Chapter 16- Guilty

One Piece © Eiichiro Oda

William Henley, Beau-Pére, Scorcher, Seventy, Fixit, and Ashley © HatOnFire/Me

(Quick Note: Severe angst and uncomfortable themes ahead in the 2nd part of the chapter. It may not be suitable or comfortable for any readers. I sure wouldn't be, and I had to write this. Please, read with caution.)

Beau-Pére's office was always clean, which is expected of a high-ranking officer in charge of a large base. But even with no trace of dust, his office desk is almost always disheveled with papers.

The commander believed that now was a good time to sort everything out. However, he would be proven wrong, when Fixit, Seventy, and Scorcher came into his office.

"Well?" Fixit questioned, expecting his commander to answer the question on his mind.

"'Well,' what?" Beau-Pére responded, raising an eyebrow.

"Sir, I know that you think Henley can handle himself, but leaving him behind with those pirates most likely wasn't the best idea."

"We've locked up 'Straw Hat' Luffy, and there's no way his crew can find us," Scorcher pointed out, raising his index finger. "So we can go back out there, beat the crap outta those guys, and get Henley to come with us!"

"I thought I made it clear," Beau-Pére murmured, "When I said we wouldn't be going back for him. He's able-bodied and can take care of himself. Besides, we can't associate ourselves with pirates."

"W-What?" Seventy questioned, crossing his arms. "B-But Henley isn't a pirate, let alone a criminal."

"I wish that were true," The commander sighed, reaching into his jacket to pull out a wanted poster. "However... Well, you might want to look for yourself."

The poster showed a young Henley, gritting his teeth and glaring at something behind him. There was blood dripping from his nose, some in the mouth staining his incisors and leaving his lower lip down to his chin. There was an open cut on his left cheek, which looked like a left parenthesis, complete with departing crimson. Also, there was smoke in the air, at the time the picture was taken. The writing on the poster says...

WANTED

DEAD OR ALIVE

WILLIAM HENLEY

B 83,000,000

The group couldn't say a word, not with their eyes entranced by the sight of a young boy, someone they know, having a criminal record on him. The look of a boy with a hardened heart was a stark contrast to a colorful boy who had dreams, wearing a cool smile all the while.

"This..." Fixit uttered, looking at the picture. "This can't be..."

"Henley is a..." Seventy whispered with dilating eyes, "He's a pirate...?!"

"No!" Scorcher furiously denied the existence of the poster, "That's not true! That's impossible!"

"I wish it weren't the case..." Beau-Pére quietly spoke, "But when Straw Hat referred to Henley, one of the men said that he heard that name before. Then, he showed me a wanted poster with Henley's name on it."

"The poster looks new," Fixit took the poster from the commander to examine it closely, noting the paper is fresh. "But the picture of Henley looks... a little young."

"He brought up Henley's age, too. He was fourteen when that picture was taken, and the location was on the property of a labor camp."

"Fourteen?!" The soot-covered marine yelled in shock and disbelief.

"Labor camp?!" It was Fixit's turn to clamor, sweating bullets.

"I don't know what transpired there, on that day," The team's superior stated, "But this bounty is high because sources claim that he is responsible for a terrible incident, something I don't believe."

The stalwart hunter's eye twitched under his cap. He then asked, "What is that 'terrible incident?'"

Beau-Pére took a breath until answering, "The incident involved a staff member of the World Government, but beyond that, I'm afraid I can't tell anymore. I simply don't know."

"Well, there's no way Henley would do anything bad!" Scorcher reaffirmed, "For a tiny runt, he's a nice guy and has a good heart! He wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"And yet, he's connected to an incident where many lives were lost, regardless of who was evil or not. ...There's also something else I should state."

"Commander?" The men looked at Beau-Pére, each taking a moment to process all the information.

"Boys, it's likely that the Straw Hat Pirates will come here. Sooner than we think, assuming they found something to get here."

"What do you mean?" Scorcher questioned, "Seventy and I made a smokescreen. They can't follow us if they couldn't see us."

"That's true," The commander mumbled, "However, if they found the barrel I left out in the sea, then they'll have the 3rd Eternal Pose for this base, and find it here."

"WHAT?!" The men exclaimed, each one more shocked than the last.

"Sir...!" Fixit seethed, grinding his teeth. "How could you do that?! We made it a point to follow our orders!"

"I know that!" Beau-Pére shouted, "But that boy...! He doesn't deserve this fate!"

"That isn't supposed to be our concern!" Seventy pointed out, bellowing through his mouthpiece. "He's a pirate, and regardless of who he is, we were sent to capture him!"

"And we did!" Beau-Pére replied, "No one ever said anything about not giving the pirates a hint to where our base is!"

"No one said anything about telling the pirates where our base is, either!" Scorcher interrupted, "Why did you do that?!"

"I..." The commander stopped suddenly until he regained his voice. "I just... I guess I felt terrible for him. He looked like he was at wit's end. I felt... compelled to do something for him."

"Sir," The mechanic spoke softly, calming down. "I heard from Sengoku that he would give you a promotion to Rear Admiral if we take the pirate to Marineford. He's waiting for you to respond, as we speak."

"R-Rear Admiral?" The commander repeated, hearing the sound of moving up the ranks. "You mean..."

"That's right, sir. It's the chance you've wanted for a long time. A chance to be greater than you are now."

"I... I knew that 'Straw Hat' Luffy's capture would be a big deal, but this..."

He was going to let his mind wander if an important question didn't come into his mind.

"Wait, what will happen to the lad if he's taken to Marineford?"

Fixit brought a hand to his chin, stroking his goatee. "...I imagine that they'll make a display of their power to reaffirm the world's faith in this naval force."

Beau-Pére grimaced, coming to a simple conclusion. He looked dead in Fixit's eyes and corrected, "You mean they'll have him executed."

"Sir-"

"Don't misconstrue the facts, goddammit!" He yelled with darkening eyes, "I know what that means!"

"Wait a minute," Scorcher raised his hands, gesturing them to slow down. "Wait, just... wait. Isn't Vice Admiral Garp Straw Hat's granddad?"

"Holy shit, your right!" Seventy confirmed, "Oh god, is he actually going to allow this?!"

Fixit was silent, crossing his arms and parting his eyes to look out the window.

"Well?" Beau-Pére huffed, "Is it the case?"

The pregnant pause stirred in the office for a little while longer, until Fixit answered...

"I don't know, exactly, but..." He paused until he spoke up again, "It's likely... That as long as Garp is a marine, then he must accept the fact that his grandson is a pirate and will die as such."

"I don't believe it!" Scorcher threw his hands up in the air in disbelief, "The boy's grandpa is allowing it! What a bunch of bullshit!"

"Garp is known for being a hero of the marines," Seventy tapped his finger against the metal covering his chin, "But I don't think he'd want this to happen to his own family..."

"Leave," Beau-Pére commanded, walking back to his desk. "Now."

"Sir?" Fixit queried, only to get a glimpse of Beau-Pére's furious expression.

"Leave. Now."

"Yessir!" The men saluted and got the hell out of there, so to speak. The commander was alone at the desk, looking at the transponder snail that was there.

"I want answers," He murmured, "One way or another, I will have them."

XXX

In the detention center...

Luffy stayed seated on the bench while an illusion of his brother, Ace, leaned against the bars of the cell. The latter had brought the hat down a little, covering his eyes and his expression.

"You're not him," The former captain glared at his hallucination, even shaking his head in denial. "You're not real."

"That really hurts, bro," Ace lifted his hat up slightly, "I'm real enough, at least, for you."

"Okay, listen!" Luffy huffed in a mixture of annoyance and anger, "I've told off my crew, I left them, I even said that 'I would never forgive them!' What more do you want from me?!"

The only answer Luffy got was his imaginary brother's silence, as his face looked uninterested.

"Answer my question! I said-"

"It's really simple, bro," Ace interrupted, imprinting an unsettling grin on his face. "You haven't suffered enough."

Luffy gasped, disturbed by Ace's expression and his insinuation.

"W-What do you mean?! I-I'm not hurting at all! I-I-I'm not s-sorry for l-leaving them at all!"

"Heh-heh-heh," His brother chuckled, "You're still a terrible liar, Luffy. Only a failure of a pirate could suck so bad."

"T-That's..." Luffy couldn't retort that statement, not after what he told Beau-Pére. "...I am a failure," He sighed, "I don't need you to tell me that."

"I'm sure you don't, but that's what memories are for, eh?"

"Memories?"

"You went on and on about how you wanted to be a pirate, 'cause it was your destiny and purpose and all that crap. But you don't really deserve to be a pirate, do you?"

The look on Luffy's face darkened when the hallucination dared to say something like that. He gritted his teeth and snarled, "What did you just say...?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, bro," Ace shrugged, "You know it's true. You were such a pain in the ass, everyone you touch gets it rough. With how many people you hurt, it's no wonder your 'friends' are glad to see you go."

"Shut up!" The former captain roared, "That's not right! You're wrong! I know you're wrong!"

"...Really?" Ace quirked an eyebrow, tilting his head with a slasher smile. "Something tells me ole 'Red-Haired' Shanks probably holds a certain incident against you."

"S-Shanks?" Luffy's mind quickly ran like clockwork, bringing him back to an incident.

XXX

"I-It's going to eat me! HELP!"

A young Luffy was struggling to keep himself afloat as a giant Sea King, the Lord of the Coast, was poised to swallow the morsel before him.

'This is it...!' Luffy thought, 'I'm going to die!'

"UWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" The boy screamed, bracing for the worst.

The Sea King snapped his jaws shut, tasting flesh in his teeth. He looked down, but much to his surprise, there was another human, older and with red hair, and he was holding the boy close to him.

"Get lost..." Red-Haired Shanks growled, his eyes staring down the giant beast. After a quick moment, the Lord of the Coast's whole being shivered with fright. He swam away, retreating to the ocean beyond.

Luffy sniffled, trying hard not to let his eyes water. However, he couldn't stop himself from the act.

"Makino told me what happened, Luffy," The pirate said softly, smiling. "That was dangerous and brave. Thank you for sticking up for me and my crew. Hey, don't cry. You're a man now."

"B-But, S-Shanks...!" Luffy cried. "Y-Your arm..."

"YOUR ARM!" Shanks held onto Luffy with his right arm as the young boy hugged Shanks, sobbing. There was no trace of a left arm on Shank's body, for it was torn clean off by the sea king.

"It's only one arm," The red-haired pirate said. "I've still got another one here. All that matters is you're safe." Luffy continued to cry into his shirt. They both remained together in the sea for what felt like hours until they got back to dry land.

XXX

"Shanks..." Luffy whispered as the memories began to play in full swing, "H-His arm... I-It's my fault that his arm..."

"That's right," Ace nodded his head, "He wouldn't have gotten it torn off if you didn't try and defend his so-called honor from the bandits that put you in that mess."

"N-No...!" Luffy shook his head in denial, "No, that's wrong! I didn't know that Sea King was going to show up! I didn't expect Shanks to lose an arm for me!"

"Even if you didn't cause his arm to get torn off, you may as well be guilty of that," A female voice uttered in disdain, catching the former captain off-guard.

"A-Ashley?!" He exclaimed, "Oh god, not another one!"

"You weren't expecting me to take part in this?" Ashley approached him, menacingly clutching her double-edged axe. "Then you must've forgotten all about me."

"Y-You've made your point! Just leave me alone and uh, g-go chop some wood on a stump or some-"

"Luffy, just shut up," Ashley seethed, bringing the broad side of the axe down on Luffy's head, slamming him into the stone floor.

"UGH!" The impact wasn't enough to make him bleed, but it didn't change how much it hurt. Luffy tried to pick himself up since his hands were bound behind him. "Y-You're not real... That shouldn't have... Hurt me..."

"Oh, it's real enough," The axe bearer wickedly grinned, "The pain in your mind, it's starting to run its course on you. You know what happens then, right?"

"I-I heard it from that creepy runt. I know what's gonna happen next, but I won't say it!"

"Oh?" Ace gasped in fake surprise, "You won't ask for death? You won't wish to die?"

"Never!" Luffy proclaimed, "Even though I want nothing to do with those guys for what they did, I still don't want to die! I still have things to live for!"

"Really?" Ashley questioned, "But didn't you just say to your friends that nothing matters to you anymore?"

"T-That's..."

"And you were so sure you'd be king, little bro," Ace pointed out, rushing to grab Luffy by the neck and slamming him to the cold bars of the cell. He lit up the index finger on his free hand, holding it in Luffy's face. "But you've had doubts before you even had a crew. You doubted that you could do it."

"Shut up, just shut up!" Luffy shouted, shaking his head and closing his eyes. "This is just a dream, this is just a dream!"

Ace threw Luffy to the stone wall, annoyed with him. But his grin returned as the white in his eyes turned black and his pupils went red.

"This isn't a dream this time," He coldly said, letting fire run along his exposed muscles. "But don't worry, we'll fix that. Won't we, Ashley?"

"Oh yes," Ashley replied, lifting the axe on her shoulder. Suddenly, blood began to pour from her head, her eyes, and her nostrils. A few strands of her orange hair fall, her clothes began to develop tears, and her face became completely white as the crimson blood turned black. "Lights out, for now, dumbass trash. Hold still."

Luffy had tried to dodge the broad side of her axe, the keywords being tried and dodge, but he was smacked in the face. His head hit the stone behind him, and he began to slip into unconsciousness.

XXX

Luffy groaned as he woke up to the world around him. It was pitch black, save for the lantern that was floating above him. The only surrounding he could see was the stone floor his knees were on. He also noticed his arms were still cuffed together.

"What, I can't do what I want in my dream?" He scoffed, looking around him. "Is anyone out there?"

"Right here, kid," A large, rotund man appeared behind him. He had black facial hair that went along his jaw, his nose was a little long, and he had missing teeth. He was wearing a black bandana, an open white shirt, green pants that have black line patterns, a yellow sash tied to his waist, and black boots.

"Y-You?!" Luffy questioned in shock, "You're the guy from Mock Town! The one who kept wanting cherry pies!"

"Ze-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!" The cherry pie man laughed, "That's right!"

"Well, get me outta here!" The former captain demanded, motioning to his cuffs.

"Whoa, now, Straw Hat! I can't let you leave! You'll miss the show!"

"The show? I don't get what you're talking about, but I don't much care! Let me go!"

"Dreamers like you wanted to be the Pirate King, yeah? But now you're giving up, all because your feelings got hurt. Because they lied to you."

The fat man tried to stifle his laughter, but he then let it all out and uproariously laughed in Luffy's face.

"ZE-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"W-What's so funny?!" Luffy's face started to turn red from a mix of embarrassment and ire. He only calmed down when the black-bearded man explained himself.

"Don't you get it, boy? Your crew is also pirates! They lie, steal, and cheat! They murder, rape, pillage, and plunder! That's all pirates are known for! That's what we all are!"

"N-NO!" Luffy shouted, "We're adventurers! We don't do that!"

"You're sticking up for guys like us? I thought that didn't matter to you? Unless you're being a hypocrite?"

Luffy scowled at his would-be teacher.

"Well," The big man continued, "Whether you're a hypocrite or not, I don't think that matters anymore. You're no longer a pirate, so you don't get a say in this. But I suppose you would never be cut out for this life."

"What?!"

"If you really wanted to get to the One Piece and be the Pirate King, which is really important, then you would have to give up something that's also important. But you wouldn't have the stomach for that."

"Yes, I would!"

"Oh, really? Ze-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!"

"I bet you I can still be the Pirate King!"

"Well, once you see the reality in front of you, I think you'd want to reconsider."

A rope appeared right next to the black-bearded man, and he began to tug it with an arm. With his free hand, he grabbed Luffy and made him stand up.

"Look all around you, boy," He said while the black space was flooded with light, revealing something the boy did not expect.

Before him, there was an audience of people, a crowd that has gathered to see a true spectacle. Across from them was an execution platform, not unlike the one Gold Roger was executed on. But there were other people on that platform. More specifically...

"M-My... Crew...!" Luffy gasped, floored by what he was seeing. His crew, the group he came to know each had a black hood draped over their heads.

Suddenly, the execution platform was lowered and flames erupted from beneath the ground. A red wave of lava swallowed the crew whole and it was all over.

"No! NO!" Luffy screamed, seeing a grizzly scene unfold.

"If wealth and fame are what you want," The large pirate stated, "Then you have to give up everything! Your family, your friends, your resources, everything!"

"Give them back to me!" Luffy tried to attack the large man, but it was futile. He got dropped easily and was preemptively stomped on.

"Now you want your friends back?" The big man pondered aloud, "Didn't you say that you wanted to give up everything to be the Pirate King?"

"N-No!" The former captain denied, "I never said that!"

"Yes, you did. You responded with a yes. You knew the risks of that, didn't you?"

"You tricked me into saying it, you bastard!"

"Still a naive child, Luffy?" A familiar voice remarked, making the young boy gasp.

"Shanks?!" Luffy looked to his left and saw the red-haired pirate, missing an arm. "Oh, god...!"

"I risked my life for you, Luffy," Shanks growled, "But you gave up on your dream, and you broke a promise that you made to me."

"W-Wait, Shanks! I never meant to get you hurt all those years ago! I'm sorry!"

"NO, YOU'RE NOT. YOU'RE A WASTE OF LIFE."

"You truly are a disgrace, Luffy," Another person bitterly remarked, "I can't believe my son brought you into this world."

Luffy looked to his right, seeing his grandfather, Garp, looking down on him.

"G-Gramps..." He looked at the old man, "I-I never meant for any of this to happen."

"None of this would have occurred," Garp stated, "If you decided to be a marine instead of a pirate. Because there are no happy endings in this kind of life."

"B-But you'd be able to live free!" Luffy argued, "You'd have a fun and good life! Every day could be an adventure that didn't have to end!"

"An adventure?" The black-bearded man questioned, "Ze-Ha-Ha-Ha! This isn't a game of pretend! This is serious business! People either live or die, killing each other for their own agendas! You don't understand that! That's why you could never be a good pirate like him!"

"He's right, Luffy," Shanks somberly whispered, "You gave up so quickly. You don't have what it takes."

"No, I still can do this!" Luffy persisted, attempting to get up. "I can still-"

"You had your chance, grandson," Garp told the boy, quickly punching him in his face into Ashley, who just appeared out of nowhere.

"And now, you're going to die!" She spat, holding him down and bringing him to his knees. "It's already set in. How much of a pathetic fool you are, I mean. Only now, you'll begin to beg for death."

"No, I can't give up!" The former captain struggled, stopping to see Ace and Sabo, the latter standing on a barrel, holding two nagitana, long poles with curved blades. "Ace?! Sabo?!"

"Welp, guess it had to end one way or another," Sabo murmured, eying the weapon.

"Yeah," Ace concurred, "What a pity, though."

"Guys, please don't do this!"

"The age where pirates dream never ends," The fat man sinisterly smiled, "But for you, it's the end."

"Stop it, please!" Luffy kept begging, close to crying. "Don't do this!"

"At least die like a man, idiot grandson," Garp growled, crossing his arms. "Any D. would face his end with a smile."

"I don't want to die right now! I still have things to live for!"

"No, you don't," Ashley hissed, "Stop trying to deny it."

"Ace! Shanks! Gramps! Anyone! You have to help me!"

"Goodbye, son of a devil," Shanks turned around, not bothering to look at Luffy's coming demise.

"PLEASE!"

With sadistic grins plastered over them, Ace and Sabo raised up the nagitana and brought them down on top of Luffy's neck.

XXX

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Luffy woke up, sweating on his face and panting profusely. He looked around, seeing nothing but bars.

"Oh, god," He muttered, "It was all a dream."

He had his chance to breathe, acting as calm as possible.

"Even so, several points were made..."

Luffy jolted up, hearing another voice in his head. The loudest voice in his head.

"I-Is that...?" He gasped in horror, "M-My voice...?"

"It's all our fault."

"W-What?"

"We caused Nami to consider us as tools."

"I-I did?"

"We drove Usopp to leave during that incident at Water 7. We are guilty of the death of the Going Merry."

"W-What is...? Oh, no..."

It immediately dawned on Luffy what was going on. What Henley had alluded to, what the Ashley and Ace in his mind foreshadowed. It was this moment where Luffy would no longer have the will to live.

"We forced Zoro to damage his own body," The other Luffy continued, "Our idiocy drove our friends to lie to us."

"No," Luffy shook his head, "No, it's not...! It's not...!"

"True?" The other Luffy questioned, "But it is. Like it's our fault Sabo died. That Ashley's parents died and led to Ashley's attempt to murder us."

"I know what you're doing to me," Luffy bit his lip, "But you have to stop. Some of it is my fault, but that doesn't mean-"

"It's our fault that Shanks lost his arm."

"Stop reminding me of that! I know it is, and I'm sorry!" Luffy's tears started streaming again and he couldn't hold back any longer. "I know that I can never a great pirate, let alone a Pirate King. But..."

He looked out the window of his cell. There was no moon to see. The island, perhaps the entire Grand Line, was in the blackest night yet.

"But still... I want to live... I want to see the sun. Please leave me alone...!"

"Never," The other voice spoke using Luffy's mouth, "We deserve death and you know it."

"Stop it! Get out of my head!"

Luffy started going back and forth with himself, arguing with himself left and right. His mind was split in half, one side fighting for control.

"I don't deserve to have any peace!"

"Yes, I do!"

"I want to die!"

"But I want to live!"

"I wanted to be away from my so-called friends! I wanted to be alone!"

"So did I! But I didn't want to ask to die!"

"We might as well! If we keep going on like this, someone important to us will die! It's happened before, it'll happen again!"

"We can still go on! We can go on like nothing bad ever happened!'

"NO! I don't want that! I don't trust myself enough to do that!"

"I can trust myself!"

Luffy stopped, staring out into blank space with his eyes masked by shadows and by his jet black hair.

"Like you trusted them?"

Luffy screeched, thrashing about inside his cell, hitting the bars while clashing with someone invisible. He has become irrational, mad, and this time, no one was around to help him.

"No one asked you to be in charge of what I do!" He yelled.

"No one asked you to run their lives!"

"It hurts all over! But pain is a part of life!"

"LIFE IS PAIN! It would be better for everyone if we didn't exist at all!"

"That's wrong!"

"Well, I don't care anymore! I don't care about my dream! I don't even wanna with anyone!"

"I don't wanna go on!"

"I've caused too much trouble for everyone!"

"I'm a stain on their lives!"

"I JUST WANNA DIE!" He roars for the final time, his torn psyche worn out, resulting in the negative side winning.

Luffy bawls like a lost child, driven to the brink of his state of mind. Then, he does something completely unexpected.

He runs to the cell door and rams it with his head. The pain would have been enough to discourage him further, but it did not register to him. In fact, the pain never did. It's almost as if some part of his nervous system quit, making him unable to feel pain.

Because of that, Luffy continued to run to the bars, this time stopping short from running into them. He proceeds to slam his head against them. The pain doesn't register.

He does it again.

Nothing.

He starts doing it over and over again, showing no sign of stopping until he does.

His head told him that it was enough, so he stepped backward. He slinked back to his seat and brought his head down, tears continuing to fall ever still.

This night, Straw Hat Luffy was at his lowest.

This night, no one is around to comfort him.

Even if there was someone, how could they?

He had no one left to depend on.

He had nothing left.

His belief that everything would be okay, Gone.

His Dream, Nonexistent.

His Trust, In Ruins.

His Faith, Broken.

His Love, Stomped On.

Monkey D. Luffy was...

SHATTERED.

TO BE CONTINUED...