The room was modest, a bed, desk and closet pushed into the corner of the small space. It was the best they could do on short notice. And it would be fine for them right now.
Marco only let go of Luffy once the kids were herded into the room and the door was locked. The second he was free Luffy ran back to his brothers who held out their arms to him. Like they were worried Marco would try and take him back.
Ace looked around in distrust at the room.
"Where are we?"
"It's just a guest bedroom," Thatch explained. "We can't put you guys back until we change the locks on the pool room. So try and bear with it for a bit all right"
"Why," Ace said in anger. "Why do you want us."
"There is nothing you have that we want," Marco told them for what felt like the hundredth time. "If we let you go you might starve in these waters, or Luffy's wound might open back up and he could bleed out or a hundred things might go wrong. Is that what you want for your little brother?" Marco asked Ace.
The older child tightened his hold on his little brother's shirt, never breaking the glare he held with the first commander.
"Why do you care what happens to us?"
"Because your kids," Thatch told him. "All on your own out here. And because we feel responsible for what happened to Luffy."
"Don't," Ace said. "That was his fault. We don't need your misplaced guilt."
Thatch sighed and Marco fought the urge to do the same. Ace was fun wasn't he. Apparently, he was the unfriendly one. He was also the unofficial leader of the three of them. At least until Sabo stepped in to do things his own way like he had when they had first met. But right now his face was pale with fear and his hand was holding onto Ace's shorts so hard his fingers had turned white. He would be no help right now. They weren't going to get anywhere with words. Hopefully time would show the little one's that they were safe here.
"No harm will come to you while you are under the protection of our flag." Marco told them. "I swear on the name of our captain. But like it or not we are going to take the three of you to habitable waters where you will be safe and well fed. But until we are sure you won't run away again we won't let you go back into the ocean."
"So your gong to keep the three of us in that pool forever," Sabo said his voice soft and sad.
"No," Marco assured him. "We will figure out something a bit more permanent for you." Hopefully where they don't have to keep them locked up like prisoners. "Hang tight for now, and we will be back." He motioned to Thatch who nodded as the man reached for the doorknob.
"Wait," Luffy's soft voice broke above the tension and he turned back. The child looked so sad, his big eyes brimming with unshed tears as he tried to keep it together. "Don't leave us here…please. I don't like it." Marco honestly didn't know if Luffy had ever even been in a human room before, aside from his visit to the doctor's office. Sabo shook Luffy's shoulder in warning to shut up but the pirates had clearly heard him.
"It's okay Luffy," Thatch told him gently. "It's only for a little while okay. Nothing's going to hurt you."
Luffy nodded and Thatch smiled at him. But Ace's glare warned him to keep his distance so that was what he did. Leaving the little one's to do what they wanted he followed Marco out the door, locking it behind them before latching the deadbolt.
"Wow, I think we might be terrible people." Thatch said after a minute of silence.
"It's best if you don't think about it too hard," Marco told him. "In the long run this is what's best for them. Even if they are scared right now."
"Yea… I guess." Thatch said. He knew his friend was right. But he remembered Luffy's face on the deck right when he realized he was being used as a bargaining chip against his brothers because he was the weakest."
"The doctor still needs to look at them," Marco reminded him. "Can you handle this part or do you need me to do it?"
"Please," Thatch said. "You can't cook to save your life. I got this just… well vouch for me in the afterlife if I end up going to hell for this."
Marco patted his shoulder in understanding. "We were going to hell long before this."
XXX
Ace paced the room like a trapped animal, searching every corner and wall for any sign of an escape route. Sabo was helping him, on his hands and knees in front of the door as he tried to find a way to loosen it. They had been at it since the pirate's had left.
Luffy watched them both from where he stood in the center of the room still trying to fight back tears. He sniffed again, clumsily wiping his nose with the back of his hand. The third time in a minute.
"Stop it," Ace told him without stopping his search. He opened the wooden drawers again and again as if they would somehow have the answers.
Sniff-sniff-sniff
"Luffy!" Ace snapped. Luffy sucked his lip in, trying to stop himself from crying. But both boys could hear the choked breathing as he tried to keep the building sobs in his chest.
"Don't yell at him," Sabo scolded. "That's just going to make him worse."
"He shouldn't be crying at all," Ace said. "It's annoying and also not helping."
Luffy reached up to cover his mouth to stifle the sound as the sobs got louder in response to the mean words. Sabo sighed as he paused the search to go stand before his little brother. He dried Luffy's cheek with his sleeve as he offered the other a small smile.
"Stop crying."
Luffy sniffed again, ducking down to press his face into his knee's as he tried to do just that. Sabo patted his hair as he sat down next to him. "Ace is just being a jerk because he is scared."
"I'm not scared! "Ace shot back still angry.
"Did I-gmetha usnn- kisfm."
"What?" Sabo asked leaning in closer to hear the muffled words.
Luffy sat up a bit straighter as he cried, "Did I Get Us Killed?"
"No," Sabo told him. "You didn't do anything. This isn't your fault. I mean except getting your tail caught. I guess that's on you. But not the rest of this okay."
"And we're not going to die!" Ace snapped as he kicked the door in frustration, turning back around to both of his brothers. He walked up to Luffy's crouched form, grabbing his arms firmly as he pulled him back to his feet.
"Sabo's right, this ain't your fault." He told him. "We're not mad at you. But stop crying, it's annoying okay… Okay?"
Luffy nodded slowly rubbing his eyes again. Ace always got mad at him when he started to cry. "You promise?"
"I promise." Ace told him. "Now are you going to help or not?"
They continued to look around the room but eventually they had to accept that there was no visible way to escape while it was locked and it was useless.
"Can I change back?" Luffy asked them as they moved to sit on the bed. "I can't keep these much longer. It really hurts." His legs had begun to tremble under the strain.
"Hang on for a little bit," Sabo told him. "I know the feeling but if you change back now you won't really be able to move around here. And if the pirates come back and we get the chance to run away we would have to carry you."
"I don't know if I can." Luffy said. He was horribly inexperienced with this.
"You can," Sabo promised. "My parents would always make me hold this form longer then I thought I could. And it hurt every time but it's not going to injure you okay."
Luffy nodded trustingly as he laid back on the bed. He closed his eyes trying to concentrate on maintaining it. Already small scales had begun to break out over his leg's.
"Are you good?" Sabo asked Ace who shrugged.
"I'm doing better," he said looking at Luffy in concern. "Sorry Lu, I know this is a lot."
"I can handle it." Luffy said.
Food arrived a few minutes later. At the sound of the door rattling Ace shot up, followed by his brothers. Luffy only managed to crash to the floor as his trembling legs gave out on him. But to their relief no pirates tried to come inside. Instead a tray with three steaming bowls of something delicious smelling was slipped onto the floor before the door closed again and the sound of the locks clicked.
"It's food," Ace said in surprise as Sabo pushed past him to grab them.
"Wait! It could be a trap."
The blond went anyways. "It's not a trap," He said collecting the bowls and bringing them back to his brothers. "It's just soup."
"What if it's poison?"
"Ace I've been here for a while now and they haven't tried to poison me yet."
"I guess," He said as he took the bowl, settling besides Luffy on the floor as Sabo handed their little brother his. Luffy wasted absolutely no time digging in and his brothers reluctantly joined him. The three of them completely ignoring the utensils.
It was only when Ace had nearly finished his bowl that he realized something was wrong. The first thought that came to his mind was 'Told you so.' But it was a stupid point to make right now. He threw his bowl down, knocking Sabo's out of his hand. Luffy's was already empty.
"Hey," His brother protested looking at the spilled food on the floor.
"Something in it," Ace explained, feeling a sudden heaviness in his head.
"S' fine," Luffy whined as he laid back on the floor, apparently feeling it too. Ace clumsily crawled over to him as he shoved him under the bed. "Sabo!"
"What do we do?" His brother asked.
"Come on!" Ace said as he pulled the other with them as they crawled under the bed.
"What are they going to do to us now?" Sabo asked as he laid back at the far end of the bed.
"The dolphins win a'gain." Luffy answered already on the verge of falling asleep and talking nonsense.
Sabo put his hand on the littlest's head as Luffy started to snore softly. "Ace?" He sounded scared.
"S'okay," Ace told him pushing both of them further into the wall as he put himself against them in a protective sort of way. There was nothing to be done, he was so tired. Whatever was about to happen he hoped the pirates wouldn't hurt his brothers.
With that horrifying thought in mind he felt himself drift off to sleep. Feeling oddly grateful that for the first time in weeks he didn't have to fall asleep alone anymore.
XXX
Marco opened the door gently, waiting for any scampering or whispers. But when it was silent, he gestured Thatch and Izo through.
"Where are they?" Thatch asked seeing the spilt bowls on the floor. He checked under the covers of the mused bed while Marco searched in the closet and drawers.
"Here," Izo told them on his hands and knees as he looked under the bed. The three of them were fast asleep at the furthest corner, with the unfriendly one partially obscuring his brothers from view. No doubt intentionally.
"Poor things, they must have gotten scared."
"Yes, I know we are horrible people." Thatch said as he got down onto his knees to look as well. "It's going to keep me awake for a week. Can you grab Ace?"
Izo crawled partially under the bed to grab the nearest one, lifting him out from the bed as gracefully as he was able with the awkward position.
"They will be okay won't they?" He said laying the boy down on the floor so Marco could take his pulse.
"Did you put the right amount in?"
"Of course." Thatch said.
"They should be fine then," Marco said as he leaned to pick the kid up. "Are you two okay to grab the other one's?"
"We got it," Thatch said as he crawled back under the bed to retrieve the other two.
"I would think they would have had to change back by now," Izo said as he took the blond boy from Thatch.
"I don't think they can when their sleeping. Or not this kind of sleeping. It seems like a process," Marco answered. "I don't think they can do it subconsciously."
"That's good for us and bad for them," Thatch said as he managed to drag Luffy out from under the bed. The little kid was sleeping soundly and dead to the world.
"We will have to see what the Doc can do about them," Marco said.
The doctor had been waiting for the three of them at the infirmary. He had already prepared the supplies. The man had been extremely miffed that his expert medical attention was ignored during Luffy's stay here. Especially since the kid had obviously torn all his stitches when he had changed his tail into legs. The man was beyond insistent that he be allowed to redo them. After all he had sworn to protect his patients and he was nothing if not a good doctor. Even if Marco secretly suspected that part of his excitement was at the prospect of being allowed to examine three merfry halflings.
"Did you give them the right dosage?" He asked.
"Yes!" Thatch said. "I did as you said. So if anything goes wrong it's not on me. Karmically I don't think I can take the hit today."
"They will be fine then," The man told them as he directed them to the bed's he had made for them. "You can put the blame on me, I don't care."
"At least one of us has a free conscience after terrifying and drugging three kids."
"Hey I didn't do the scaring that was all you two. Besides look at it this way. Their overall health is more important than the temporary negative effects this will have on them. Plus you want me to solve their placement problem right?"
"What are you going to do to them?"
"Nothing that will hurt them," The man assured him. "And nothing surgical if I can help it. But I might have a few ideas to keep them out of the ocean."
"Great, that will make them feel better," Thatch said as the doctor inspected Luffy's ankles were someone, Sabo, had clumsily tied bandages to try and keep the bleeding to a minimum. Poor thing.
"I told you, it's more important that they are allowed free reign and to be furious at us then for them to be forced to spend months in that room.
"Can you do that?"
"We shall see won't we. Now go be useful elsewhere. I need to work before they wake up. Come back in a few hours though. I don't want to be the one to deal with them when they realize what we have done to them."
"We?"
The three didn't stray far after they got kicked out of the infirmary. Despite the Doc's reassurances, this was not the proudest moment of their careers. Even for criminals. They reported back to Oyaji who did not share in their guilt and saw the whole thing as rather humorous. Leave it to the old man to laugh at their worry.
"They're never going to trust us again," Thatch told him miserably.
"They didn't trust us to begin with."
"They might have," He argued. "I think Luffy liked us."
"They still might."
"I doubt it."
"Time will tell won't it." The old man laughed again. "Drugging their soup, that has to be a new one."
"It was the Doc's idea!"
"Remind me not to get on your bad side," He was still laughing.
"This is the first and last time ever." Thatch insisted. "Food is sacred."
"Relax my son, this is no worse than accidently catching their littlest one in our fishing nets when he was hungry. Or the trap damaging his tail so badly he could no longer be returned to the open water. Nor blackmailing the other two into custody as well."
"This isn't making me feel better."
"Or going after Luffy because he was the weakest so we could strong arm his brothers into obeying us," Marco cut in and Thatch glared at him.
"Whose side are you on?"
"Honestly when you say everything out loud it is a little bit funny."
"Well not to them."
"We will just have to see their opinion of us a little later. Hopefully we can earn their trust a bit. I have a hard time imagining it can go much lower."
This time both Marco chuckled along with Oyaji at the words. This was somehow still funny to them.
"I suspect now we should probably go rob some orphanages," He said. "Steal food from soup kitchens."
"It's going to be hard to hit new lows after this," The old man agreed wistfully. "I suppose we really will have to put our thinking caps on next year."
"Neither of you are any help," Thatch told them miserably.
"Lighten up child," Oyaji told him. "There is no need for you to hate yourself over this."
"Yea, you already have three injured orphans to do that for you." Marco added and both men erupted into laughter once more.
XXX
"Is he waking up?"
"Can't be. It's too soon."
"Well it looks like he is."
"Are you sure you gave them the correct amount?"
"Yes! For the thousandth time yes."
Everything was blurry when Ace opened his eyes. Colors and shapes moved around him in a way that he couldn't make sense of. He shifted a bit laying his cheek on something soft below him. He was sleepy and he wanted to go back to sleep. But it was really bright and noisy right now. He rolled over trying to block everything out as one of the dark shapes moved towards him.
"Did you have enough time?"
"Barely. But it's done. Although I was hoping they would have slept a bit longer. It will be more comfortable for them for this next part."
"What?"
"The urge to change back is sort of like a reflex for them. Or at least that is what it seems like to me. Granted I would need a full study to properly understand it."
"-Yea that ain't happening."
"I realized. So, I made the most of the opportunity. Quite interesting physiologically. Basically, while they were ah- ahem 'asleep' they didn't feel the discomfort of their biochemical need to change back. But when they wake up they will once again get the impulse. Unfortunately, there is little to be done then to wait it out."
"Will it hurt them?"
"Not hurt so much, but it will be uncomfortable. Only for a little while though. In a day or two it should no longer be an issue. Or so I hypothesize."
The dark shape in front of him reached out to pat his head as Ace blinked up at it sleepily.
"I hope your right."
"Me too."
"Hey there little guy," The blob said again. "Can you hear me?" A second blob came to help and Ace felt himself being gently pulled to sit up. He let out a small whine as he put his hands behind him to stabilize himself.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing, he's just a bit hazy. Give him a few moments to wake up."
"I don't know if you want that. This one is the mean one."
"Oh nonsense." The man told them. "He isn't mean. He is just a little thing look at him. It must be hard to have to look after his siblings. You have to get pretty tough to handle the job."
"How are you feeling?" One of the blobs asked him again.
Ace didn't know how to answer. He didn't really know. He felt heavy and everything was moving around too fast for him. He didn't understand.
"My head hurts," He heard his voice say.
"That should go away in a couple of minutes," Someone said. "Don't worry your going to be alright."
There was another whine from besides him and it took Ace a long second to realize it wasn't him. He tried to focus on the bed next to his. It was Sabo.
The men spoke out in surprise as Ace tumbled from his bed. He pushed the hands that tried to help him aside as he moved towards his brother.
"Your brothers are okay Ace." The voice told him as he pushed himself up onto Sabo's bed. It took him an attempt or two but he managed it, nearly collapsing onto his brother. Sabo made a noise as he tried to sit up. Apparently, he was feeling the same effects that Ace was struggling with.
Ace pulled Sabo against his side, letting the other rest his head on his shoulder while he struggled to come back to himself. Just as Ace had done a few moments ago. He was still confused but the room was growing clearer by the minute and the fog in his mind was slowly dissipating. The pirates had drugged them. He passed out while trying to protect the other two. And now they were here. In a room that had a smell like a jellyfish sting. He didn't like it here. For one thing a bunch of human men were crowding them.
He glanced to the bed next to Sabo's, relieved to see Luffy. He was still fast asleep and to Ace's surprise he still had his legs. Actually, looking down Ace realized that they all still had their legs. He touched his own leg right above the knee, feeling the softness of skin rather than the usual coarseness of his scales. He didn't like it. It felt wrong. He wanted his tail. He wanted to be back in the water. Here he felt exposed and…
"I can't breathe." He mumbled.
"Yes, you can," One of the men told him encouragingly.
"No," Ace said as he reached up to his neck, feeling a glossy material where his gills were. His fumbling fingers found the edge and he moved to rip it off but he was stopped.
"Hey it's okay. It's just a bit of medical tape." One of the men tried to push Ace's back down.
"I know this is a bit confusing to you. But I am trying to help you hold your human form longer." The man continued and Ace looked up at him, trying to concentrate on the words.
"I don't think it's your muscles that make you change back. None of you seemed to have any problem while you were sleeping. So I think it's probably your respiratory system that triggers it. You're not use to breathing air for so long so after a while you start to fall back on trying to use your gills, which makes your muscles want to switch back to your tail. Do you understand?"
Ace didn't understand at all. But he did want his tail. And he wanted the tape gone. It felt horrible. Like having your nose and mouth covered. It was suffocating.
"Don't panic." The man told him. "Focus on breathing through your nose and calm down. Whatever feelings will pass in a few minutes."
Ace closed his eyes, leaning back against Sabo as he did what the man said. Too out of it to be his usual disobedient self. He heard Sabo's breathing besides him as the other tried to get a handle on this whole air thing.
Just like the man said it did get a bit easier. When he finally opened his eyes again, his head was a little bit clearer and the air didn't seem so thin. He had no idea how much time had passed but all four of the humans were still staring expectantly at him.
"What did you do to us," Ace gasped as his hands fumbled down to his ankles where two metal bands were now fastened around each. Like horrible metal bracelets that kept his ankles from touching each other. Preventing him from changing back even if he had wanted too. They had trapped them in these clumsy human forms. Out of the water, stuck along with both of his brothers on this crowded ship and lost without his tail. Ace had never felt as vulnerable as he did right now.
"Ace listen," One of the other men spoke up, the one who had grabbed Luffy on the deck. "I know this is really rough on you three. And I don't expect you to forgive us for this, or any of it. And I mean ever. You can hold a grudge until the day we die. But we don't want to risk losing you back in the ocean. And we don't want to keep the three of you locked in a room for months. So this is the only way we could let you guys have free reign over the ship."
"You- you took our tails from us?" Sabo murmured from Ace's side as he tried to sit up. Still quite dizzy.
Ace wanted to tell him that it was okay. He would find a way out of this and the three of them could escape. But he forgot how to talk for a moment. The pirates beat him to it.
"No Sabo," the man reassured him. "You can go back to the pool whenever you want. We will take those off for you. You can stay in there forever if you choose. But if you want to leave the room, we will put them back on. Just until we trust that you won't try to run away again."
"You don't trust us," Ace choked out. "You did this to us and we're the ones that are untrustworthy."
"I know," The pirate told him sympathetically. "It's unfair. But it's going to be okay I promise. Bear with it for today and tomorrow you can go back into the water with your tails if that's what you want. We just need to know you can hold this form for as long as you need too.
There were so many things Ace wanted to say. But at the minute it was hard to yell and breathe at the same time, so he had to settle on something simpler.
"Fuck all of you."
"That's fair," the pirate told him still sympathetic. It would be easier if they weren't so understanding and agreeable. It was less satisfying this way.
"I told you humans are evil," He murmured to Sabo.
"Didn't disagree." The blond mumbled back.
Luffy woke up a while after him. Ace hadn't been keeping track, so he had no idea how much longer. But both of them forced themselves off Sabo's bed to go make sure he was all right. By this time their heads had cleared a bit more and they had begun to get the hang of having taped gills, relying solely on their air respiratory system despite the impulse to switch back. But if the doctor was right, relying on their gills would trigger their tail response and they physically couldn't change back with the metal cuffs so it would only prolong their suffering. So they had little choice but to adapt as the doctor said and hope he had been right that the feeling would go away on it's own once they fully adjusted.
Luffy had the least amount of experience with this and wasn't able to follow the doctor's directions like the two older boys had. When he woke up, still super sleepy and out of it he had scarcely been able to breathe, which made him panicky and then he couldn't breathe at all. Both Ace and Sabo had freaked out as well as the pirates, but the doctor was ready. He made Luffy breathe through a mask for half of an hour which seemed to do the trick.
Luffy had missed their earlier conversation and was oblivious to their new terrifying reality as prisoners aboard this ship. When he was finally able to breathe by himself despite the tape on his gills both Ace and Sabo came to sit beside him.
He smiled up at them, still kind of loopy. "Can we go 't bed?" Sabo hugged him tightly in relief.
"I had to redo the little guy's stitches." The doctor told them. "If he changes forms again, he is going to rip it all over again. So, he needs to stay in human form for at least a few more days. When he does change back I'll take a look."
"Take ah' ook a- wat?" Luffy blabbered looking down at his human ankles. It was only then that he noticed the metal bands that rested loosely over the tightly wrapped pristine bandages.
"I want to be fish," He said stupidly as he poked the bands.
"I know," Ace told him. "Are you okay?"
"S'okay," He smiled at them.
"Are you three feeling well enough to move?" The doctor asked them.
"Shut up," Ace told him, his edge slowly coming back as the effects of the drugs faded.
"Their probably okay to go back now," The man explained to the pirates. "I'll come check on them later."
"Like hell you will," Ace said.
"Wow, you are the mean one aren't you?"
He growled at the man.
"I hope someone kidnaps you, chops off your legs and tapes over your nose. See how you like it."
"I didn't exactly chop off your tail. You still have it."
"Then take these off!" He insisted in frustration trying to pull the bands again.
"We will, just not right now."
"Screw you!" Ace told them.
"You can be angry all you like," The pirate with the spiky hair told him. "But right now don't you want to get out of here instead of fighting with us?"
Like they thought Ace couldn't do both at the same time.
"I don't think Luffy's going anywhere on his own. Is it all right if we carry him? You two are looking kind of shaky… okay I guess not."
Impatient with them, and not trusting the pirates even an inch Ace had turned around, letting Luffy climb onto his back. Now he slipped onto the floor careful not to fall under their combined weight as he felt his little brother's arms tighten around him. He waited for Sabo to slide down the side of the bed, landing on his right side. He looked as stable as Ace felt but both of them were able to push through it.
He looked up expectantly at the pirates. The two of them led them away from the horrible smelling white room and into the hallway. They went slowly, so Ace and Sabo could keep up.
Ace felt Luffy rest his chin on his shoulder tiredly. "It's really big," he sighed. Ace had to agree. He couldn't believe this ship sailed on top of the water. "Can we go home yet?"
"No Lu," Ace told him. "We don't have a home anymore."
"Why?"
"It got destroyed remember?"
"I know," Luffy said softly. "But I want to go home now." Ace did too.
The pirates took them back to the room they had been in before. The spilt food had been cleaned up while they were gone and there was new food and water waiting for them on the desk. Like they were that stupid. Luffy had fallen asleep sometime on the journey back and Ace put him down on the carpet. But that had turned out to be a mistake as one of the pirates picked him back up.
"Don't touch him!" Ace snapped and Sabo was already running after them as they carried him across the room.
"Don't take him away!" He cried.
"It's okay," The man told them as he stopped at the bed to tuck Luffy in. "I'm just putting him to bed. He will be more comfortable here then on the floor."
"We don't need your help," Sabo told him coldly as he pulled himself up to sit besides Luffy. Silently warning them not to pick up one of them again.
"You guys had a rough day," The man said. "You should go to bed."
"Shut up." Ace told them.
"Hate us, but do it from bed okay?" The man said completely unfazed by their combined sass. "We will leave you alone then."
"Who are you supposed to be," Ace said crossing his arms, "our parents?"
"Right now yea, if we have to be. You guys don't have anyone else."
Ace's eyes narrowed. "We don't need your help. We don't need anything from anybody. Especially you."
Still unfazed none of the men moved and Sabo finally sighed, signaling to his brother. "Ace."
Ace ignored him as he continued to glare at them.
"Ace please, it's not worth it." Sabo told him. He knew the other one would gladly stand there all night just to prove his point. But Sabo wanted to go to bed. He was so tired and sore and Luffy looked happy sleeping his worries away.
Ace looked over at him and he must have seen how done Sabo was because he cussed. Giving in for one of the first times in his life for Sabo's benefit. Ace slowly made his way across the room, climbing up besides Sabo on the bed, staring the humans down the whole while.
"This doesn't make you our parents," Ace told them as Sabo lay down between the two of them. "Fine," The pirate said. "The door's unlocked. Thatch's bunk is the room at the end of the hall. If you need something just knock and he will come out. Bathrooms the one next to it. Don't wander around tonight or you might get lost. You guys have food and water on the desk. The doctor or one of us will probably come check on you tonight. Just in case… Okay?"
Ace didn't answer, still furious with them. So, Sabo spoke for them, his voice small. "Okay."
"I know it seems scary right now, but don't worry. Things will be better tomorrow."
When they left, they left the door open a little bit so the small merfry's knew that it wasn't locked. But neither boy cared to go wandering around the dark ship right now. Not with all those scary humans out there.
Ace put his arm over the two of them. "I'll get us out of here, I promise." He told Sabo who nodded.
"I know," He said softly. "I just- we're going to be okay right?"
"We will be fine." Ace promised him. "I won't let them do that again."
The two of them fell asleep right after that, huddled close together and feeling impossibly alone on the giant ship.
XXX
So first off, I owe you guys an apology for being gone so long. I will do my best to update sooner. I don't plan on this story being some intense epic like TWRR or Defenders, but I do want it to be semi-long. My plot bunnies always get away from me. So 25 to 30 ish chapters? Which is short for me haha.
Anyways I know this chapter was a bit intense. The next few will be much lighter, and Ace and Sabo will not hate the Whitebeards forever. They are just upset right now. But they will become friends later on.
I know that Marco and Thatch might have seemed harsh in this chapter but don't be too hard on them. They are still doing what they think is best, based on the doctor's medical advice. Even if it goes against their ethical code. In the long run Ace, Luffy and Sabo will be happier running around the ship and getting into trouble then they would be locked up in a tiny pool. Next chapter they will start to win them over again, starting from scratch with Sabo as they lost all their brownie points with him.
Please tell me what you guys thought. I will try to update much sooner this time! Thank you for being patient.
Stay warm! Study and succeed if you have finals and stay safe! There is only one of you on this whole earth so that makes you an endangered species. That means that you are too precious for anything bad to happen to you.
XXX
swee2iepea: Aw, that is so nice. I will I promise. I am just a bit slow on updates.
Aww this story is so adorable and amazing! Please update! I'm addicted now
The Third Biker Scholar: Thank you! It's definitely a weird idea. I'm still a little embarrassed about it haha. But it does make me happy so whatever. Hopefully their characters were okay in this chapter too. I'm glad you like it.
Katedesrosiers: Wow thank you! Sorry the chapter was slow.
VampireApple: Thank you! I think it is coordination and balance due to gravity that he has to get use too. As well as having a whole different set up from a tail.
Yea, haha. Poor little guys. Everyone had fun but them. There will be more/ more civil interactions with ASL and the whitebeard pirates in the next few chapters. This one they were just upset and angry. Blackbeard is going to be important again near the end of the story. Until then he will bide his time and stay away from them. At least I think.
And same to you! Stay healthy.
KingCat48: I am glad you liked it!
Licy Dreamlight: Thank you, that is nice of you! Hopefully you liked this one as well.
Madeline Leicht: Aw gee, thanks. I'm glad to hear that. Sorry it's been so long.
Resnelia: Yes! And I will update sooner next time. Ace definitely did get annoyed at them. But in this chapter, it was a little justified. He will get over it later.
MelodiofHope: Well that didn't go great this time. But they are trying. They will be on much better terms later. This is kind of the low point in their relationship.
Phonenix: Yes! They will be. The pirates like them and Luffy likes the pirates. It's mostly just Ace and Sabo who are on the fence about them.
Madeline Leicht: Aw thanks. Kidnapping! Hostage negotiations! Getting grounded! Haha I know that's not what you meant. But more happiness next time.
Buterflypuss: Thanks.
too addicted to fan-fiction: Mental scaring happened. But it will be better next time! They will win them over. It's just going to take a bit.
kagome11: Oh man, if you thought I was evil last time… I think I was even more of a jerk this chapter. I am sorry. I think we covered this but just in case, I do always love questions. They are always going to be a family. Leaving the pod means leaving the nest, like when kids go off to college. They will go separate ways when they are old enough. Just like all young adult mer-people do. But they will always be a pod even if the pod isn't together anymore, just like they will always be brothers even if they are far apart. But that's not until they are much older.
RIAEVANS: I miss u too haha. And thank you.
Lucy: Here is more! I hope it was okay. I will try to have chapter nine much sooner next time.
Aquarica: Luffy doesn't feel great about getting his brothers caught. But they won't hold it against him. I'm glad you like it. I only write it because I think its cute and it makes me feel better about how stressful things are. More precious Luffy on the way.
Shadow22739: Aw thanks. Sorry to keep you up. I have done that before, so many times. Choosing between fanfic and sleep is a slippery slope haha. I always have a soft spot for ASL especially when they are angry little gremlin children. If they didn't grow legs and go on land the story might be a bit short haha. So I had to get myself out of the corner I had just wrote myself into. Ace is not the brains of the operation. But he would rather someone see a white sheet moving across deck then him, who they had already seen. Luffy has not forgotten, he told Sabo in chapter six and he will tell Ace. Neither boy really trusts the pirates enough to tell them about it yet. They have no reason to think the pirates would protect them from their crewmates or even believe them. Especially when they are more scared of the rest of them after the last two chapters where they were chased around and terrorized. Teach is going to be that foreboding and lurking subplot. But it will get resolved in the end (evil laughter) eventually.
Madeline Leicht: Aww, thanks.
era-romance: Here is what happens next!
Deyinel (last chapter): Yes, it was a bit. And so it this chapter. The pirates really are doing what they think is best. But it might be a little scary for the kids. I promise after this chapter there is just good old fashioned bonding and their relationship will improve. Blackbeard was both being creepy and he is going to try something with the three of tem. But not until much later. Once the boys trust the pirates.
Deyinel (earlier chapters): Thank you! I am glad. I always worry if a character is in character or not, relative to what type of story it is. Sabo is the little resident smarty and he loves his little brother. The pirates aren't making it super easy to trust them. But they will be fed! Ace would have definitely been meaner to Luffy if he had been the one to see him first. Blackbeard will continue to be a creepy loomer for a little while. But he will be more careful as the three of them get closer with the pirates. Luffy and Ace's parents are pretty much the same, with the exception that their mothers were mermaids. And who knows who Luffy's mom is haha. But I will talk a bit more about their backstory later.
Gotta love Luffy and the trouble he brings with him : ) His brothers are saints.
FanficFanatics26: So there is a long answer to that. Luffy got scared after he was attacked and hid from all the pirates thinking they were all like that. He told Sabo and kind of left it up to his brother to handle it. But Sabo doesn't trust the pirates enough to tell them, especially since he thinks they are kidnapping and ransoming them. In that case you can't really tattle that someone is being mean to you to the people who are being mean to you. I think Sabo figures that if he tried to tell someone they either wouldn't care or wouldn't believe him. So his plan was just to escape, and then it wouldn't matter. But after last chapter and this one Luffy and his brothers are way more wary of the pirates that chased and 'experimented' on them then they are of Teach.
Luffy is in their old bath house, so it is pretty soundproof and Teach waited until no one was really around. Right after the attack Luffy went into hiding and only came out when Sabo reunited with him. In chapter five Sabo notices it but none of the pirates are concerned as they are more worried about his tail.
XXX