"Luffy!" Sabo cried out as he ran into the captain's chambers. It had taken over an hour of running around the upper levels to find it. But now that he was here it seemed like he had been too slow.

"Luffy come out … Please," He begged as he searched the office, looking under the desk before continuing to the other rooms. He had to be here. Where else would the captain of put him. Unless he wasn't with the captain anymore.

"LUFFY!"

But there was no answer. He tried the bedroom next, finding the bed unmade and a chain unlocked. Sabo picked it up, giving it a tug to test the strength.

"Yes, you're such a good parent," He mocked under his breath.

The captain hadn't mentioned anything about forcibly keeping Luffy here. Not when he had bragged to Sabo about it what felt like a lifetime ago. He had said that Luffy was his family now. And that Luffy loved him more than he ever loved Sabo.

Sabo didn't know about all that. But it wasn't like they ever had to force Luffy to stay with them. He kicked the bed in frustration, completely out of ideas as to where either of his brothers were. He was running out of time.

Luffy's straw hat was tied around his neck. He had been holding onto it for him ever since he had been taken away. Sabo didn't know if he even remembered it anymore but either way he would keep it safe for him.

Even when situations seemed hopeless, like they did right now, Luffy could always see the bright side of things. Sabo needed that the most right now.

"I don't know what to do Lu," He told the empty bed. "I just- I just miss you."

"YOU!" A voice hissed and Sabo spun around startled.

The captain stood in the doorway. He had been so distracted by his thoughts he hadn't heard the other approach. But it was too late to run now. Not when the man was blocking the door. Sabo took a step back, feeling caught off guard. This was not good.

"You took him!" The man snarled. "I told you- I told you to forget about him! He chose me, not you!"

"He didn't choose you," Sabo yelled back at him, even as his back hit the bed.

"WHERE IS HE!" The man roared and the fury in his voice was frightening.

"I Don't Know!" Sabo snapped. "If I did, I wouldn't be here!"

"LIAR!"

Sabo's hand tightened on the chain, angered by the accusation. "I never lied about anything! Unlike you! This is what you think love is?" He threw the chain at the man.

It hit him on the side of his face and he crumpled like paper. And Sabo took off, brushing past the man as he sprinted out of the bedroom.

The captain's hand snaked out to grab his ankle and Sabo fell to the floor, the gun skittered from his waistband. He kicked back blindly before pushing himself onto his feet and bolting towards the door, abandoning the weapon. But the captain was right on his heels. He heard the stumbling of the man as he chased Sabo down the hallway.

There was a bang, and he felt something fly past his foot, sending him crashing once more to the ground. He rolled onto his back, just in time to see down the barrel of his stolen gun, as the captain pointed it at him.

"I should have gotten rid of you months ago!" The man hissed, his finger tightening on the trigger.

Sabo moved instinctively, his foot colliding with the barrel of the gun, knocking it off course just as it went off. The bullet lodged into the floor inches from his head in a spray of splinters.

Not giving the bastard time to shoot again Sabo wrapped both of his feet around the man's hand and twisted his body. The gun was yanked from his grip as it fell to the floor once more.

Sabo dove for it but the captain was quicker. He fell onto the blond, knees on either side of him as he tried to wrap his hands around his neck.

"I told you to stay away from my son!" The man spat as he tightened his hold.

Sabo gasped, trying to pull the arms away.

"He's not your damn son!" He breathed, bringing his knee up to hit the man in his ribs. But his weak attempts of freeing himself did little more than irritate him. Kidnapping someone, out of misplaced abandonment issues or whatever that psycho had going on in his brain, did not make him a father.

Sabo would have gladly told him this, but he didn't think he could. Dark spots were beginning to dance across his eyes, and he knew he would pass out soon.

And just then, at the moment he was sure he was going to die, something slammed into the captain's head and he collapsed onto Sabo.

He brought in grateful breaths, choking on nothing as his vision slowly came back to him. His eyes were watering from the strain of everything.

He felt the weight disappear as the captain was shoved off of him and he was carefully hauled to his feet.

"Ace?" Sabo whispered, his voice sounding damaged.

The older boy smiled at him, looping Sabo's arm around his neck as he pulled him down the corridor. Just as the captain started to shoot at them again.

But Ace was faster. Adrenaline mixed with desperation had him sprinting down the hallway, dragging his brother besides him. He didn't stop running until a full five minutes after the last gunshot. He had led them down so many side hallways and detours even Sabo was spectacularly lost.

Finally Ace stopped, dropping them both onto the floor when it felt like his legs were on the verge of collapsing under him.

Sabo was still trying to catch his breath, gasping on his hands and knees. Marathon sprinting for your life and being choked were a bad combination.

"That guy was pissed," Ace said tipping his head back to the ceiling. "What did you do to him."

Sabo threw his arms around the other's neck, pulling him tightly against him. "Shut up." He said. Ace smiled, retuning the gesture with all of his heart. The two of them stayed there, clinging on to one another on the floor of some forgotten hallway. Too scared to let go.

"I missed you," Sabo spoke into his shoulder.

"I missed you too," He told him. "So much I thought I was going to go crazy."

"Your already crazy," Sabo told him, tightening his arms. "Lighting the boat on fire. You idiot what were you thinking?"

Ace laughed a little bit, but he instantly regretted it when he saw Sabo's face. The other looked like he was about to start crying. Something he had never seen Sabo do before. That was how you know you messed up big time.

"I don't know, I saw Luffy's face, and I saw the guard watching us and it just kind of happened."

"Luffy thought you hated him." Sabo told him softly.

"I know," Ace said. "I'll make it up to him. I promise." He looked around, as if the littlest was going to somehow materialize. "So, where is he?"

Sabo froze, his eyes widening as he finally pulled away from Ace. Sensing something was seriously wrong Ace let go of him as well, meeting the frantic look of the other with fear.

"Ace I am so sorry."

"No," Ace said shaking his head in disbelief. "Don't you dare."

"Listen."

"Sabo Don't!"

"He's alive," Sabo said quickly, realizing what Ace thought he was trying to say. "He's alive I know he is."

Ace closed his eyes in relief, tilting his head back as he breathed air into his lungs, trying to steady his hammering heart. "Gods damn you. You scared me the other half of the way to death."

"I'm sorry," Sabo told him. "I didn't mean to. I just- I have to tell you something."

"Where is he?"

"Someone took him."

"Took him?" Ace asked trying to understand. "Took him where? We're on a boat."

"He's here, he has to be." Sabo said. "It was that man that was chasing us. The captain. You've met him before. He's the one who took Lu away."

"What, why?"

"He is all kinds of crazy. I think he wants to play house. He said that Luffy is his now, and I should forget about him. I think he wants to like adopt him or something."

"Adopt him? Aren't we slaves to these people? What kind of slave trader adopts one?"

"I said he's crazy."

"Well then let's go get him. We find that guy, beat the crap out of him and take Luffy back."

"It's not that easy," Sabo told him. "Luffy's not with him. That's why he attacked me. He thought I had him."

"Then where the hell is he?"

"I don't know," Sabo said. "Someone must have untied him. If It wasn't us, or the captain it might have been the pirates."

Ace's face paled further, if that was at all possible. "We need to get him back quickly. Who knows what they will do to him."

"They don't seem like bad people, they were Rose's friends."

"Rose… that nice lady in the cell next to us?"

Sabo nodded. "Yea, she died."

"Oh," Ace said. "You liked her right."

"Yea… I really did." She was kind. That was a rare trait in people. Especially in a place like this. "They're all dead now, everyone but us."

Ace fell silent, looking at the ground as Sabo stared into space, imagining all those faces, personalities, and lives that had been destroyed on a whim. The whim of the man who had taken their brother.

"Ace listen, there's something you don't know. I didn't know how to tell you?"

"With your voice, spit it out." Ace told him. "I've had enough surprises today."

"Luffy's not… Luffy anymore."

"Not- like… annoying anymore?" That was the first word out of Ace's mouth. Any other time Sabo would have laughed at the others confusion. But right now he didn't feel like anything would ever be funny again.

"No, I went looking for him a few months ago. I wanted to make sure he was… okay. And I found him."

"Was he okay?"

"He was okay, okay enough, I guess. He's not starving anymore at least. But he looked straight at me, and he didn't know who I was."

"What? How is that possible? Wait does he remember me?"

"I don't know. But he was weird. Like spacy and kind of out of it."

Ace was silent for a long moment before he answered. "You were supposed to look after him."

"I know, I am so-so sorry."

"No," Ace said. "That wasn't fair I didn't mean that. I just- shit. I don't know what we're going to do. About any of this."

"Me either," Sabo told him, leaning against his shoulder in comfort. "We need to get Luffy back. We can worry about everything else then."

Ace nodded, still looking unnaturally pale. His skin was covered in blood and soot. And coming from Sabo, who was nearing the point of leaving a dirt trail behind him, that was saying something. He sighed, pulling his sleeve over his hand as he gently wiped Ace's face, careful of the wounds on his skin.

"You look awful," He told him. "When was the last time you had any real food?"

"When was the last time any of us had real food," Ace countered. "I'll be okay Sab, at least until we can get out of here." He reached out with his filthy hand to touch his brother's cheek affectionately. "I only made it this far thanks to you. I would have starved without you. I know that. You always have a plan don't you. Thank you Sabo."

Sabo smiled back at him. "Like I would ever let anything happen to our big brother."

"Ah, you said it. I finally got you to say it! Whose stupid now?"

"Still you and that was the only time. Ever. We are on equal terms got it?"

"Whatever you say little brother."

Ace loves his little brothers. Next time they will get their little family back together.

Please tell me what you though. (I havn't written the second half yet but I will get on it.)