myzmsandraa99: Teach is my least favorite character. Well, him and Akainu. I hate them both so much!
Angel Zabuza: Thank you!
I'm going through some bad times right now after breaking up with by previous best friend, but no need to worry as I will keep submitting the chapters on all my stories on time. Enjoy~
Luffy fell asleep and stayed asleep for a very long time. He didn't get hungry or thirsty, as time seemed to stop in the darkness. Yes, he was tired, but that was the only thing that really seemed to be normal. Usually, he'd be starving. He didn't know he'd missed multiple meals while he was in there. If he tried to keep track of time, it would only last so long before his mind wandered and he had to start over.
Sleeping was the only real thing to do in there, as he could barely move and couldn't make contact with Ace or any other creature.
He missed his brother. Very much. Even in his sleep, he was lonely.
-x-
For the next week, Ace had trouble sleeping. They were going towards the next island as fast as they could, but even if that merchant ship was at or heading to the island they were, he had over a day of a head start. One day could make or break it. Storms were untimely, and Marine or pirate attacks lost precious time.
No Marines attempted to attack the ship, as Marine bases weren't as common in the New World, but they did run into some idiotic pirates. Ace didn't get to fight, though. He wanted to take out his anger, but he was still feeling the side effects. His non-human body was reacting strangely to the drugs.
The nurses didn't know what was happening with him. The effects had lessened, before they came back, worse than before. They didn't know this for the first two days, as Ace hid it. Kept a straight face no matter what his vision looked like. The drug's effects were supposed to be gone by then, even with his extremely heavy dosage.
No one knew when Ace would be back to normal, and he hated that he had to trust this crew to get things done and find Luffy while he was stuck in the infirmary. But he was sick of it. When it was night time, and the nurses were gone and the lights turned out for the night until it was time to see how Thatch was doing, he sat on the wooden ground. He would will his body to beat the drugs.
He sat on the floor and imagined, if he was made out of flesh and blood, fire coursing through his veins, burning the drug out. He couldn't let an almost lethal dose of sedative hinder him. He'd already wasted over three days being in this room, useless.
It hurt, a lot. And he hadn't been hurt in a long time. When he couldn't handle psychologically burning the drug out, and whatever it was actually doing to his body, he passed out on the floor. It was charred underneath him, but not on fire.
He only woke up when Tami saw him on the ground. She woke him up by saying his name, not trusting to touch the kid in his sleep when he was made of fire and could have a temper. And he was in a perpetual bad mood, extremely stressed which elevated his temper.
"Ace? Ace, are you alright?" she asked in concern. His eyes snapped open and he quickly stood up. He felt fine. Tami tried to get him to stop jumping up and down to test if he felt nauseous, but he just grinned.
"I'm all better. Can I leave now?" he asked, already putting his boots on to leave.
"Wha- what do you mean all better? You're very sick! You can't leave yet," she said sternly. But, Ace was sick of being here, and he wasn't about to let her confine him in this place. He'd already spent three days too many in it.
He strode to the lightswitch and flipped it up so the lights were on full force. He looked straight at the lights, which would have left him with a painful headache before. But, now he was fine. He looked back at Tami. "I'm fine. I burned the drugs out."
"What do you mean?" she asked. Ace grew impatient. He wanted to leave! Middle of the night or not, he wanted out.
"I destroyed the traces of the drugs. I don't have a normal body, I have a devil fruit. I should have tried this three days ago," he grumbled the last part. "Shine the flashlight in my eyes if you want, but I'm leaving the infirmary now."
Tami glared at him. "I am the nurse, I know what is in the crew's best health. You are not leaving."
"I'm not normal! You don't know jack-shit about my body or health!" Ace snapped loudly, startling her. "I am leaving, and I am going to my room. I don't exactly have any place other than that to go. Goodbye," he said irritably and left the room. He didn't slam the door closed behind him, mindful for Thatch.
He stomped through the halls and to the room he and Luffy shared. He could finally let go. He wasn't around anyone else, and could lock this door. So, the minute he walked into the room, he burst into tears, and collapsed onto Luffy's mat.
-x-
The next morning, Marco went to see how Ace and Thatch were doing and headed to the infirmary before breakfast. When he entered after gently knocking on the door, he noticed immediately that Ace's strange presence was gone. And when he opened the door, saw that the bed was empty and there was a black scorch mark on the ground between the beds.
"Whiskey? Where's Ace?" Marco asked the nurse replacing Thatch's IV.
"He stormed out last night after saying he burned the drugs out of his body. Tami was less than pleased this morning. Apparently he shouted at her. So, don't say his name in front of her today," the nurse explained calmly as she did her job.
Marco frowned. "Did he get violent? What happened over there?" he asked, pointing to the black spot.
"He didn't become physical. That's where he was sitting when he supposedly burned out the pills. I can see him wanting to leave, but Tami said he was quite rude," Whiskey said.
Marco sighed. "You've got to sympathize with him, Whiskey. His brother is missing, and the crew he had trusted ended up drugging him and stealing away his only family. He's gonna be cranky for awhile."
"I know that. I'm just telling you what Tami told me. Honestly, I'm surprised he even stayed for as long as he did. But, at least he seems to be feeling better," the nurse replied calmly. "Tami's just not used to being argued with. After all, we have all of you conditioned to respect us and do what we say. Now, there's a feisty little rebel who can burn the ship to ash if he wants. Not that I think he will," Whiskey said when she saw Marco's scowl.
"I'll make sure he is actually feeling better. I'm not gonna force him to come back, so Tami probably won't see him for awhile," Marco said before he walked to his close friend, who was still on life support and would be for awhile.
-x-
Luffy woke up, still in darkness, from the sound of screams. Like the screams were echoing around him inside the dark void he was trapped in. Mostly the screams of men. Luffy shot up into a sitting position. Were the screams of the crew that had been housing him and his brother?
He listened as best as he could, but no voices sounded familiar. Thankfully, he didn't hear anyone close to Ace's voice.
"South… ant… ind….us! Ze...haha!" Teach shouted. There were no other sounds anymore. They were changing direction. If Ace and the pirates were going after them, they wouldn't know where Teach was going now. They weren't going the same direction as before. How would Ace find him?! Luffy had to figure out a way to escape soon, but he could do nothing as long as he was in the darkness.
Ace! Ace, we're going south now! Find me soon, please! Luffy called, but like usual, no reply. He couldn't contact Ace in any way. He was absolutely helpless.
-x-
Ace didn't want to go to breakfast that day. He didn't want to eat all alone. But, he was hungry. So, he slowly made his way out of his too quiet room and down the halls. The galley was not completely full, and thankfully no one tried talking to him, though he felt their eyes on him briefly, before they went back to conversing or eating.
Ace looked at the food on the table, for once not wanting to scarf it down lightning fast. He slowly sat down and continued to stare at the food. He wondered if Luffy was hungry. Was he being fed? Was he getting enough water?
He lethargically ate his breakfast, and didn't look up when the commanders sat down. Whitebeard came in and sat, and had already been informed of what happened last night in the infirmary. He was able to not react badly to the lights, and didn't look nauseous from moving, so he did seem better. Well enough to be out of the stuffy infirmary. He wished Thatch was able to leave soon.
Ace finished quickly, not having someone to wait for to eat four servings of fruit and vegetables. He left the room without saying anything to anyone. He ignored his "friends" and walked to the head of the ship and sat on the whale's head. It was awfully empty without big Luffy taking up lots of space. There was no one to lean against or rub or purr for him.
It was extremely lonely without Luffy, even though he was surrounded by people. Marco came over, but Ace didn't turn to face him. Just kept looking out at the horizon, willing for there to be no storms. They'd already come across one that they had to sail around, which took up many hours, which they didn't have to spare.
"How are you feeling today?" the first mate asked as he stood behind the teen.
"Fine," Ace answered shortly. Marco didn't push it anymore, which Ace was grateful for. So, Marco changed the subject.
"Make contact with Luffy yet?" he asked. Ace frowned. "If he did I would have told you." Marco sighed quietly. He wished Ace would understand that it was the act of one rotten apple on the ship and not all of them. But, Ace had a right to be distrustful and angry. Nothing would change the fact that Luffy had been stolen by someone on this crew.
"How much longer until we reach the island?" Ace asked.
"Another two days or so, at the soonest." Ace looked down at his crossed legs, hoping so much that Teach had gone to that island. They hadn't come across anything or anyone on their way there, besides one pirate group.
Ace was hoping they would come across Teach's stolen ship, for no one doubted he was now in control of the ship, but he knew that was a long shot. No matter how long it took, Ace would find Luffy!
"Marco, if Teach hasn't gone to the next island, will we still continue to search?" Ace asked. He knew he couldn't search for Luffy by himself. He couldn't fly, and he had no ship or navigational skills. Too bad Sabo wasn't here to help.
"We'll keep looking for the traitor, and find Luffy. It might not be the same for you, but already we see you as family, even if you're not one of pop's sons. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, but it's the truth," Marco said seriously. Ace frowned, wondering why they felt this way, but he didn't ask.
"Okay, thanks," Ace said, looking back at the horizon, ending the conversation.
"Don't lose hope, Ace," Marco said before he walked away. Ace vowed not to lose hope. No matter how long it took, he'd reunite with his baby brother. They had hundreds of years to live, plenty of time to find each other. He just hoped it didn't take too long.
-x-
Ace had trouble sleeping now, thinking that Luffy might respond while he slept. But, he needed the sleep, and couldn't help but fall asleep when he was tired. It was something he always did. He and Luffy always slept when they were tired. Being sleepy is dangerous. Even more now that Ace knew Luffy got kidnapped while he was asleep, even if it was because he'd been drugged.
They were reaching the island the next day, and Ace was nervous all day, unable to stop pacing back and forth on a spot on the deck, his arms crossed tightly. He kept looking up in front of them every few seconds before looking back at his feet. His body temperature was rising quickly in unease that it was uncomfortable for anyone to be too close to him.
Finally, the island came into view. The crew came out when someone went inside to tell everyone they could see the island. Ace hurried to the ship's head and stood on it, face showing fear. If Teach hadn't come here, they would have to just guess where he went next. They had all assumed he'd had a log pose, and the problem with the New World was that the log pose could go in three different directions. They could have chosen the wrong needle to follow.
They'd have to turn around, or try to. He didn't know if that would work. The log pose had always been confusing logically for Ace and Luffy. When they docked, everyone immediately got off to search for the ship described at the last island where everything went wrong.
Ace jumped off of the ship, not caring about being spotted. It wasn't like he would attract attention much without the dragon. He hurried to each sailor at the docks, and asked them if any merchant ship with the appearance had docked.
His heart plummeted each time every single person said they hadn't seen a ship like that. Ace, face showing physical pain, headed inland, not caring about telling anyone about it. They'd be at the island for awhile, after all. At least one day while supplies are gotten, which was also a reason they were going to come to this island. Mostly medical supplies. They still had a lot of food, especially now that Luffy wasn't there.
Ace stormed straight into the woods, looking for any source of water he could submerge himself in. Hopefully something really cold that would cool him down. He was hot right now, and could tell it was making those he spoke to uncomfortable, as they were sweating heavily by the end of the conversations.
He found a stream that lead to a basin of water. He immediately took off his clothes besides boxers and jumped in, letting off copious amounts of steam. He took a deep breath and swam to the bottom, which wasn't especially deep. He just laid on the rocky bottom and looked up at the blurry rays of sunlight filtering through the water.
The water boiled around him. It wasn't cooling him off very well. But, no one would find him here or interrupt him. Or see his tears that he'd been holding back for as long as he could. He didn't want to cry in his and Luffy's room since someone might hear him, and think he was weak.
He wouldn't be weak in front of these pirates. He wasn't going to give them another chance to do something to him. It had scared him badly, knowing he could be poisoned. It was a weakness that all on the crew knew about now. He hoped Luffy hadn't reacted to it as badly as he had.
He was under the water for ten minutes before he surfaced to take another breath and went back down. His tears still mixed with the hot water. He felt utterly weak. No one bothered him while he was there, and it was dark out by the time he left, as he had eaten almost all of the fish in the large basin of water. They were burned and crunchy, but filled him. It reminded him of Luffy's first, crappy meal. But he had said the charred meat was yummy.
He went back to the ship for dinner, because hunting by himself would make him too sad. He warmed himself so the water on his skin and underwear evaporated and walked back to the ship.
Whitebeard was on his chair on deck in the nice weather, seeming to almost be waiting for Ace to come back. And the teen looked grumpy when he jumped onto the ship and walked inside. He didn't say a word to anyone as he just walked to the galley to sit down and quietly eat. But, the others wanted to talk to him, regardless of whether he wanted to or not.
"Where did you go all day?" Izo asked, keeping the suspicion and anger of not being told where he was out of his voice.
"Out. Wanted some alone time," Ace replied as he shoved mashed potatoes in his mouth. The chefs were good at making food, but it didn't have the presentation that Thatch's did. He hoped the head chef would get better soon. As soon as possible. But, maybe if Thatch got better, they'd have no reason to look for Teach anymore. Thatch wouldn't be dead and therefore no avenging.
Ace didn't want Thatch to die, not at all. He just hoped that if Thatch lived, they'd still look for Teach and rescue Luffy.