JoyPiece: Thank you!
Some happiness in this chapter before things get dark again and we meet some familiar enemies in later chapters. Enjoy~
Luffy was woken up by the entrance of Burgess, his loud and obnoxious laughter cutting through the dragon's pleasant dream like a knife. Luffy didn't stand up, not needing to and not having the energy under the crushing darkness, which didn't seem to bother Burgess.
"Y'know, dragon, Captain told me something interesting about your brother and what happened after you were taken," Burgess taunted. Luffy listened, but already knew Ace was alive and well, so whatever this man was going to try and hang over his head wouldn't work.
"Captain stabbed the chef, and framed Ace for it. Weehahahaha! He drugged both of you to the point of where a normal person would fall into a coma. He planted the murder weapon on Ace, and then stole you while you were both passed out." He smirked when he saw Luffy's eyes widen in fury.
Luffy couldn't stop himself from snarling and standing up threateningly. It surprised Burgess, but he didn't back down. Embarrassingly, Luffy was the one who had to back down. He couldn't blow his cover, so he put on an act, and made himself cry, pretending like he didn't want to hear anymore by putting his hands over where his ears were.
"Bet the stupid chef is dead. And soon, Whitebeard will be dead, too! We'll steal his power and then kill him. Weehahahaha!" he laughed. Luffy's eyes widened, but he was able to hide his smile. Maybe this guy would be good at giving up important information. Arrogance will be his downfall. Luffy wondered if Teach would kill this guy for doing something like this.
Probably, since he apparently stabbed Thatch, someone who considered themselves family for many years. Luffy was a bit angry, but with Ace for not telling him about Thatch being stabbed. God, he hoped his favorite pirate was still alive.
The moment Burgess was let out, the darkness opening to show it was night time, Luffy shouted, ACE! TEACH WANTS TO STEAL WHITEBEARD'S POWER AND THEN KILL HIM! There was no time for Ace to respond, but Luffy hoped he had been awake to hear it. It was important information to know, finally something concrete.
Luffy went to sleep, more content knowing he was helpful, trying to drown out the worry and anger about Teach's plan. How he used Ace to take the blame for a crime he wouldn't have committed, even if he had secretly hated Thatch. He did nothing wrong.
Both Ace and Luffy had killed, even before the Mary Geious Massacre, but they wouldn't kill someone who was kind and good to them. He and Luffy had never killed anyone innocent. At least not that Luffy knows of.
-x-
Ace was asleep, laying on Luffy's mat again, when he was startled awake with ACE! TEACH WANTS TO STEAL WHITEBEARD'S POWER AND THEN KILL HIM! He shot up from the bed and ripped the covers off. Ace didn't hesitate to run out of the room, leaving the door wide open, and down the halls to the commander's quarters, with the captain's door at the end of the hall.
As far as Ace knew, there was no way someone could have two devil fruits at the same time, let alone steal one from another person. He had to think that, Teach or that Burgess guy, had too big a mouth for his own good. But, they finally had some good information, and knew some of what Teach's plan was all along.
First, to kill his crewmate and then attempt to kill his captain? Former captain. Ace banged his fist obnoxiously on the door. It didn't take long for the massive door to open and Whitebeard look sleepy and a bit grumpy, until he saw Ace's face, which was very serious.
He got right to the point. "Teach is planning on somehow stealing your power and then killing you." Whitebeard's eyes widened in shock. He looked at the clock in his room. 5 AM. That was late enough for an immediate captain's meeting.
He walked past Ace without a word and knocked on each commander's bedroom door, waking all of them, equally grumpy and tired until they saw who had knocked. Once everyone was in their open doorways, Whitebeard told them that Ace had some important information than needed to be told.
"We need to talk. Somewhere no one else will hear. I'm sorry to wake you up so early, but it is important," the captain said and lead the way to the meeting room, Ace following last, still not used to being included in the important meetings. Well, at least some of them.
Once they were all sat, each one yawning at least twice, Whitebeard turned to Ace to explain what he'd heard.
"Luffy told me that Teach, and this Burgess guy, whoever the asshole is, is planning on someone how stealing the captain's powers and then killing him afterwards." The room was quiet for a moment as it sunk in before angry exclamations filled the room.
"I can't see Teach saying something like that, so I'm going to assume it was his new crew member spewing important information like it's nothing," Marco said calmly, though he was also quite angry.
"Calm down, sons," Whitebeard said.
"Big Mouth Burgess," Ace muttered to himself, sure no one heard him until Haruta burst into laughter. The others looked at him in surprise. They were talking about someone wanting to KILL pops, and Haruta was laughing. Jozu glared at him.
"What's so funny?" he asked sharply.
"I just never knew Ace had such a sense of humor," Haruta laughed. Ace looked uncomfortable now, having just muttered it to himself, not thinking everyone else would hear it. He knew Luffy would have laughed. He was blushing. "Now we have Burgess's pirate name: 'Big Mouth Burgess'." Ace shoved his shoulder, not wanting to seem like he'd thought it was a funny conversation. But then Whitebeard laughed, loud and long.
"That's quite clever," he said, barely being able to stop addressing Ace as "son" at the end, no matter how much he wanted to. Izo snickered, and Ace hid his face in his hands.
"Can we please move on?" he grumbled, embarrassed. The others took pity on him and moved on, though Haruta kept snickering at Ace. His face was red, which actually caught Whitebeard's attention. It had been impossible for Ace to have any blood drawn, yet he blushed. Interesting.
"I'm gonna assume Luffy will soon find out what happened. Or what Teach had planned to happen. He must think Thatch is dead, and that we killed Ace, who was supposed to be the one who kill Thatch. Ace, you gotta assure Luffy that Thatch is alive next time you're able to talk to him," Marco said. Ace looked at the table, touched by Marco and how considerate he was. How they all were.
"Why… why do you guys like me and Luffy? Aren't we just using you all for protection from the government?" Ace asked in a quiet voice, openly confused.
"Well, you two are likable. Plus, Luffy saved the lives of everyone on this ship. Without him, we would have all been killed by that tsunami. You two are interesting, and not just because one is a dragon and the other is different, too. As people you're interesting. And it's hard not to care about the wellbeing of someone like Luffy. Clearly good and kind, especially knowing that he is a dragon and has not hurt anyone for pushing at him and crossing personal boundaries.
"It's hard not to like you two, and the reason you pulled off the event was to avenge your brother. A real risk for the sake of a loved one. Family is important to all of us. Well, besides Teach that is," Marco explained.
"But… we lie to you all of the time," Ace admitted.
"Well, that's your choice, whether to tell the truth or not, but none of your lies has harmed anyone else. You're both good kids. It's just clear to everyone. And of course we'll save someone we see as one of us, whether the feeling is mutual or not."
Ace looked at the table again, though more darkly. "You wouldn't like us if you knew everything," the teen replied.
"And not everything is our business. What or who both of you are are your business's. You're still always welcome to stay as long as you wish, or indefinitely," Whitebeard said. Ace didn't reply, and stayed silent. He didn't know what to say. And he wouldn't make a decision like that without Luffy.
"We won't know anything else for a few hours, so why don't we all go back to bed. We'll see each other in the morning," the captain said, everyone agreeing, realizing again how tried they were, as they all went back to their rooms and to bed, Ace branching off in a different direction to go to his storage room/bedroom.
-x-
Burgess didn't come back to see Luffy in a couple days, while some fish were thrown to him, not giving enough time for him to reach out to his brother and ask about Thatch. It was very quiet and boring. He had no new information about how Teach was planning on stealing his old captain's devil fruit and then taking his life.
He was laying on his side, staring at the black around him with a bored and dazed expression. He had also not heard any speaking from beyond the void, which irritated him. Teach and Burgess must have been speaking at least a little.
But, a month had passed, and Luffy was finally slipping. He wanted to go home. Home was with Ace. He missed Ace so much, his big brother. His life. He was so lonely that it made him feel ill. He felt so disconnected from reality in the blackness, and could only look forward to someone coming in and doing anything to relieve the boredom.
He'd rather be being teased and mocked than just stuck in the silence. At least being teased or mocked would make him feel anything other than sad and empty. He also missed the mat he had to sleep on. And he missed being able to use his powers. It was impossible to do anything in here besides the primal reaction to protect its user with the ice. He couldn't use any of his other powers, which would at least alleviate the boredom.
He also wished he had a clock. Days blended together. All there was was the present since Luffy couldn't tell the past or future in there. He hated it so much. He hated Teach and Burgess. And Luffy couldn't wait to get away and kill the traitor and his "friend".
Luffy wondered how many more people would join this tiny crew while he was still imprisoned. Ideally, Luffy would get away with just two of them. He didn't want to have to face multiple people like Teach. And he still didn't know why he was taken in the first place. In his opinion, the most likely choice would be to sell him. Luffy would pull up a lot of money. He was a mythical creature, after all. That would also be the best case scenario because then he wouldn't need to fight to get out. He'd have to be let out of the darkness and into a cage to be sold.
It had only been a month, but it had already been a month. Luffy had no real idea what was going to happen to him, and he wasn't able to ask. He really wished he could speak like full humans could. He had never been more envious of Ace's ability to speak than he was now.
Luffy raised his head once he finally heard something other than his own boring thoughts. A new voice. Luffy couldn't tell where he was, whether he was on a ship, or on the ground. It was a higher voice, but sounded more feminine than Teach and his follower. He could hear people talking about prices of ships.
Looked like Teach was getting a ship. Different than the one he'd been on for the past few weeks. Luffy sighed sadly. Now it would be harder for Ace to find him since Luffy had no idea what a new ship would look like. If Ace even ever caught up with him. There were tons of islands the Whitebeards could accidentally go to, while Luffy and Teach got further and further away.
Light flooded in when Teach entered the darkness. There wasn't enough time to reach out to Ace. Luffy glowered at Teach, not even putting on the act right then. He just wanted to sleep and be left alone. Wanted to dream of him and Ace and Sabo all free. Not one dead and the other held prisoner for however long he would still be trapped.
But, Teach was carrying something that would clank every now and again. Luffy eyed him suspiciously as he dragged thick chains and shackles. Luffy had to give him credit; how he found such huge shackles that would even fit Luffy's thick legs. Did this mean Luffy was leaving the darkness?
It was now or never. One chance.
"You're going to behave, or I will stab one of your eyes out," Teach said cruely. Luffy wasn't worried. The ice would protect him, like it had when Burgess was poking him. Teach might assume he could break the ice with something sharp. That wasn't the case. "Now hold still, dragon," he commanded and locked the shackles around all of Luffy's wrists and ankles. They were all connected by a chain, and a muzzle was put on him, which was just a strap to keep his snout and mouth shut. Luffy cooperated, but acted like he didn't want to leave, by not wanting to leave the dark.
He groaned unhappily as he let himself be dragged from the darkness. He was pushed out onto the deck of the ship, with Burgess and someone else with them. He wore lipstick, hoop earrings and a hat. Luffy looked around to see a relatively large ship. Still nowhere near the size of the Moby Dick though. Luffy looked around with big eyes.
Ace! They got a new ship! I'm out and gonna try to escape. If I die or something, I love you and will tell Sabo you miss him, Luffy said to Ace, hoping he could hear him.
Teach strapped the harness on Luffy, who struggled against it. Luffy slowly began to chill the shackles. The cracking noise couldn't be heard over the sounds of the ocean. "Now, cooperate," Teach growled as he got ready to sit on Luffy. Luffy would rather die than have someone like this ride him like he was a horse.
Luffy shocked them all by jumping over the side of the ship, the shackles cracking completely as he dived deeper and deeper from the ship. Once he was far enough away for comfort, Luffy threw spears at the bottom of the ship, destroying the hull and letting it flood. He then froze the surface of the water so no one could follow him.
He turned to the side and swam as fast as he could from the sinking ship. He could hear the shouting of swear words as the ship was destroyed. Luffy melted the ice around the ship, making the pirates stumble and fall into the water. The dragon created spikes that pearced all three of his captors, quickly bleeding out.
He was up and away by the time Teach had succumbed to his devil fruit weakness. He looked behind him briefly to see Burgess and the other guy trying their best to stay afloat as they bled, though Luffy saw as three sea kings swam excitedly towards the noisy and bloody prey in the water. Luffy grinned as he flew far, far away. He had no idea how to get back to Ace, but at least he wasn't in the dark.
It didn't take long for his hunger and thirst to catch up with him after the month in the place where time stood still. He flew straight in one direction, hoping he could come across an island or at least a ship he could get food on. He dove into the sea once, but saw many sea monsters, and didn't want to fight when so weak, so he flew on.
Luffy?! Are you okay? Ace questioned, finally responding.
Yeah. I got out. They all drowned and got eaten by sea kings. I don't know where I'm flying to. I can't smell you or the ship. I'm so hungry and thirsty, Ace. It hurts. I'm just looking for some place to rest, Luffy explained, tears down his face in relief. He was free, but wouldn't be happy again without Ace.
I'm so glad! We'll try our best to find you. Just search for an island, and get the name, Ace replied.
How am I supposed to ask? Luffy questioned irritably, though not at Ace. it was just so inconvenient.
Eavesdrop? Ace offered. Luffy huffed, and screeched when a sea king leapt out of the water, causing Luffy to fly much, much higher. It made him shaky and terrified of being close to the water, which meant he couldn't grab any unlucky, rare fish. He was not strong enough at the moment to battle a sea king.
-x-
Ace was in the library again, where he spent most of his time now. He was uncomfortable being around the commanders and captain after the meeting a couple days ago. They were too nice, and he wasn't used to other humans being caring like that. Not when he and Luffy had only been exposed to assholes or violent humans.
The pirates had been nice to them before, but not like this. Not taking into consideration so much for Luffy. Not including Ace in things he shouldn't be. And, it was getting harder to keep thinking about leaving for good. He still wanted to be a pirate, but now he had something more to think about. Luffy was cramped on this ship. This big, big ship. How would he feel about a much smaller pirate ship of their own. Plus, Luffy may not want to be a pirate anymore after knowing what it was like to live on a ship. And, Ace wouldn't leave Luffy even if he really wanted to be free and stay on a large island like their home one.
He dropped the book when Ace! They got a new ship! I'm out and gonna try to escape. If I die or something, I love you and will tell Sabo you miss him, exploded in his head. Ace ran out of the room and to Marco, the closest important person he saw out on deck. When he was next to Marco, he asked, Luffy?! Are you okay?
He was scared Luffy wouldn't reply. He couldn't die from someone like Teach. He had been sure of that, but now he was worried about the wording of Luffy's alert.
Yeah. I got out. They all drowned and got eaten by sea kings. I don't know where I'm flying to. I can't smell you or the ship. I'm so hungry and thirsty, Ace. It hurts. I'm just looking for some place to rest, Luffy replied. Ace didn't hide the tears in his eyes. To others, it looked like he was just standing there, crying.
Marco grew concerned, and put his hand on Ace's shoulder. He had just gone running up to Marco, said nothing and then started crying. I'm so glad! We'll try our best to find you. Just search for an island, and get the name, Ace said, wiping his tears. There was a short delay before Luffy replied.
How am I supposed to ask? Luffy asked. Ace did know this was a problem. Luffy couldn't speak, so how would he find out what the name of the island he was on was? Plus, he couldn't read. Sabo and Ace had tried teaching him, but it just never stuck with the dragon.
Eavesdrop? Ace suggested lamely. Luffy didn't reply for awhile. Luffy?
I'm concentrating flying. I'll talk to you when I'm somewhere safe. Sea kings are attacking, Luffy replied, and then was quiet.
"Ace, what's wrong? Did Luffy contact?" Marco asked quickly. Ace still had tears down his eyes. He evaporated them off by raising his temperature briefly. He nodded his head and then gave a watery smile.
"He got away, and Teach and his friends got eaten by sea kings. Drowned and then got eaten. He has no idea where he is and is just trying to find an island to rest on. He's thirsty and starving," Ace said through his tears. Marco grinned, a first sight to Ace, and hugged him.
"C'mon, let's go tell pops," Marco said, his arm around Ace's should because he was sure the teen would faint soon enough from the utter relief and release of some of the crushing stress and fear. Luffy was still missing, but was now free from Teach.
They walked to Whitebeard, the traces of Ace's tears gone, and now only wearing a smile. "What's wrong, sons?" he asked automatically, making Ace clench his teeth. "Sorry, Ace. Force of habit to call those on the ship sons. Has Luffy made any contact?"
"Yeah. He has. We need to hold a meeting," Marco said.
Everyone waited silently for Ace to talk while they sat at the table. "Luffy freed himself. Teach and the others drowned and were eaten by sea kings," Ace said simply. It took a minute before the commanders burst into cheers. Whitebeard grinned at how happy they all were, and that Luffy had avenged himself and Thatch. Speaking of Thatch…
"Sons and Ace, not long before Ace and Marco approached me did Whiskey come to visit me. Thatch was just taken off of life support. He should be mostly fine. His back will still have a big scar, which is regrettable, but he will be fine. They don't know when he will wake up, but his life is no longer in danger." More cheers.
"Well, now all we need is to find Luffy. Teach is dealt with, now we just need Ace's little brother back. Then things will be better, and back to normal when Thatch wakes up. Ace, will you tell Luffy we're very happy he's okay?"
Ace nodded. Luffy? There was a minute of silence, before a sad sounding voice answered, Yeah?
Everyone is very glad you're okay. And, I have to come clean about Thatch. He's not dead, and is getting better. We were both drugged by Teach, and I was attempted to be framed, but it didn't work. The drugs worked on me. It's scary. Did you feel the drugs? Ace asked.
No, but I wish you had told me sooner, but at least that wasn't added stress, Luffy said.
Yeah. Everything will be okay. When you find us or we find you, well, I need us to make a decision. But let's not think about that yet. Luffy didn't question it, most likely really not wanting to have to think about any big decisions while he was looking for some place to rest and eat at.
Make sure to tell me if you see any sort of landmark, Ace said finally.
Okay.
"He's still flying to try and find somewhere to land," Ace told the rest. A few frowned. Islands in the New World were few and usually far apart. Especially when not following a log pose, you could probably travel the whole sea without reaching any. A log pose was an absolute must to traveling in the Grand Line. And Luffy clearly didn't have one.
"Don't worry, Luffy's strong," Ace said, picking up on the frowns. No one countered him. There was no need to ruin Ace's good mood when they could do nothing to change it.
Luffy is free! And Teach is dead! Eaten by a sea king after drowning is embarrassing and I hope he is killed off in an embarrassing way. And guess what?! I reached 1 million words in all my posted stories combined!