3. Death Sentence
AN: So happy to hear that you are liking my story, I get really excited when I find a new comment each time. Anyway here's the new you've waited for, warning though that this is slightly evil though I hope you still enjoy it. (Dark laughter.)
It wasn't him, it wasn't Luffy. That was the first thing that the brothers thought, many emotions running between them. Frustration, sadness, as it turned out to be another dead end at finding Luffy, but also shock and anger as they observed the newly revealed slave.
'Are they crazy bringing that thing here!? They're asking for their own deaths.' Ace internally yelled. It was the first time seeing one for him, not that he was eager to meet one, knowing from the books that Sabo used to read to them. But there was no mistake, looking at the creature.
The figure was slightly smaller than a giant and wrapped in various chains, clanging as it tugged at each one. No one took their eyes' off the creature, scanning the powerful muscles that demonstrated the strength it possessed. From a distance anyone could mistake it as a giant if not for the unusual facial features, two tusk-like teeth protruding from the mouth and one large eye. They had brought in a god damn Cyclops, of all things!
"Number nineteen is a Cyclops standing at ten meters but it's strong as any giant. The item is excellent for manual labor, a lethal fighter and collection piece." Mr. Disco bragged. "We'll start the bidding on this brilliant Cyclops at 100,000,000 Beris!" The bidding began quickly. A bidder followed by another, shooting their hands as they called a higher price.
"Idiots have no clue what they're really buying," Ace heard his brother say, but they weren't going to stop them, noting the Cyclops sniffing the air with drool dripping down its jaw.
"We better get out of here," Sabo motioned to the entrance. Ace nodded, both feeling each other's nervousness. They carefully moved out of their seats to not draw any attention but as they were making their way up the stairs they heard the Celestial Dragon yell. "600,000,000 Beris!"
The expensive amount caused everyone to be out bided.
"Sold to Saint Clarington" Mr. Disco announced, slamming his mallet onto the podium.
"Clarington, what are you doing buying such a dull beast?" the other Celestial asked.
"I was thinking of how interesting it would be to pit that creature with my dragon. Let's see which fairs better."
Ace bolted around suddenly, his whole attention directed at the Celestial Dragons. His body vibrated; no way did he imagine it. No way could he have missed those words pouring out of the horrid noble's mouth. His eyes filled with rage as he processed the words. 'This guy had a dragon?!'
Sabo heard the words too but he kept his composure to not give away the hate he was holding. One the other hand Ace wasn't doing so well. He didn't need the bond to know that Ace was pissed, walking back further into auction hall. However, he didn't try to stop the raven. Instead Sabo side stepped away giving him plenty of space. It was his way of giving the 'go ahead' as Ace passed him.
Gasps and whispers slowly spread, the audience just noticing the dangerous rookie, who was approaching behind the Celestial.
Drums rumbled in Ace's ears drowning out his surroundings, except for the prey lying in front of him, getting closer and closer. However, Sea and leaves filled his scene's and stunned him mid step. It smelt wonderful, as if he was back home, sitting on the cliff with his brothers. It was calming and it filled Ace with a sense of peace, taking the familiar scent. 'Lu,' a golden wide smile flashed in his mind. It was so powerful it felt as if he was being hit by one of Luffy's rocket attacks, winding him completely yet in a good way.
But the trance was broken when he saw where it was coming from, pin pointing the White dressed noble. Confusion hit him until he connected the dots. There was only one reason why Luffy's smell was on this human. 'How dare this man touch his kin, to even mention harming his hatchling!?' The happy emotions reverted back to anger, but now it was fueled with a goal. To rip this piece of shit to pieces!
"What did you just say?" he gritted out with demonic eyes.
"Eh?" The noble glanced over his shoulder, discovering the shadowed figure looming over him. A spark of fear passed though Clarington before he became infuriated. "Damn vermin, you dare to look at-" The Celestial was cut off. Ace had hit through the glass and suspended the human with his throat tight between his fingers. The human wheezed, clasping Ace's wrist as he struggled to breath.
Everyone else in room became shaken and jaws hung at what they had just witnessed, their minds completely stunned.
"H-he… He just attacked a Celestial D-dragon," a voice stuttered. It was as if it had broken all the audience out of a trance because the next thing was utter chaos. Everyone screamed out in horror.
"He's killed us all!"
"Run for your lives! They'll punish us!"
"Hurry before an Admiral shows up!" The crowd dispersed in a frenzy, every person swarming to every possible exit, shoving everything in their way and trampling over others. It was another reason why Ace hated the humans. They cared about nothing but themselves.
"Now tell me, what were you saying about a dragon?" Ace raised his eyes, meeting his prey's own. "That dragon wouldn't happen to be a small boy with black hair, would it?" Clarington's eyes widened at the question, looking back with new fear.
"Your th-"
"This is outrageous, touching the descendants of gods. I'll dispose of you myself!" The second Celestial pulled out a gun aiming at Ace's bare back. "You annoying pest. Die, now!" shots rang through the room as the man pulled the trigger.
'Pop… pop… pop… pop,' Luffy watched the bubbles burst from where he sat. It was just moments ago that his so called master and companion, along with the rest, had disappeared into the large building with a sign showing 'Human', leaving Luffy leashed at the entrance, with the usual comment that animals should wait for their masters outside. Not that Luffy minded too much. Not eager to go with the two nobles, instead he rather enjoyed the outside, watching the flying balls. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off them since he got on the island, fascinated by the mystery bubbles that seemed the come from the ground.
However, he whined in annoyance at being unable to play with them. He thought he could possibly try to climb and bounce on one, see how high it would take him. From the corner of his eye he spotted one blowing up close by and he crouched in position, stalking his prey as it grew bigger. Once it left the grass, he pounced toward it but ended up flat on his back.
Luffy groaned, opening his eyes to stare up at the unharmed bubble above, mocking him. He snarled at it before rolling back onto his belly, reaching again. But it was no use as it continued to drift higher away from the claws. Luffy whined at his failure before turning a blameful look over his shoulder at the pinned down chain. It didn't deter Luffy though; instead he continued to entertain himself, jumping at bubbles nearby. At one point he took advantage of the soapy ground and started to slide and roll in it.
Distracted, he didn't notice someone approaching the entrance.
"Ah." The new voice startled Luffy, who got into a defensive stance. Facing the new character, standing a distance away, he found that it was a man. A very old man, judging by his appearance. He had long, white hair; trimmed, stripped beard that bushed together at the bottom, and he wore a white cap.
Not only that, the stranger gave off the smell that Luffy was familiar with, from when he spent time with Shanks at the bar. Just like Shanks, this man was a drinker. Luffy's guess was proven when the man grasped a small flask before taking a few gulps.
"Seems like the auction has already started. And here I was planning to sell myself as a slave so I could steal some money." He smirked, scratching the back of his head. "Well, that's impossible now. Guess I'll have to pick pocket some nobles." He laughed loudly.
"Oh, well, what do we have here?" Grey eyes spied the black dragon near the entrance, and advanced toward it, wanting to get a closer look.
When the elder became too close for comfort, Luffy growled in warning and snapped his jaw threateningly. The recipient halted and he crouched down, presenting Luffy with a drunken smile.
"It's been a long time since I've seen a dragon. Not seen a hatchling before though, hm… Let me guess, you're ten… No, no, too small. Hm... Eight...?" The man jerked back quickly, avoiding the swish of a long tail, as if expecting the attack. "Oh, feisty hatchling, aren't you?" he commented, figuring he was close to the mark. "So, what's a little guy like you doing here?" A frown formed then, as he noticed the rest of the dragon's form.
Luffy felt uncomfortable as the stranger's eyes seemed to look at him, not sure why. It was then that his marks stressed intense feelings. Luffy thought that his brothers were probably nervous, even suspicious of the stranger, thinking how the two kin would warn him to be careful and scold him when he didn't listen.
"Hm…" The stranger turned attention to the chain, then back at Luffy again. "Ah… I get it…" The carefree smile returned, his eyes trained on Luffy. "How about we get those heavy things off you?"
Luffy ceased his growling and tilted his head instead, confused at why the human would want to help him. He stared at the stranger as if looking at his soul. Instinctively Luffy decided the man to be a good person and responded with a brief nod. Ace's mark flared, screaming at Luffy that he was too trusting. 'It's okay, Ace. We can trust him,' Luffy whined.
The stranger raised a brow at the last noise curiously but brushed it off. At least he had got an answer. Honestly, he was expecting to be ignored as many slaves seemed to do. He was glad to see that the hatchling still had spirit.
Luffy allowed the elderly human to come closer until he kneeled beside him. He tensed when he saw the man present a knife from his clothing, but Luffy didn't make a sound, granting the blade to draw closer. He wouldn't doubt the others words. Afterwards, the straps were sliced away, even the muzzle. Feeling the metal slip off his scaly face, Luffy released a sound akin to a purr. It was amazing, stretching and shaking his body free of the removed weight. He leaped to the man, nudging his head into his shoulder gratefully.
The man chuckled at the dragon's reaction.
"Don't thank me yet." A wrinkled hand patted Luffy's head. He receded back slightly, palm moving so to raise Luffy's head. "Now for the tricky bit," he said, pointing to the collar still hanging around Luffy's neck. "This is going to make a loud noise so when it's off you'll have to hurry," he warned.
Luffy answered with a snort, causing the man to laugh hard. "Is that so? Well then…" He grinned, reaching out and tapping the collar, causing it to start ticking.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick…
Suddenly, there were two explosions. Opening his eyes, Luffy looked down, finding his collar was gone. He looked around, wandering where the other threw it, only to see it falling out of a cloud of smoke and clanging to the ground.
"Oh, looks like someone has started their own fun. Guess we'll have to move faster," the older man said as he raised his head. Luffy directed his toward the auction house, where the other was staring. Luffy heard the panicked cries from inside, as well as multiple shots, but what put him on edge was the hot smell of fire.
"You better hurry kid, looks like something interesting happened and it won't be long till the marines are here." The elder stood up.
But Luffy shook his head, and then bit on the white cape. He tugged, urging his new friend to run.
"Sorry, but I can't go with you," he said stroking Luffy's head, who groaned at the touch and nipped at the hand.
"Ha ha ha. Don't worry little one, I can take care of myself. I'm not just some old man." Crossing both arms, he held himself proudly. "Now, use that nose of yours and head to the coast. You'll find plenty of ships there to sneak on, though I suggest getting some clothes on before changing. Don't want to see a little child running around naked."
Luffy hesitated, staring worriedly up at him. Finally, he ran, believing that his friend would be safe, sprinting away under and over the many mangrove roots.
The elder man watched the small figure dash becoming even smaller. Drinking from his flask, he lifted his head looking to the distance where the dragon vanished.
"Such a shame we had to meet like this. But I'll wait till we meet again… Monkey D. Luffy." He smirked.
Shots sounded though the auction hall. The bullets cut into the air like a knife, full speed until stabbing into flesh.
Ace felt the bullets passing through his body but there was no pain, just three flaming holes appearing on his torso. The bullets continued, instead hitting the man that Ace was holding, blood staining the white coat as it flowed out and down the body. Ace grit his teeth in irritation, listening to faint heart beats struggling from his hostage.
"D-devil fruit?" The Celestial Dragon stuttered, backing away, petrified. As Ace dropped the now dead noble to the floor, he completely turned to his shooter. Ace growled, annoyed that his prey had gone and died on him, glaring at the foolish noble.
"St-stay away! Do you know who I am?!" He shot again, right through the raven's head. But Ace's headless body still strutted forward, the flames gathering once more, revealing Ace's head, unharmed.
"You shouldn't have done that," a calm voice appeared from behind the noble.
Sabo had snuck up, kicking the noble's feet from under him and pining his prey down under his foot. He felt the weaker tremble under his boot when he pointed the end of his staff threateningly. No way was he going to let this man escape, not only for taking Luffy but for trying to hurt his kin.
"Ace, you go ahead..."
"No way am I leaving you," Ace snapped, fire flaring up his arms.
"Ace, get your head out of the fire and listen," Sabo scolded the other. "We don't have a lot of time; the marines will be here soon along with an Admiral. So go ahead and find Lu, he can't be far." Ace didn't move, hesitant to separate from his brethren, always feeling uneasy. Yet, he knew Sabo was right. After all, he was the smarter of them (not that he'd admit that to him). But Ace was stronger and he needed to find Lu and protect him. "Don't worry I'll be right behind you," Sabo said and gave him a reassuring smile.
"You better." Ace retreated, running toward the exit. The knights blocked his path quickly trying to stop him from escaping. But as he raised an ignited fist, calling out 'Hiken!', a blast of fire exploded forward clearing the way, and he sprinted past the burnt figures. 'You better come back or I'll kill you myself.'
Sabo huffed, knowing that Ace was going to complain later. Hopefully his sulking wouldn't last long once they got Luffy back. He observed the room, counting about twenty guards left.
"Well gentlemen, are you just going to stand there?" Sabo mocked them, at which they ran at him. Sabo leapt up dodging the thrusting spear, next landing on it with his and spinning his legs, sending round house kicks, knocking seven men back. He continued the fight, hitting each enemy down easily, and before long he had whacked another eleven guards unconscious.
"You useless fools, protect me!" the Celestial demanded. Two guards stood defensively beside him, trying to escort the man to safety.
"I can't allow that." Sabo strolled up the stairs as he twirled the staff at his side, menacing shadow shrouding him. The guards lunged at him, but he somersaulted over their heads and swiftly knocked them out. Sabo looked down at the laying figures spread out across the room, then to the stage with calculating eyes.
The Cyclops had grown restless, most likely from the intense smell of blood, pulling further at his chains. Some of the restraints were giving way to the mindless beast. Scuffling was heard and Sabo refocused at the main task at hand. Polite but evil smile materialized as Sabo sighted his main prey crawling away.
"Why are you leaving, Mr. High noble? I thought you loved to watch fights," Sabo spoke as he shadowed over the man.
"You vermin! You'll pay dearly for harming us. I won't let you live. I'll send every soldier; they will hunt you two till you're dead!" the man yelled desperately as if expecting his words to be intimidating.
"Is that so?" Sabo crouched down, bowing his hat to shadow his eyes. "Then I really can't grant you to leave, can I?" he asked, grabbing the man's ankle and dragging him downwards.
"W-what are you doing?! Release me!"
"Mr. Noble, do you know why Cyclopes are so dangerous?" Sabo climbed onto the stage with the man in hand. "Of course they're well known for their strength despite their size. However, what makes them so beastly is their small minds and hunger. So basically they are always thinking about food. It kind of reminds me of a certain someone – they won't stop if something comes between their food." They were now both in front of the fierce mythical creature; Sabo lifted and held the noble before him.
The man shook in fright as he was faced with the large drooling figure, chains rattling as they loosened.
"Ever wondered what they eat?" Sabo whispered.
"Humans," he answered for the noble. The chains fell to the stage as the Cyclops released a tremendous roar, free of its restraints. Sniffing around it crouched down onto its hands, sensing the two figures near it.
"You're insane, it'll kill us both!"
"Maybe so, but Cyclopes rely a lot on smell." Sabo held strong against his hostage's struggles. "But I have a hunch that I'm in no immediate danger," Sabo stated.
The Cyclops stared right at the two, Sabo taking this as his que to separate himself from the Celestial Dragon. He focused next and his smooth skin became rough yellow scale. His talons grew at his finger tips and finally his teeth became jagged.
He stood motionless as the Cyclops sniffed at the two, felt as if everything went still. Sabo wasn't completely sure that his idea would work, becoming quite nervous as the large beast grunted. If it didn't, he'd have to change tactic. It would be unnecessarily troublesome to fight the Cyclops.
The Cyclops roared abruptly, causing saliva to fly everywhere, before snatching the noble up and stuffing the human into its mouth, its jaw crunching down as blood splattered and dribbled down its mouth.
Sabo released his breath, not realizing that he was holding it, before walking away. He listened to the dying screams, as well as the sound of grinding bones, as he retreated calmly to the door. 'Better go find Ace; not doubt he's causing trouble. Wonder if he found Luffy," he thought to himself.
Ace sprinted up the long corridor. He became frustrated as he struggled to capture Luffy's scent. 'If only I could've beaten that stupid Celestial into telling me. Dammit!' Closing in at the entrance, he grasped the smell of the sea. 'Lu, we're here.' He smirked. Following the smell eagerly, he ran through the entrance.
"Shit," he cursed, seeing the marines approaching in the distance. He needed to hurry fast. He sniffed the air, searching for his kin once more.
Clang! Looking down, Ace spotted something metal with a load of straps by his feet. Picking it up he gave it a whiff and it smelt like Luffy. He inspected the metal curiously before he recognized what it was. A muzzle. 'They used a muzzle' the words echoed in his mind. 'His poor little Luffy was muzzled like a rabid dog?!' In that moment, the surrounding marines saw an unforgiving monster, something that would haunt their nights forever.
The air was thick with fear; the whole island was in panic as he continued to dash through the large mangroves. Luffy panted as his tiny legs continued to dash past the large mangroves surrounding him. There was no end of them. His legs were aching and he was tired but he wouldn't stop, he refused to. 'I won't let them get me. I won't. I don't want to go back there' These thoughts motivated him as he sprinted, searching for the coast.
It was difficult with the chaos happening on the island, nearly everyone running around leaving layers of smells. What was harder, though, was trying to stay out of sight. He already had a few close calls with some Marines, as they searched and gathered a few pirates.
Luffy was getting really annoyed as he hid down a dark alley way, ducking when a group of soldiers ran past. He scrunched his face, tired of all the noisy humans. If only there was another way.
'Sabo, would know what to do.' He thought, gazing at the bubbles going higher till they were no longer in sight. Luffy's mind drifted, the rusty gears working in his head, giving one of his rare thoughtful expressions.
'Pop' A bubble burst as Luffy grinned like a maniac. Leaving the dark alley, he crawled up to one of the large mangroves. 'This'll do' he thought inspecting the tall, thick trunk. It was going to take too much effort scaling the giant tree and he really was low on time. Spotting the lowest branch, he stepped back and raised his tail and span it. 'Gomu Gomu no… Lasso!' The dragon's tail whipped out, stretching up at the impossible height, till it wrapped around the mangrove branch and pulled Luffy up.
Luffy snickered that his idea had worked, hoping it made his brother proud. The view was a lot better in the high tree and the air was clear. He sniffed around, relieved that he could easily smell the familiar salty breeze.
He moved quicker, now that he was so high, now that he didn't need to worry about being detected or concern himself with down below. Trailing along the branches, he leapt quickly from tree to tree, following the fresh scent. Honestly, Luffy enjoyed climbing the trees as it was something he did constantly back home in the forest.
He crossed another branch but he halted, for what lay before him was an endless body of water. It sparkled and moved happily, as if welcoming him back. He cheered, though no one would be able to hear him due to the height. Briefly, he surveyed beneath, squinting. There were hordes of people flooding the docks.
He could hear Marines hollering at the crowd, advising them to remain calm, but no one listened, each person shoving at one another as they tried to get onto a ship of their own.
Luffy hummed, thinking that he wouldn't like to be stuffed onto any of those ships. He looked to the other ships but was disappointed, recognizing them as marine ships. Instantly, he shook his head, not even considering jumping onto the blue ships. It was like asking to be caught again or worse. Suddenly, an image of a happy crazy old man flashed in his mind, which sent shivers down Luffy's body. 'Definitely not going on there' he thought seriously.
He continued to climb the Mangroves along the coast, inspecting other ships. They were the same as before, crowded or Marine ships. Luffy was starting to get desperate. He might have to creep onto one of the packed ships in the end, though it would be hard to hide.
"Captain, we need to hurry!" Luffy turned to the panicked voice, climbing closer as he noticed a large ship docked and concealed by some mangrove roots. Peering closer at the ship, Luffy's eyes gleamed. 'Woo!' he thought, seeing the proud Jolly Roger hanging from the mast. It wasn't just any ship; it was a pirate ship!
Luffy didn't even have to think as he scurried over the ship, hovering on a branch. Twirling his tail once more, he lowered himself quietly down till he reached the crow's nest, thankfully unnoticed as the pirates seemed to be preoccupied. He watched the men carry various crates onto the deck.
"Where are the rest of the men?" a man in a feathered Captain hat spoke.
"They got caught by the marines," someone replied.
"Dammit!" The Captain raised his sword, as the crew looked at him. "Okay men, let's get out of here. Set sail!" he ordered, followed by the crew cheering and immediately moving into action, not seeing the small stowaway creeping across the deck until he was at the back of the ship and out of sight. Sitting down among the shadows, he finally took notice of the soapy surface covering the deck. Nudging it, he found that it was similar to the soapy ground of the island. Why was it here?
Slowly, he saw the soapy film rise, swallowing his clawed feet and he raised his head away from the floor. 'What going on?' The sticky stuff was now at his knees, slowly growing bigger. 'Ah! It's alive!' He gasped. He bit into the gooey thing, but it was useless as his mouth just went through it, not to mention it tasted disgusting. It was now sliding up along his neck. 'I'm going to die!' He inhaled deeply, blowing up his cheeks like a hamster. Luffy held his last breath, eyes tight shut. Plop. 'Plop?' Opening his eyes, he found the goo gone. Glancing around, he found the goo above him. It was even bigger! Watching as it grew so large that it covered the pirate ship in a large force field, Luffy gazed in amazement, wishing he had a ship that could do that.
"Hurry! Raise the Anchor!" The captain yelled from the front of the ship. "To the New World!"
The crew roared once more as they scuttled around the deck.
After a moment, Luffy found himself deep under the sea's surface, surrounded by the sea's living creatures. As the ship sank deeper in its bubble, Luffy saw weirder and larger creatures.
'Cool, look at all those fish!' He drooled, imagining ways to eat the different fish that passed. He could probably put some salt on that giant eel, grill those smaller fish, oh and have mayonnaise with that one. A puddle of saliva formed beneath him as he focused on a blob seaking. At this point his belly rumbled with a sad ache, reminding Luffy how hungry he really was. Maybe he could get a snack.
To be continued...
Note: Blob seaking is a giant blob fish.
AN: Wow, dark Sabo! It really is amazing when Sabo gets angry as he rarely does but when it happens he'll do anything. At first I struggled choosing what creature I wanted to be as the mystery slave so I went through a whole list. But as I was reading Cyclops description, I thought 'Let's get the Celestials get eaten!' just hope you liked the scene. As for Luffy, I came up with many ideas how he would escape but I decided that this made more sense, wonder who the heroic stranger is (wink). Not to mention it was so Luffy that he chose to jump on a pirate ship. In the end it looks like Luffy just missed his brother and started a new adventure all by himself. Guess you'll have to wait for next time to find out.
Also you've asked two questions, first being their ages. Hopefully this chapter helped with an estimate on Luffy's age but I won't be revealing their ages just yet. Secondly, when will we meet the Whitebeard pirates? I assure you that we'll be meeting them soon but I'm not going to spoil it as to when.
Keep on commenting, I'd love to see what you think of this chapter, after all I have so much fun writing for you. Hope I kept you guys on the edge of your seats, see you next time when Luffy is on Fishman Island.
Congrats to 'Ghostunderasheet' for guessing that Luffy wasn't probably the slave, 'I'm not that predictable am I?'
