RIAEVANS: You're welcome.

phoenix: Indeed.

Marco walked through the ship to go to find a very heavy book, finding an encyclopedia in the library and putting the little flowers inside, weighing the book down by sitting a second book on top. The first mate couldn't help but be angry.

How could anyone manipulate a child who was deep down like this, into a killing machine? It was sick. If it was an adult, it was bad enough, but Luffy had been raised to be a weapon up until he was eight years old. It was sickening and Marco wished he could go back in time and make everyone at that place suffer.

He walked straight to the kitchen, where Thatch was washing the containers and utensils at the picnic. He looked up at his best friend and brother. "Thatch, we need to go someplace private," Marco said in a clipped voice. Thatch worried he was in trouble about something, but agreed and followed Marco into the strorage room away from bedrooms or recreational rooms.

"What's wrong, buddy?" the chef asked nervously.

"How the fuck could anyone manipulate Luffy into a killing machine?! How could he think he was so broken? How could a little boy who picked us flowers ever fall into peoples' hands like that?! How could they damage him?! Who would do that?! I want to go back and kill them, torture them for doing that!" he ranted and raved.

Thatch frowned, becoming angry, too.

"When I was at that place, the boss, whatever the fuck-head's name was, told Luffy I was going to hurt his brothers. Caused him genuine distress and anger just to make me upset. Then, he took Ace in and said that, if I didn't call Pops, he'd kill Ace and leave him for me to look at and feel guilty," Marco growled. "It's not just Luffy that's damaged."

Thatch was furious that any child would be treated like that, both Luffy and Ace's stories. "They brainwashed Luffy. He thought they cared about his brothers because he did. They were only there because Luffy would have killed anyone who hurt them. They were like, like, pet brothers!" Marco actually punched the wall, leaving a hole. Thatch was shocked, never, ever seeing Marco like this.

When Teach betrayed, Marco was pissed, but he wasn't like this. Thatch felt almost unsafe in the room with him like this. But, he needed to be calmed down.

"That's why we're here, to help them," he said softly, hoping it would rub off on Marco. It just made him angrier.

"Oh, yeah and we're doing a great job! One murder attempt and our head nurse telling Luffy that, as a psychopath, he couldn't be fixed! We're making things worse! On the surface, we're doing them well, but we keep FUCKING UP!" Marco ranted, flaring up into his blue flames.

Thatch put his hands up. "Marco, calm down. You won't think straight being this angry. Don't destroy more of the room," the chef said, a bit sternly but also softly. "What Teach did was not us, it was a defected 'brother' who would betray us with or without finding Luffy. I can't speak for Whiskey. I really can't, I don't know how she could be so tactless to him."

"Thatch, I want them to stay, but I'm worried we'll just make things worse. I really like all three, but those on our crew have hurt Luffy. And by default, hurt his brothers as well," Marco stressed. He adored them, and wanted to help, but was feeling doubt about their ability to do so. No one had even been in this situation on their ship before.

"And they could choose to stay. They've forgiven us for Teach, and Luffy forgave Whiskey, though I don't think Ace or Sabo have. We gave them a home. He wrecked one of our bedrooms from a nightmare and we gave him another one and are trying to help him overcome his trauma. We're doing the right thing, we've just had two major slip ups," the chef said. He put his hand on Marco's shoulder, grounding him.

"Do you want to risk doing some harm to someone? Snapping and hurting feelings, or losing control?" Marco shook his head. "Then take nice deep breaths. In through the nose and out through the mouth." The first mate slowly calmed down, and sighed after looking at the hole he'd put in the wall.

He was able to stick his fist inside, and the wood had cracked around it. "Fossa's gonna be mad and everyone else is gonna make fun of me," Marco mumbled.

Thatch wrapped his arm around Marco's shoulders. "Probably. Right now, you need a drink." Marco agreed, though he was unable to get as drunk as his brothers. But, alcohol calmed him sometimes. So, he and Thatch went to the lounge, more like a bar now since Luffy came.

Marco downed three shots of hard alcohol before he finally calmed down. "I wish we had found them sooner," Marco said in a sad voice. Also quiet, as there were other pirates drinking in the large room, but left the two commanders alone to talk.

"You mean you wish Luffy had kidnapped you sooner?" Thatch teased. It didn't help.

"If that's what it took to find them, then yeah," the phoenix replied. "We may be pirates, and people may say we're evil, but those people were truly evil. I will never forgive or forget what they've done to these children." Thatch pat his back.

"I agree," was the chef's response. He didn't drink anything as he would be affected unlike his brother. The two sat in silence for awhile, in their own, negative thoughts. Marco blamed himself for not finding them, even though he knew that was irrational. At least the marines weren't the ones to discover Luffy. They would have killed him after they learned he'd killed marines in his long time of commiting murder because of what other people wanted.

Marco wondered if Luffy really did leave no survivors on his jobs. Izo was the only one who witnessed his power to use his fruit to kill, and he described it as vicious, but it seemed like Luffy had no fun in it. Marco was adamantly against Whiskey's loose diagnosis as Luffy being a psychopath.

He read up on that damn word in the books in the infirmary. The old Luffy may have fit, but unless the boy is as skilled at fakery as he is at his devil fruit, then he was no longer classified as a psychopath. He changed, and because he was capable of that change, he was not a psychopath.

After Marco had left after the meeting, he knew Whiskey got a very firm talking-to after how she had hurt young Luffy's feelings. Whitebeard may be a fierce emperor, but he respected the feelings of the people he cared about. That's why he never took his jokes at his children too far. Never crossed the line into cruelty. Whiskey really needed to learn to hold her tongue when the moment was not right.

If the head nurse had told Marco and Whitebeard the suspicion before or after the boys were there, then the two men would have told her not to say that in front of, or to, Luffy. But, it was too late for that, and Marco just hoped Luffy's forgiving her was genuine, and not just because he felt he had to.

After talking to Thatch and having some drinks to calm him down, he left to go and alert Fossa to another wall his division needed to fix. They'd bought a ton of wood from the island, which was resting below deck in the storage room for the shipwrights, which was quite large, with everything they'd need to fix the ship.

Only Fossa's division had been alerted about the room's condition, but were not told what had happened. Captain's orders were to not spread around the information that Luffy lost control. It might be detrimental to trust that might drive the boys away before they agreed to join, which still was up in the air. Especially after the Whiskey incident that earned her a firm talking to.

At dinner, Marco was quiet, still a bit upset though he had been calmed down. Thatch handled his anger and ranting well. Pops was watching Marco closely, he didn't need to look to see it. He knew he'd be getting a talking to after dinner.

Luffy watched Marco nervously, and the man realized he'd never returned after Luffy gave him the flower. "I'm sorry I didn't come back out after pressing the flowers. It will take awhile before we can see them completely pressed. I just needed some time to reflect on some things." Luffy looked to Sabo.

"He means he had to think," Sabo said simply. Luffy nodded, but still looked unsure. Marco cursed himself, still angry at the people who hurt Luffy.

"Tami collects flowers in a flower book, where there are descriptions and drawing and everything. I'm sure she'd appreciate it when the flowers are fully pressed," the first mate said. Luffy smiled and looked up. "Okay. I know I crushed them, it was an accident."

"Wait, Luffy gave you flowers?" Haruta questioned. Marco shot him a glance, knowing he would pull a Thatch and shout about how cute it was, and it definitely was cute. He just didn't know what Luffy thought about being called cute.

"Yeah, gave them to Marco and I as a thank you for being nice," Whitebeard said with a grin, taking a drink of his sake. Vista had gone to one of the shops at the island and gotten a sealed plastic bottle, that would only have the liquid inside come out by the drinker biting down on the cap and sucking in. It looked ridiculous for the man, but it was to further keep Luffy safe from the only thing that could scar him. The burn was still bothering him, after all.

Everyone else were used to being confined to the back deck or in the lounge/bar to drink. They adapted much better than having a decided time to drink or not to drink. Damn fools. Luffy ate his large serving of pasta quickly. He ate like a starving person but wasn't left starving at the other place.

"Marco, was Wendy your counselor?" Luffy asked, mouth full of steamed zucchini.

"No, she was not. It was another woman who has left the ship," Marco replied easily. He didn't feel like talking about it, but most of the commanders knew about Marco's past on the crew, even if they didn't know about how he was before joining.

"Oh," was the boy's reply.

"Wendy is much nicer than she was," Marco added. The youngest nodded, saying Thatch told him the same thing. Whitebeard laughed.

"Marie was not the most tactful nurse we've had. Well, was the least tactful one we've had," the captain added when Ace's started to glare. Like the man had not addressed Whiskey's mistake before. "So, Luffy, how did today go? With your injury?"

"I didn't hurt it, and the picnic was fun. And playing cards was fun, too," Luffy explained. Whitebeard grinned.

"That's good to hear. But, we're just getting started," Thatch said, now sitting and eating his own dinner. "We'll do everything to make you feel better physically and mentally. No one wants to be sad all of the time, or scared. I know most of the commanders know how that feels." Luffy looked down the long table to see most of the leaders nodding in agreement.

"Really?" more nods from the commanders.

"One of the most common things that drives men to the sea to become lawless explorers, is not a perfect past. Bad pasts drive people away from where it took place in, y'know? That's almost like a theme on the ship. After we join, Pops says we're reborn as children of the sea," Haruta explained with a grin.

"Reborn? I wish I could be reborn, too," Luffy said, a bit sadly but also thoughtfully. He didn't mean to sound sad about it.

"Luffy, when you decided to change your ways and be 'good', you were already reborn. You don't have to die to be reborn, it mostly means emotionally, or as a person in general, you are reborn when you decide to change for the better," Vista explained.

Luffy beamed, and went back to eating happily. The commanders grinned at Vista, who looked very proud of himself and resumed eating his own meal.

-x-

The next couple of days, the boys stayed on the ship mostly. Luffy played cards until he got uncomfortable, which he would not show. It was only thanks to Ace and Sabo knowing him well enough to sense when he was overwhelmed. Trying too hard would be detrimental, was what Marco had said.

The table was understanding when Sabo made up a lie to get Luffy to leave without feeling bad or embarrassed. His wound had started to heal at a faster pace, and Tami told him it would be gone in a few days. Something had sped up his recovery, and the boys couldn't help but think it was thanks to the friendly atmosphere, that it affected Luffy's physical health and not just mental.

The bath at night approach worked, though Ace and Sabo no longer saw Whiskey as their nurse. She'd lost that when she accused Luffy of being an incurable psychopath. No matter how much Marco apologized for her, saying it was an accident, she would not regain their trust that easily.

She was careless with her words and working with someone who has emotional issues and trauma, you need to be able to speak to them correctly! Every time the three were in the infirmary to get Luffy checked up every day, like usual, the refused to speak or meet with Whiskey.

Luffy didn't fight over it, knowing it would upset Ace and Sabo. Luffy had forgiven her, but didn't really feel the desire to interact with her anymore. Thank goodness there were many nurses who were capable as well. Luffy would feel Whiskey staring at his back, but never turned around. Ace did, however, to administer cold glares.

"Well, because you are seeming to heal more rapidly compared to Whiskey's previous findings, I think that, by the end of the week, Luffy will be running and not just walking. You will also be able to use your powers again fully," Tami explained, giving the kids warm smiles. "Now, all that is left is the trauma to your mind. You won't need to worry about a physical injury."

The boys were happy with the results, and Luffy couldn't wait to play again, sick of having to walk everywhere. The time after being on the ship and before Teach's attack had been nice. Luffy had been able to run around, was not stuck in a single room and was able to do something outside other than the boss's missions.

They left the island three days after docking, heading to the next island on their course to the area farthest from the exit to Paradise since they had already explored everything near the Red Line. When Luffy asked where they were going to go next, Thatch had explained this.

"New adventures await us, boys," Thatch said while the three helped him cook dessert. Luffy was not good at anything but mixing the batter for brownies.

"Like in Sabo's stories?" Luffy wondered as he was very clearly caught sticking a finger in the batter and licking it off, before going back to mixing.

"No eating the batter uncooked, Lu. It has raw egg in it, which can make you sick. Wait until the brownies are cooked," Sabo stressed as he went to the oven to check if it was at the right temperature.

"How d'you know that, Sabo?" Ace asked. "We've never made brownies before." He sounded a bit suspicious.

Sabo went to the counter and picked up along sheet of paper. It had tons of little notes jotted down, and was clearly old. "Thatch has a bunch of notes on here, and I can read, so I did." Luffy and Ace both pouted, wishing they could read better.

"Anyways, yes, Luffy, adventures like stories. We have fun and explore, have parties, meet new people and find new foods," Thatch explained in a grand voice. "It's fun! It'll always be like that if you guys stay."

There it was again. Thatch was not subtle about his wish that the three would stay. Ace and Sabo had a feeling he didn't even notice he was doing it, and when he might have, he wasn't trying to make them uncomfortable. That's the only thing they found kept the discomfort away. The three were still not completely sure, and would not agree to stay or leave until they knew for sure.

Marco walked in after Thatch took the bowl of brownie batter and poured it into the giant pan. Making Luffy giggle, Thatch stood in front of him and blocked his view before handing him the spoon to lick clean.

"Thatch, that's not being a good role model," Marco said dryly, catching Thatch in the act. His face turned surprise.

"What are you talking about, dear Marco?" Thatch asked in fake-confusion while Luffy licked off all of the spoon and then tossed it in the sink. Ace and Sabo noticed and looked at Luffy's guilty face, chocolate smeared all around his mouth.

"Luffy, I said eating that is bad for you," Sabo said irritably. "Thatch, don't give him unhealthy stuff. It said on the notes that raw egg was not good to eat," Ace was stuck between laughing and yelling about endangering his baby brother.

"I eat the batter all the time, and raw cookie dough," Thatch said in an almost bragging voice. Luffy noticed the disapproval on his brothers' faces and his expression fell.

"Sorry, Ace, Sabo. It was yummy so I just ate it," Luffy said with a small voice. Marco glared at Thatch, who looked sheepish. He apologized as well, to the older brothers. After the boys cleaned up the kitchen, and washed the dishes, they left.

Walking down the halls, Luffy apologized again, thinking his brothers were still mad. "Luffy, we're not mad anymore. We weren't mad, but irritated. Thatch isn't really a good role model. He acts like a kid himself."

Ace huffed. "Luffy doesn't need role models, other than us," he grumbled. Sabo chuckled.

"Guess you're right. Good role models for being four years older. Well, don't we all need role models?" Sabo pointed out. Ace balked at this, shooting back that no one was there to be good role models for them.

"What about Whitebeard?" Luffy questioned. He didn't see why Ace was saying these things. He thought that Marco and Whitebeard were good people, and lots of the crew looked up to the captain and commanders. "He's a good guy, taking care of us after I stole Marco from him." Sabo pointedly looked to Ace, who had nothing he could argue. There was no way to disagree with what Luffy said. Ace just didn't like the thought of having to copy anyone or follow in their footsteps.

"Well... I don't know," Ace finally conceded. Luffy frowned.

"They're good people, besides Teach and the mean things Whiskey said about me," Luffy pointed out. Sabo didn't disagree, but Ace scoffed.

"That woman called you something much more hurtful than mean. She demeaned your progress into a new person, throwing around her 'knowledge' like she was the smartest one in the room. You may have forgiven her, Luffy, and that's great, but I haven't forgiven her," Ace said in an angry voice. Sabo said nothing on the subject, not wanting to get in an argument with his freckled brother.

The three passed the bar room, and Ace and Sabo automatically shielded Luffy from the things in the room. It was the most dangerous place on the ship for the youngest. Full of varying types and potencies of alcohol, Luffy's greatest weakness. They passed by the room quickly, the sounds of drunken pirates fading away.

Going out on deck, they met Haruta running from Vista, who was covered in paint and had his swords out, swearing at the younger commander. The boys wondered what had happened, and when Whitebeard saw them on deck, he called, "A prank," as an explanation. The three nodded, understanding.

The boys stayed near the railing for while, talking about small things, before Tami approached them on deck, reminding them that Luffy had a check up to go to. The boys had forgotten, and followed the nurse into the infirmary. Luffy took off his shirt to show his burn, which was healed completely. Just yesterday it had still been irritated, but now it was healed. A scar was there, but when Tami poked it, it didn't hurt like how it had been for weeks. Painful, horrible weeks.

"You're in the clear, but wait another day until you can transform into your other forms. You have an appointment with Wendy today, Luffy. At 3:00. It's 2:47 right now, so you might want to get going," Tami explained. It was Luffy's third visit to Wendy. The second one had been uneventful, as Wendy asked him about the future he wanted, which was a difficult question because he just didn't know.

"I'm also supposed to play games today," Luffy commented. "But after Wendy." Tami smiled, and commented on how well the boy was doing with his treatment. Luffy thanked her and the three headed to the counseling room, where Wendy was waiting. Luffy went inside while Ace and Sabo stayed outside, near the closed door.

Wendy greeted Luffy, who went to the comfy couch like he had the other two times. "Hi, Wendy," Luffy replied.

This time, Wendy asked more personal questions, and Luffy told her more things than she expected. "Can you tell me what you first remember at your time in the facility?" she asked calmly.

"They gave me toys a lot, and I remember the first job I had was to kill the dicator of a little country that I didn't know why. I didn't think about it cause I didn't know it was wrong," Luffy explained, quick to add the last part. Wendy made no show of what she thought about his answer. She also knew Luffy meant "dictator".

"Do you remember how they treated you when you were young? Besides giving you toys and making you go on jobs?" the nurse questioned. Luffy shook his head.

"I know they did bad things and were mean sometimes but they didn't hurt me. I don't remember them hurting me, I don't remember them taking my arm or burning me or giving me the tattoo," the boy replied. "I didn't think they were doing bad stuff to me, but now i know cause everyone told me."

The two talked more about how the men at the facility treated Luffy, and anyone who wasn't Luffy could practically feel the anger Wendy was doing a good job hiding from the boy. Wendy had not heard of his arm getting chopped off, as it was confidential information for Whiskey, his previous nurse. Wendy didn't ask about it, as Luffy brushed it off as unimportant, and that he couldn't remember it in the first place.

Near the end of the fifteen minute session, Wendy made sure to ask about something positive, that she didn't know was tinged with negative feelings. "How did you meet your brothers?"

"I was on a mission and after I killed all the marines I found them hiding in a dumpster and took them back with me," he replied simply. Wendy wrote that down and, with a smile, excused Luffy. "I will see you on Friday, how does that sound?" Wendy asked politely.

"'Kay," Luffy said and left the room, going to see his brothers and tell them about the session, like he'd done for the last two sessions.