mjscev: I laid the angst down on Luffy hard. Poor baby, and I only make it worse!

JoyPiece: Luffy will find someone kind. Before I put him through some more stuff. ;)

I just posted a new story (surprise, surprise! Posting 6 now) so check it out if you want! It'a a lot different from my other ASL Whitebeard stories but I think it's good. I'm sorry that this chapter is so short, I don't know how I let that slip through! Enjoy~

Ace looked horrified when he was told who might be after Luffy now. Doflamingo was no doubt furious that he couldn't free himself from the ice. Surely, he must realize the one who did it was the only one who could undo it.

With the world government still trying to pick their pieces back up, the warlords probably were low on the list for the marines to pay attention to, but that didn't mean that Doflamingo's other allies weren't up for hunting down Luffy. Not only an emperor's crew, but allied crews as well. Luffy was probably now marked to capture by anyone Doflamingo was affiliated with.

But, Luffy could do nothing to take back what he'd done. There was no flying back and undoing the ice. Luffy had to keep moving. And he was angry with Ace. He really hadn't meant to make him feel bad, but Luffy was probably under a very unhealthy amount of stress. He was lost, alone, and scared. Not to mention, now he had to be even more careful. Ace felt hurt when Luffy snapped at him, but he didn't take it personally. He was told that protecting himself just made it worse.

Ace wanted him back already. He wanted Luffy to have his own map and log pose so they could reunite somewhere. Luffy was just wandering… which was pretty much what the Whitebeard's were doing as well. They had no set destination, nothing other than trying to get lucky and cross paths with Luffy.

It was the next day when the most recent wanted poster came.

-x-

Marco picked up the newspaper from the News Coo and payed for it, before opening it on deck as he headed towards pop's chair. The captain was being checked on by the nurses. Ace was still asleep and many of the commanders were in the kitchen, helping Thatch cook breakfast. He was being monitored by Izo, who would tell Thatch if he needed to stop, as he had been bedridden for awhile and was still weak in his legs.

The poor chef was humiliated, but he needed to make food. Sure, the others could, but Thatch needed this. It was the only way he could really get stress out. And having been almost murdered and having someone he cared a lot about kidnapped was building up. Which was bad.

When the most recent wanted posters fell out, Marco went pale and shouted, "FUCK!"

Whitebeard looked up sharply, and shooed the nurses away as he called, "Marco, what's wrong?" Marco was fuming and scrunched the wanted poster up in his hand in fury. He caught on fire, he was so angry. "Son?" the man asked, going to stand up and walk over, but Marco stopped him and walked to the chair himself.

Marco held the poster up in front of the captain. "We need to find Luffy soon."

The photo had no name, but the bounty was 100,000,000 berris. The photo was of a sleeping Luffy. Instead of "dead or alive", it said "only alive". Whitebeard cursed. The photo was hard to look at. It was Luffy, unconscious and tied tightly together. It was a miracle he escaped that.

They both knew why it was "only alive". It was for Doflamingo to get him back and reverse the damage he'd done with his unbreakable and unmeltable ice. Luffy wasn't just some human who could put on a disguise. He was a dragon, big, and extremely noticeable and recognizable. Now, no place was safe for him but on this ship, with the protection of the crew and his brother.

God, how would Ace react to this?

-x-

Luffy melted the ball when he woke up and stretched, before yawning and taking flight again, searching the water for any islands. He was hungry again, and watched the water for any food that could come. He also made sure to pay attention if there were any sudden sea kings.

Seeing birds, he flew up to meet them and chased them around a bit, though not eating them. He just wanted to pretend, just for a minute, that he was a kid again. That he wasn't lost, running from pursuers, and was about to find Ace and go home. The place he desperately wanted to be.

Ace? I'm awake, Luffy called. Ace responded immediately, asking how he was, though there was a nervous undertone to his voice. I'm okay. I'm sorry I snapped last night, the dragon apologized.

I'm glad you're okay. It's fine, I didn't take it personally. You've been through some pretty traumatizing events in quick succession, I know you're stressed, and scared, Ace said, though he was the one who really sounded scared. Luffy wondered if something else had happened. He asked.

Doflamingo made a wanted poster for you, Ace replied quietly. Like he didn't want Luffy to know. But, thankfully, Luffy continued to glide, though he was freaking out internally. What could make this worse? Well, he shouldn't have thought that. He might have jinxed himself. The birds had long since flown away, and Luffy was all alone about the vast sea, the only other presence being a voice in his head.

You're gonna have to be very careful choosing places to land on an island, Ace said calmly. And try and stay far away from pirate ships. At least big ones. Shanks and his crew is looking out for you also, so if you see his ship, go there immediately.

Luffy nodded, but then remembered Ace couldn't see that, and said Okay, I will.

...Luffy, have you been having strange dreams? Ace asked, making Luffy curious, as he hadn't been having any strange dreams. Mostly good memories, or dreams of being reunited with Ace and Sabo at the same time.

No, why? It was quiet for a moment. Ace?

I think I'm dreaming your memories, Ace said slowly. Like he thought Luffy would think he was crazy. Luffy asked for some examples. Last night, I dreamt that you were in a giant bird cage, covered in goo. Then I woke up. Did that actually happen?

Yeah. Doflamingo made the bird cage before I bound his arms. And a bigger human could make slime or something out of his body, and thought I would be trapped in it, Luffy explained. He was quite glad he didn't spend much time with those people, and had fled instead of fought. Yes, Luffy was very strong, but he didn't know if any of those people had devil fruits, except for the flying man and the woman who turned into weapons.

Thankfully, those had done nothing, and his ice powers protected him well. He was sure he wouldn't have gotten out of that if he had Ace's fire powers. That probably would have just burned them or set the island aflame, which would be bad for the little people who helped him. Tried to warn him. Luffy hoped they were safe, and was sad he never got to thank any of them. He would have been a sitting duck if they had found him while still asleep.

I'm glad I'm not crazy, Ace said, bringing Luffy's attention back to the present. Once we get you back, no one will ever hurt you again, the older brother vowed. Luffy smiled, and thanked him. To keep Luffy's mind off of the situation, Ace decided to tell Luffy some stories about what he and Sabo had done together as children. He was surprised he could even remember most of those memories. Many, he'd told already, but he remembered some more just at the right time.

Luffy continued to fly straight into the horizon. The sun rose and set over him as he flew. The talking made up for the fact that he hadn't found any food, and that the sky was darkening around him. He did his best to fly around the storm, but it was rapidly growing and he couldn't out run it, and he refused to fly back the way he came.

If he could fly into a tsunami and not die, a storm should not hurt him. He was actually lucky he hadn't run into any, though he might not have known while he was trapped in Teach's darkness. He flew up above the clouds, trying to get above the storm. He felt the electricity buzz against his skin, but the clouds reached up higher than he could fly without getting dizzy and light headed from being up too high. So, he'd just fly in the clouds and hope for the best.

He coated himself in ice, not knowing if his skin would protect against lightning.

The wind was horrible, and hurt his wings. He didn't want to fly through it anymore, but it would also be dangerous to make a raft and try to stay on it. So, he did the only thing he could think of that would keep him safe from the weather and waves. It would confuse his sense of direction, as there was no landmark to tell which way he had been heading. He formed an ice ball and shut himself inside, being churned over and over, making him horribly nauseous, but he couldn't afford to throw up the little food he had in his stomach.

The storm didn't last too long, but by the end, he felt horrible, and wasn't responding to Ace anymore, trying to keep himself from throwing up. He melted the top of the ball so he was out in the open air, the waves calm. But Luffy couldn't bring himself to stand, let alone fly.

He panted as he tried to stable himself. The wind was still there, but it was more breezy now. Then, his head perked up and he smelled something other than the sea. He steadied himself and followed the scent, excited. It smelled like some sort of animal, but plants as well.

Luffy?! Luffy, are you there?! Ace called. Luffy was finally able to respond, and said, Sorry, Ace. I flew into a storm and couldn't reply. I smell something, though! Something other than the sea.

That's great! But, please, be careful, Ace pleaded. Luffy reassured his brother that he would be cautious of wherever he'd end up. He flew quickly towards the source, and sooner than he could have hoped for, he saw what it was. Something big, sticking out of the water, slowly walking along through the waves.

An elephant?! He flew higher, up to the level of its body and landed on it's back. There was some sort of gate that opened to a forest and town. People lived on a giant elephant?! He could smell and hear people, though they smelled a bit different than other humans. He sensed animals, too. Food.

Luffy quietly flew over the wall and landed in the foliage. He slunked through the forest, the sun setting, looking for some food, meat or otherwise. He made sure to stay deep in the forest, sniffing and listening for anything alive nearby. He found a pond, bringing back memories of his young childhood, as the water was full of crocodiles.

Luffy hid behind a rock in front of the pond, looking for the biggest crocodile. It was relatively close to the shore, and wasn't hard to pounce on it and kill it by snapping its neck with his powerful hands. He looked around, took the crocodile's neck into his jaws and dragged it away, deeper into the woods and closer to the wall.

Luffy hadn't eaten raw animals in a long time. It was messy. He had been eating raw fish, but only because he had no fire to cook it. But, thankfully, he didn't become sick from eating raw foods, like humans would.

He greedily scarfed it down to the bones, leaving the head, and then dragged it back to the pond, and fled the forest, going back to the back entrance and laying down, relaxing as he watched the sun set from so high up without flying.

I landed on the island, Luffy told Ace, planning on explaining that it wasn't an island in the morning. He fell asleep quickly, relaxed, not worried about the people on the island. He could easily escape, while they'd be trapped on the elephant.

-x-

Thatch had really gotten right back into the flow of being a chef. It'd only been a few days since he woke up and he was already acting like the nightmare hadn't happened. Everyone was ecstatic that he was awake and alive. A party was thrown in his honor, though some did not feel like celebrating. One in particular.

Ace sat against the railing, lost in his own thoughts. It was dark out now, and Luffy had stopped responding. He assumed he was asleep on the island he'd landed on. He hoped Luffy wouldn't be noticed. Especially now that he had a bounty, low for the New World according to Izo.

He wished Luffy was there to distract him from the boring party, filled with drunks and men passed out from being too intoxicated. Ace sighed, wanting to go to bed, but not be rude. Not be seen as if he wasn't happy Thatch was awake. He was very happy, but he also missed Luffy, and felt guilty that he was at a party while Luffy was wherever he was, alone.

Haruta approached him and handed him a mug. Ace could tell it was not booze, but lemonade. The commander sat down next to Ace, and again, he had to wonder why the commanders treated him differently than their subordinates. Maybe it was because Ace wasn't officially part of the crew.

"Hey, how you doing?" Haruta asked as he sat down next to the youngest on the ship. Ace shrugged and took a sip of the freshly squeezed lemonade. It was delicious.

"I miss Luffy. Nothing new," Ace responded sadly. "He found an island, had to fly through a storm."

Haruta took a swig of his rum, and said, "Luffy flew into a tsunami. A storm wouldn't hurt him." Ace nodded, already knowing this. "I'm sure Luffy would want you to enjoy yourself, just this once. Surely he doesn't want his brother unhealthily stressed."

"Nah, stress probably won't do anything to me," Ace replied vaguely. Haruta so wanted to ask what he meant, but he didn't. He wouldn't ever be nosy again. He still felt bad about eavesdropping on him so long ago.

"Regardless, you should loosen up, even if it's only for an hour. You don't have to drink, but we're starting a game of poker if you want to join," Haruta offered. Ace thought for a moment, before agreeing reluctantly and following the commander to the group of both fellow commanders and some of the regular crew.

Ace only had a good poker face because he was feeling empty inside. He wished Luffy would wake up and talk to him. Had he gotten any food? Was he safe? What island did he land on? Was it nearby?

Ace ended up losing spectacularly, but he hadn't bet anything, so lost nothing. He had only won the other times because he cheated with Luffy, who would pretend to be sleeping behind his opponents only to tell Ace their cards. Of course, Ace would never admit this, but it seemed Izo knew, as he commented on how this time, without Luffy, Ace was unexpectedly terrible at the game. Ace scowled, but didn't leave.

The others noticed Ace kept touching something in his pocket, and wondered what it was. Haruta asked. Ace hadn't even realized he'd been doing it. It was Luffy's new wanted poster. Ace had no other photos of his brother, which was regrettable, so the poster was all he had, though he wished it had been a happy photo, and not one of him passed out.

Ace pulled the folded poster out of his pocket and held it up to show them. Their faces saddened and Ace folded it backup and returned it to his pocket.

"We'll find him," Izo said comfortingly. Then his face turned determined, and he stood up and walked to Whitebeard's chair, eyes following him and wondering what he was going to say. Ace could hear him, and his eyes widened when Izo requested that they alert their allied crews, and to tell them if they spotted Luffy. And if he landed on their ships, to tell him they were allied with their crew.

And, to Ace's amazement, Whitebeard agreed. The heat suddenly spiked around Ace, and Haruta saw, just in time, a tear fizzle into steam on Ace's face. He didn't comment on it and the temperature soon dropped back to normal.

Now, they had a better chance of finding Luffy! A step closer. Luffy and Ace weren't even part of the crew, but Whitebeard was going to tell all of his allies? And Ace didn't let himself question whether these allies were trustworthy. But, they had to know that if they turned Luffy in, they'd face the wrath of Whitebeard and his family.

One step closer, Luffy.