RIAEVANS: Thank you!

phoenix: Yeah, the Whitebeards won't let anyone hurt their new babies.

This chapter is another turning point in the story. I've started posting a couple new stories since the last chapter, so it'd be appreciated if you go check them out. Those of you like me who are still in this semester, only a little longer to go! Enjoy~

Luffy napped on the bed, brothers in their room with Sabo sitting at the desk and Ace doing his homework Sabo gave him on learning to write and read. He traced letters with a pencil. Tyler from the third division had come and told them to stay inside during the fight. The ship hadn't moved at all, making them think that the fight had been on the other ship and not the Moby Dick.

The youngest snored quietly, on his bed under the sheets with his hands next to his head on the pillow. Both older ones heard the whimper and turned on the lamps and woke Luffy before he could have a full blown nightmare.

"Lu, you're safe," Ace said with a soft voice. Luffy's face turned red. He almost apologized before Sabo pressed a finger to his lips.

"Remember? No apologies allowed," he said in a stern but kind voice. Luffy nodded. Sabo had told him no more apologies the last time he had a nightmare. The two boys hadn't been surprised when Luffy's powers stretched to the door and covered it in the thick black wall. It was no problem. With this room, they had their own bathroom so did not need to leave the room for any reason other than food or being bored inside.

"Luffy, when did you decide you wanted to get rid of your face tattoo?" Sabo asked curiously.

"When I asked," Luffy replied simply. "I only just thought about it."

"It'd be strange to see you without it," Ace commented, Sabo agreeing with a nod.

"Well, I didn't choose it. All the pirates chose their jolly roger tattoos," Luffy said. "I'd want a tattoo I choose. I thought it was cause I ate the demon fruit, but I didn't eat a demon fruit so they just tattooed it to try and look creepy. I know it makes me look creepy," he said sadly, usually would have curled up if it weren't for his burn.

"Well, the tattoo did do the trick for the first sight, but the pirates and we don't care about it anymore. But if you want to get rid of it, it's your choice after all. No one can stop you," Sabo replied. He ruffled Luffy's hair. "There's nothing you can do about how dark your eyes are, but that doesn't matter much. But, be prepared for everyone to call you cute once the tattoo is removed."

"Cute is much better than creepy," the youngest said back. Ace chuckled.

"Good point."

Once the fight was over, Haruta came to tell them. The wall on the door had disappeared once Luffy woke up, not even seeming to notice it return to his body. Luffy had been practicing tracing words with Ace while Sabo was reading at the desk. It was relaxing, just to be doing something productive in the quiet.

Sabo had learned to read before he teamed up with Ace at their old home, both homeless and needing to steal to survive. Ace's background was different than Sabo's, but they still were best friends that decided to be brothers before Luffy found them.

Luffy and Ace had not learned to read or write. Ace had no one to teach him, and those who controlled Luffy hadn't deemed them important skills to learn, clearly thinking they'd have the boy the rest of his life or until he died. They could recognize low numbers, but that was it.

Haruta knocked on the door gently, and Sabo got up to open it. "Fight is over. A few people are injured, but not too badly. We're throwing a party tonight. Haven't done one in awhile, too long," the short commander explained. They noticed he seemed angry under the surface.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Luffy asked in concern. Haruta gave him a smile.

"The enemy just said some annoying things, that's all," the commander replied. "So, you can come out now, if you wish." The boys looked at each other, sharing a look they could each decipher.

"We're gonna stay in here for a bit longer," Sabo said. "We were just relaxing in the quiet." Haruta gave them a smile, and left, closing the door gently behind him with a soft click. The two black haired children went back to being on the floor and now copying the letters they'd traced. They would have been doing this much sooner, but Luffy just didn't have the attention span after what happened and Ace and Sabo were taking care of him and giving all their attention on him. Plus, Ace wanted to learn along with Luffy, not having the youngest being behind and rushing to catch up.

"Ace, Sabo? When do you think I'll be better?" Luffy suddenly asked, barely touching the wound on his stomach absentmindedly, trying to ignore the stab of pain it brought. Ace and Sabo shared a look from across the room.

"Well, the burn will take awhile to heal, and you're going to be upset and startled easily for awhile, probably, too," Sabo answered honestly. Rarely did they ever lie to Luffy. They strived their best to not to anymore.

Luffy deflated. "Do you think they'll kick us off when I got better?"

Ace spoke next. "I'm not sure what they're planning in the long run, but they've made it clear that they at least want us here until you're doing better. Sabo and I lived on our own before we met you, so we could probably live on our own and be just fine if we hunt for our food somewhere."

"So, we'll have to leave eventually?" Luffy asked in a small voice.

"I assume so. They're pirates, they might not want the responsibility of children," Sabo replied.

"But we can protect ourselves!" Luffy exclaimed. Ace was quiet, watching Luffy's reactions. It was clear Luffy did not want to leave. Ace could see why. This place was his second home, temporary or not, after living in a bad place that made him do bad things.

Sabo raised his hands in a peaceful way. "I know that. After you're better we can ask. We're not leaving anytime soon anyways." Luffy pouted, before deflating again and returning to his paper, though his face was looking a bit miserable.

Ace remembered Whitebeard's words. They could stay as long as they'd like. Did that mean they were offered to stay with them indefinitely? Ace couldn't help the feeling of excitement and happiness in his chest from the thought. But, he wouldn't get Luffy's hopes up. Maybe, Ace would be brave and ask one of the commanders. If they said yes, Ace could ease Luffy's worries. If they said no, then Ace would be prepared and there to comfort Luffy.

The freckled child couldn't tell if Sabo wanted to stay. He got along well with the others, but not as much as Ace and Luffy. With Luffy charming everyone and having them feel they needed to help him after what had happened, and Ace's outburst/speech, they were treated differently than Sabo.

Everyone did their best to help Luffy emotionally, pirates and brothers alike. Sabo hadn't had anything special happen with him so far. But, Sabo didn't seem especially bothered by it. When they lived together prior to meeting Luffy, Ace was always the one catching attention, getting into arguments with adults. Sabo was always the placating one, cleaning up Ace's messes. He was naturally the most responsible. Maybe the pirates saw this and that was why they treated the blonde older than the other two, despite Ace being the oldest of the three.

Being at that place changed them a lot, but Sabo being more mature than Ace would always be a constant. Ace was pretty sure of that. Ace couldn't be more grateful for Marco taking them away from that place and being the catalyst to Luffy's change of heart. That change showed a lot to the brothers with Luffy wishing to remove the tattoo.

It had never bothered him before, since he didn't remember never having it, but now he wanted to put everything behind him and get rid of the thing that reminded him of his past every time he saw his own face. It was actually surprising, now that he thought about it, that Luffy hadn't commented on it before now.

The three spent a long time in their room in comfortable silence, all lost in their own thoughts. By the time mid-afternoon came, Marco had come down to check on them. He knocked on the door softly, but loud enough for the boys to hear. When Marco said it was him, Sabo got up and opened the door for him, even though it wasn't locked and Luffy hadn't blocked it off.

"Are you three okay?" Marco asked in concern. The boys nodded.

"Just wanted some peace and quiet. Ace and Luffy are doing homework and I was writing some stuff." Sabo had always wanted to write books, so on the pieces of paper he had, he was jotting down things about life with Luffy and now the pirates. Just bullet points, and there were a lot. Some day he could write a book maybe, if they didn't end up staying on the ship. He didn't mind staying, but would still wish to publish a book.

"You mean Luffy and Ace's learning to read and write?" Sabo nodded. Luffy held up his newest sheet of paper, uppercase and lowercase letters traced neatly. He picked up Ace's to show his progress as well. The handwriting between the two were completely different.

"Good job," Marco said, looking at the letters. Luffy smiled, and Ace huffed in embarrassment. "You know, if you need it, some of those on our crew would be happy to help accelerate the teaching.

"No, Sabo will teach us," Luffy said, shooting down Marco's offer. He didn't take it personally and just said okay.

"Well, the enemies are long gone and we'll be at the island tomorrow. It'll be busy, and you won't be in the infirmary this time, so you can help us take the crates off the ship if you'd like. Ace, and Sabo, so Luffy won't aggravate his wounds. Dinner will be soon.

"Luffy, do you really want to get rid of the tattoo?" he asked, changing the subject quickly. Luffy nodded. "Izo does the tattooing, so you should talk to him directly about it. Removing tattoos takes quite some time, but you'll be here awhile, so it should be fine."

The boys hadn't talked to Izo in awhile. Besides him giving them new clothes with the Whitebeard symbol stitched on, even on clothes they didn't wear anywhere other than the ship. After the first outing, on the second stop at the island they never saw from the infirmary, Izo had bought more fabric for the youngest. The stars and polka dotted shirts didn't match well with the jolly roger sewed on, but there was no argument about including the symbols.

"Marco? Do you know when I'll get better?" Luffy asked suddenly when Marco was about to leave.

"You mean the trauma?" Marco asked, closing the bedroom door behind him for privacy. Luffy nodded. "It may take a few weeks, it may take a few years or it could stay with you for a very long time and you have to work around it," he said, not sugarcoating it. Luffy's face fell, like he was expecting that answer but was unhappy he was given it. Luffy had a feeling it would take a long time, but he didn't want it to be for forever.

"You've been healing at a remarkable rate, trusting others and depending on people who aren't your brothers. No one can know this early," the phoenix zoan added.

"But I can't even be around people I don't know," Luffy pointed out. "I had to run from Jinbei cause I didn't know him."

Marco crouched in front of the chair Luffy was sitting in. "Everyone heals at different rates. There are some people who have never gone through trauma that can't even leave their houses. And you're going to go off the Moby Dick tomorrow out of choice. What you should not do is force yourself to do things you know you can't. Push yourself, but don't over do it."

"When do I know I'm overdoing it?" Luffy wondered. Was going to see jinbei overdoing it?

"You are overdoing it when you make yourself go backwards in progress. Overdoing it for you would be pushing yourself so hard that you give yourself panic attacks," Marco replied. "Your panic attacks have dwindled down very much, and we don't want them to come back too much."

Luffy moped. "I had a bad dream today," he confessed.

"You can't control what you dream about. Do you remember what it was? Maybe writing it down would help. Or writing it down with a happy ending."

Luffy shook his head. "Ace and Sabo woke me up before it got too bad." Marco smiled.

"What did I tell you about family helping you heal?" Luffy grinned.

"I believed you," the youngest pointed out. "I love Ace and Sabo."

"As well you should. All three of you deserve to be loved."

Five hours later, all three boys were getting ready for bed, changing into their pjs and brushing their teeth before Luffy got onto the bed and his brothers flopped down next to him. "Sleep tight, Lu," Sabo said, Luffy giving him a smile and nodding. He wished he didn't need to sleep on his back anymore, but he was going to do everything Whiskey told him to. He wanted to get better physically and emotionally.

Luffy woke to his brothers sitting on either side of him, having been saved from a bad dream. He looked around frantically before realizing he was safe and with his brothers. The warm lamp light was on and Luffy knew he was in their new bedroom.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ace asked quietly, moving a lock of hair out of Luffy's adorable face. Luffy shook his head, and both of his brothers accepted it, and the three went back to bed, Luffy holding both of their hands. Sometimes during the night, the door opened silently, not a creak this time.

For the second time that night, Luffy woke up, but not from a bad dream. Something felt off and when he woke up, he found neither brother next to him. He assumed they were in the bathroom, but it made him uneasy.

The room felt colder, but the porthole window wasn't open, so the cool air didn't come from outside. The thought didn't linger in Luffy's mind, still hazy from sleep. "Ace, Sabo?" Luffy called, getting off of the bed and standing to go look for his brothers.

Standing in the bathroom doorway, he turned on the light but neither were in there. He grew worried, but told himself it was irrational to be worried. They were safe, and besides, Ace and Sabo were strong. But, they also wouldn't just leave Luffy to sleep on his own anymore. He had no doubt about that, but they had left him.

Growing scared, Luffy hurried to the bedroom door to try and find his brothers in the galley. But, the door was locked. He jiggled the handle, but it didn't open. There was no lock on this door, but the door also opened inwards, so was someone holding the door shut on the other side?

"Hello?!" Luffy shouted. There was no response and he was now very scared and uneasy. He was able to stab the door with his power enoug time to make it into just a pile of broken wood. He would get in trouble for that, probably, but he was on the verge of a panic attack.

Hurrying down the halls, he expected someone to be there, but it was so quiet and he passed no one in the halls. He banged on bedroom doors, ones he didn't know anyone who slept in it, trying to find anyone but no one answered. He resulted to breaking down doors, but every single bed was empty. Even Whitebeard's room was empty after he blew out the door, not caring about causing damage anymore.

No one was here, and he began to breathe heavily, panicking and his heart was beating a mile a minute. He could hear it in his ears and feel the pounding of it in his head. He heard a creepy creaking noise and saw a shadow at the end of the table, big and fat. Luffy ran back to his bedroom, and covered the doorway in his power now that the door was gone and unable to be closed, or even locked in the first place.

Hiding under the covers was the only thing he could think of to try and calm himself. It just made it worse when the shadow was over his bed. He whimpered but was afraid to look outside of the blankets. He missed his old, strong self for a moment, but the thought faded quickly when the sheets were ripped away.

Teach loomed over him, grinning like a mad man and he had a much longer blade this time, covered in red. Dripping. Luffy had found no dead bodies anywhere, but the blade was definitely covered in blood. It dripped onto his shirt and soaked through. Luffy tried to spike Teach in his panic, but it was also like Teach ate a logia fruit as the spikes went right through him without doing a thing.

More and more spikes burst from Luffy's body and decimated the area, trying to get Teach to get away, before he ignored the spikes, moving his arm through them like smoke, and sunk the blade into his stomach all the way through, stabbing into the bed as well, before he pulled it out and repeatedly stabbed through Luffy, deep enough that he felt the exit wounds out of his back.

Screams tore from his throat as blood sprayed around him, soaking the bed in it. It hurt so bad that his surroundings faded and all he knew was pain and unfamiliar laughter. His brothers weren't there to help. He worried that they were dead, or had ditched him.

Logic didn't reach him, like how Teach had already died, or that the entire crew couldn't have just left Luffy on the ship. Someone would have to stay behind. And someone should have heard him by now. He continued to scream as his organs were destroyed into mush, but he didn't die. The pain continued, and he wished he was dead.

Ace and Sabo both woke to a bloodcurdling scream right next to their ears, snapping up and ready to wake Luffy, until black spikes destroyed the bed above and below the boy. Ace and Sabo scrambled off of the bed to get out of the way of the spikes. Both dived down, but more and more spikes started shooting out of Luffy's writhing body and splintered into the walls, causing cracking noises all around.

"Ace, into the bathroom!" Sabo screamed and dragged Ace up, both sprinting to the bathroom and into the shower, closing the shower door. Once everything was quiet, besides Luffy whimpering, the two older boys opened the shower door slowly, and made their way out, only to be met with a wall of needles stopped right against the bathroom doorway.

There were wood chips all on the floor from the ruined walls. There was no water, though, meaning the spikes hadn't gone through the side of the ship. They weren't going to flood, thankfully. "Sabo, what do we do?" Ace asked in a hush, not wanting to startle Luffy and have the spikes stretch more and impale both older boys.

"The commanders have to have heard all of that. Marco should come, he can get to Luffy safely."

"What about Luffy's fruit?"

"He doesn't have that power, at least not yet. His spikes won't cancel out Marco's. They only put out yours cause they suffocate and take all the oxygen out. Fire needs oxygen."

"I don't need a science lesson!" Ace hissed. "We have to help Luffy wake up." Sabo's cheeks grew red, embarrassed.

"We have to wait for the commanders to get here. I don't want to be spiked by Luffy," Sabo replied.

"What about my fruit? I'm made of fire, I should be fine to go through right?" He had forgotten about his fruit in the sudden panic, thinking he'd be skewered. But, Luffy didn't know haki, so Ace should be fine.

Sabo grabbed his sleeve. "You don't know how to change into fire and go through the space," the blonde reminded his brother. Ace cursed, knowing Sabo was right. He couldn't control the tangibility of his body yet. They needed to wait for Marco to come. As desperately as they wanted to wake their somehow still sleeping brother, they didn't want his power to react to the sudden noise.