinking it up due to their inactivity in the past two months. But that was when Sabo heard it, he heard the quiet movement just beyond the treeline. Sabo scanned the entire area under the pretense of jokingly trying to find the bird Koala had imitated. As he suspected, however, he saw nothing, but he could feel eyes on them now.

The uneasiness that had settled in the pit of Sabo's stomach grew larger and the meal he had eaten not too long ago rolled unpleasantly. Every alarm in Sabo's head was now screaming danger. Whatever was in those woods, was definitely a vampire, and not not one friendly with the Whitebeard coven.

"You're better than me," Sabo pouted, eye drawn to the sword at her hip.

Sabo needed a pretense to draw his own weapon, but his staff was still slung across his back, there would be no subtlety in pulling it out in that moment. Sabo didn't want to bring attention to Koala's sword in case the vampire decided to attack her first for attempting it. But he also didn't want to sit there like an open target. And then there was Luffy to be concerned for, the young boy obviously couldn't tell what they were warning one another about and was therefore clueless as to the danger surrounding them.

The mere thought of his little brother being in danger once again made Sabo's blood boil. If the vampire thought that he could just waltz up to them and endanger Luffy for no apparent reason, he had another thing coming.

Sabo stood up, moving a few paces away before turning around, brandishing his staff at Koala with a challenging smirk. "You may be better than me at bird calls, but I've been practicing with Vista lately. What do you say, one spar before we get too full?

Koala didn't skip a beat in her response and bounced to her feet.

"Really Sabo-kun, I'd thought you'd learn your lesson the last few dozen times we sparred, but if you really want me to kick your ass. Well, then who am I to deny you." she grinned cheekily and brandished her sword, the tip pointing towards Sabo, "you get first move, Sabby." her voice was sweet, teasing even as she got ready to advance.

"In your dreams," Sabo replied haughtily, taking a moment to size Koala up before lunging forward, staff swinging down at her in an arc above his head. She easily blocked the attack and they were face to face, fighting to push away the other's weapon in a power struggle.

"He's light on his feet, definitely experienced at stalking," he spoke quickly and quietly before ducking beneath her shoulder towards Luffy and smoothly standing back up, letting her win the struggle. He narrowed his eye at her, adjusting his hat to keep his hair out of his face. "Your move."

Koala let out a soft snort, "Am I the only one living in reality here Bo? Last time I checked the numbers you were down five wins." she chuckled and took a firm grip on her sword her eyes flitting at the surrounding area.

Sabo could see it in her eyes, the dawning realization that she knew that the vampire was close. He too could feel it with every fiber of his being that the bloodthirsty predator was nearby, too close for his liking.

Koala looked over to Sabo and Luffy behind him, he knew as well as she did that they couldn't play fight for too long. Despite his words Sabo still got winded too easily, even with the vigorous training sessions he had with both Koala and Vista. But they had to find out where the vampire was in order to decide their next move. Sabo was aware highly aware and ashamed to admit that he was a liability and not yet entirely ready to be on the field, and that Luffy was no more than a child. Essentially the entire mission depended on weather Koala could fend off the attacker or not, and he was not liking that scenario at all.

Koala sighed, exaggerating the sound as she tilted her head to the side, "In fact, this spar may not even be worth the trouble, Sabo-kun." she gave a soft pout and turned her back on Sabo, no doubt using that pretense to spy at the treeline.

Sabo saw the dark figure at the same time Koala did. The casual stance she had feigned quickly shifted into an offensive one and her sword came up with trained expertise. And still the lunging vampire evaded it easily, Sabo saw it's claws rushing at her chest, but Koala too evaded the swipe and brought her sword up to perry his claws. The vampire hissed in annoyance, and skidded to a stop a few yards away to their left.

Sabo took a brief moment to study their assailant, trying to gauge their chances against him. The first and most obvious thing Sabo noticed was that the vampire was tall and lean. But he wasn't just thin, the vampire looked starved, it's reddened eyes veined with what he had seen many times, bloodlust and one trackdesire. Sabo had to suppress a slight shiver, the vampire was clearly deranged and those–Sabo head learned–were the most dangerous.

And then there was his speed, the vampire moved surprisingly fast and too light on his feet for Sabo's liking; speed along with the unsated hunger that pulsed in those eyes had proven to be a perilous combination in the past. And the way the vampire's gaze kept flickering to Luffy made him all that more apprehensive over the situation.

The vampire must have realized that Luffy was by no means a human anymore, so then was he worried about Luffy hindering his chance at a meal? Was he taking Luffy as his competition and going after him next?

Sabo didn't take time to ponder that, every fiber of his being was screaming at him to protect his brother. And he would be damned to hell and back three times over if he allowed Luffy to engage in a fight with the deranged vampire. Sabo leapt forward just as Koala took a step to the side, giving him an opening.

Sabo's staff was poised and ready already swinging down as he descended on the vampire, but his target easily blocked his attack. What he had not accounted for however, was the Kairoseki the staff was composed of. Sabo grinned as his staff made direct contact with the vampire's skin surprising the predator enough so that he took step back. Sabo pushed forward, the staff aiding him to overpower the vampire in a way that would have otherwise been impossible.

A hiss was expelled by the vampire as he pulled away from Sabo his dull orange eyes narrowing on him and flicking to Sabo's staff. He must've realized that the staff was the one draining his strength and giving Sabo an upper hand, but he also must've come to the conclusion that there was no way he could easily bypass it to get to Sabo.

Those dull orange eyes flicked away from Sabo as a manic smile grew on the pale cracked lips and in that moment and his stomach dropped again. Sabo was too slow to intervene, the vampire weaved past him and Sabo's staff sliced the air where the vampire stood. Koala raised her sword but it was too late, the vampire received nothing more than a scratch on his cheek where Koala got a blow directly against her gut sending her clear across the meadow and slamming against a tree and getting buried under the resulting mini avalanche.

Sabo grimaced as Koala was hit, he wanted to run to her side and make sure she was okay, but it was not an option, not when the vampire was standing too close to him and Luffy.

The predator began to circle Sabo, but Sabo stubbornly stayed between it and Luffy still unsure of the vamps fixation on his little brother. It was clear that he was bloodthirsty so why had it knocked away one food supply to get to the one other vampire? Why was Luffy his target when it was clear that the ones fighting back were him and Koala?

"What are you waiting for?" Sabo taunted, not failing to see how the vampire was warily eyeing his staff when his eyes weren't fixated on Luffy. They both knew that the moment Sabo lost the staff it would be over for him, but he would not let that happen, he would not be bested. Bot with Luffy in the line. "Scared of a little human?"

"...Humans..." his voice, rarely used came out like a cross between nails on a chalkboard and a howling rasp. "I've no fright for your filthy kind." he spoke his eyes going over Sabo and returning to Luffy once more

"Give me the boy now and I will let you meat sacks live." The vampire said taking a step towards Luffy, but Sabo was there to meet his step and block him from Luffy who had been eerily quiet during the encounter. Sabo couldn't take a moment to look over his little brother though, not when the vampire was so close to them and making his intentions known with every passing second.

"Why should I? What would I get from it?" Sabo questioned, his eye narrowing as he spoke, trying to keep the vampire in the conversation and away from the shifting pile of snow behind him. Koala was recovering now, and Sabo needed to keep him distracted from whatever attack Koala would unleash next. "Who are you anyway? I don't take you for a member of the Whitebeard Coven."

"What more can I offer you than letting you keep your miserable life..." he growled and the smile he had worn previously returned with a much more malicious glint.

"Who am I?" he repeated, those dull glazed orange eyes rolling to the back to his head for a moment and then back to Sabo as he pretended to mull over the question again and again.

"I suppose I am a monster to your wretched kind... The very man that eats naughty children when they don't behave. The monster that every mother warns their revolting spawns of each night. Humans call me the boogieman, but vampires; they call me..." he trailed off and turned on his heel just Koala's blade drove past him piercing the air where he been a mere second ago.

The vampire's arm then descended upon the blade and shattered it as if it was nothing more than delicate glass. Koala's eyes widened in disbelief as she all but abandoned the now useless hilt of her sword and pulled back and away from the vampire scanning the area for another attack plan.

The vampire didn't pursue her and instead focused his eyes on Luffy once again. "I am the Dollmaker."

Sabo froze. He stared at the vampire, eye wide. His mind went silent for a moment before erupting with warring emotions, disbelief and shock fought alongside horrified understanding, until they were superseded by unretained anger. And only then did Sabo dare a glance at Luffy, what he saw there caused Sabo's heart to drop out of his chest. Luffy looked absolutely petrified, his mouth opening and closing like he wanted to speak but couldn't. The sandwich he had been so eagerly biting into was now littered on the ground, wasted, and forgotten.

Fear gripped Sabo's heart as he realized just what was at stake in the fight between them and the vampire. This vampire wasn't hungry for blood so much as his desire to have Luffy and take him back.

With great reluctance Sabo tore his gaze from his terrified brother before the vampire could take advantage of his brief distraction. His eye hardened as more adrenaline pumped through his system, filling Sabo with untapped energy backed up with the fire of rage. "Over your dead body."

"You forget it's already dead." The Dollmaker smirked and rushed at Sabo again.

Sabo met his challenger head on, disability be damned, Sabo threw all his insecurities and self doubts away to protect his little brother. Koala too jumped into the fray, brandishing the pair of nunchucks she reserved for dire situations such as the one they found themselves in. The Dollmaker, however, wasn't backing away either, he met every block and blow with his own all the while aware and wary of the kairoseki pipe in Sabo's grip.

The Dollmaker danced out of the path of yet another blow to his stomach and in a movement too fast for Koala to react to, took her wrist in his large bony hand and snapped it as if it was nothing more than a twig. Koala's cries of agony filled the air until the Dollmaker's hand closed around her jaw and snapped it closed. Sabo flinched as he heard Koala's jaw close with so much force behind the action that her teeth collided audibly, but even that pain must have dulled from the grip his long dirt caked nails had on her. The sharpened points were digging into the soft flesh of her jaw and neck drawing blood.

"Or should we make it over her dead body?" The Dollmaker rasped, jagged pointed teeth on full display.

Sabo grit his teeth, his mind racing with what to do, how could he have not seen this as the Dollmakers move? By capturing Koala he all but rendered Sabo useless, unable to move lest he provoke her instant death. There had to be something he could do to save her and Luffy but what?

Sabo knew Koala kept a concealed knife in her boot, but it was unaccessible to her at the moment from the way the vampire was holding her not to mention her wrist was currently out of commission with the blow it was just dealt. Sabo could still feel Luffy behind him, immobilized and terrified of the vampire who'd stolen his life over a decade ago, just being this close wasn't good for Lu, but what was Sabo to do? Take Luffy and flee? No, never. Sabo was being forced to choose between his friend and his family, but he knew he didn't have long until the Dollmaker ran out of patience and killed Koala anyways.

Sabo was running out of options, and every escape plan he did come up with was stupider than the last. He could try to attack the Dollmaker could react, but the vampire would snap Koala's neck before Sabo got even got a foot off of the floor. He could try telling Luffy to run, but the vampire would give chase and Sabo didn't know if Luffy would be able to hold it off alone, and chances were the vampire would most likely snap Koala's neck anyways. All of his possible moves lead to Koala with a broken neck, and Sabo discarded them all immediately. Sabo swore to never lose another person that he loved, and now that determination was being put to the ultimate test. The question begged to be asked, just how far was he willing to go?

Sabo studied the vampire, taking in its crazed, starved eyes. The Dollmaker held the confidence of someone who knew that they'd already won. But as Sabo had noticed earlier, the Dollmaker also seemed to have a hunger that Luffy could not satisfy. It was then that Sabo took note that he was holding Koala as carefully as he could while also inflicting enough pain that would dissuade her from fighting back. Sabo realized that despite his threat, the vampire didn't want to break her neck just yet.

An idea rose in his mind, and Sabo slowly lowered his staff, hating each inch it sunk into the snow more than the last. This was crazy. It was suicidal. There was no guarantee it would even work. Koala would kill him if he survived this. But there was no other option.

Sabo let his staff fall completely into the snow. Then in one fluid movement, he took out his own concealed knife from his sleeve and sliced vertically up his arm. Hot blood immediately began pumping from the wound, fueled by his adrenaline charged heart. Sabo swiped some of the crimson liquid up on his hand and stepped forward, Sabo took cautious step after step until he was close enough to reach out and smear his hand directly on the vampire's face.

And we have reached the climax of this story! Fucking finally right.

So the biggest news I have is that yes, with the climax, there are only five (5) more chapters until the end of this story.

And I meant to answer this last time, but I was sleepy and distracted with who knows what, but yes the Whitebeard's are a very trusting and loving group of vamps, now the reason behind this was truthfully never really planned out or developed since our main focus was Ace and Sabo and their coming together. But I guess you can chalk it all up to their standing if you think about it, they are a large collection of strong and gifted vamps, yes they're in war but look at how easily they wiped out Sabo's camp leaving next to no survivors. Speaking of, those survivors are probably still being tortured or dead at this point, so the WB's are not so innocent lol. This is just my opinion though, Emy might have another?

Anywho..I'm glad you guys got some closure last update, and thanks so much for the comments, let me know if you'd like anything else answered and stuff for the next update.

Till next time!~ Thank you so much for all the reads, favorites, follows, and reviews you guys are great!~