LW: So…. things are about to go to Hell in a handbasket this chapter, hope everyone's ready
Drop in the Ocean - To Hell and Back! But Never Unscathed!
Late Afternoon
"You're going to burn down Grey Terminal! Why the Hell would you want to do that?" Ace shouts as Bluejam finally let the boys in on the 'big plan'
"It does seem really stupid given you live here too" Kaos mutters, but he never saw the pirate as the brightest bulb even in this trash heap
"Not so loud kid, we gotta keep quiet about this, else it won't work. And there's no point complaining, I'm just following orders the same as you" Bluejam admits, then with a heavy sigh, because Luffy, as usual, doesn't listen and starts screaming and complaining orders "Hold the brat and shut him up. Now, in case you hadn't figured out yet, all those boxes I've had you lugging around were filled with explosives, so you can see just how big and widespread this operation really is"
"Seems kind of risky, putting a plan this delicate in the hands of 3 kids, you've seen how clumsy Luffy can be" Kaos sighs, himself and Ace held by their shoulders just in case they decided to join Luffy in pitching a fit in anger
"Doesn't matter in the end boys, because nothing will survive that fire. Nothing, and No one" Bluejam laughs and all the pieces slot together as the colour drains from the brother's faces.
"But, everyone…" Luffy whispers
"Bluejam you bastard, don't you dare!" Ace shouts, but the pirate just laughs
"Really, since when did you punks start to give a damn about other people?"
"There's a difference between not caring about people just going about their day, and not caring that they die in a fire" Kaos scowls
"Not that it matters" Bluejam continues, his question had been rhetorical after all "Now you know the plan, you're stuck here, we can't have you running off and telling everyone about it before the big event. But, since I've got you here, I need to ask, is it true you boys have hidden treasure in those hills?" he asks and the boys tense
"Yes. But only Sabo knows where it is"
"WHAT!"
"We didn't want something like this to happen, so only one of us knew where the treasure was being kept" Kaos lies/explains "We chose Sabo, which seemed like a good idea at the time"
Evening
KABOOM!
"Who knew this plan would be this much fun to pull off?" one of Bluejam's goons laugh as they set off the explosives via shooting the crates
Mt Corvo
"Boss! You're gonna want to see this!" Mogra shouts from the lookout
"What now?" Dadan groans as she steps out, then her cigarette drops from her mouth "What the fuck?"
"It's a massive fire, is it the town?"
"No it's closer than that, I think it's Grey Terminal"
Grey Terminal
Anarchy. That sums up what was going on in Grey Terminal right about now, especially as the Security for the town more or less tip their hand by closing the gate to the city in the resident's faces and locking it tightly, leaving them all to die. The fire was spreading too fast for any of them to do anything, already cutting most of them off from both the shore and the forest of My Corvo, Bluejam and the residents of Hightown were clearly very thorough and meticulous when it came to setting up those explosives it would seem.
"It's been nice here, but there's a certain level of joy watching this dump burn" the pirate in question chuckles. "But we're off to better things, men. After what we've done, we're on the path to nobility, the King of Goa will even grant us wealth, power and titles, can you see it?" Bluejam grins
"Sir, we left the kids back at the hideout" one minion speaks up
"Eh fuck 'em. We have more important things to worry about, the last few boxes to detonate, and then we can head to the Great Gate and the Military will let us enter our rightful place in Hightown" the pirate hand waves, his greed outweighing whatever self preservation he had, given he was the one who'd told the boys nobles couldn't be trusted.
Bluejam's hideout
"Why did you tell them only Sabo knew where our treasure was?" Luffy asks as he squirms in the ropes he, like the other 2 were tied to poles with
"Never mind that, why are you unarmed the ONE TIME we need it?" Ace shouts angrily
"I'm not, it just takes some effort to put it in and take it out, the technique is a work in progress after all" Kaos hums, silver-colored material covering his cupped hands, before a blade hilt began to rise from the goop "Plus, really didn't want Bluejam to get any ideas and try to steal her, as killing the captain would set all his goons on us, during which I actually would be down a weapon" he explains, sighing contently as his weapon sits in his hand once more, before getting to work freeing himself "As for the Sabo thing, it was the easiest way to deter Bluejam from torturing the location out of us, if he believed the only person who knew wasn't here… then he'd have to give up. Sure he could have killed us for being useless… but he could have done that at any time so I didn't count that as an option" the 10-year-old boy explains, moving to free Ace and then Luffy from their binds
Back at the gate
"Captain, it's locked up already" a crewmate shouts, but Bluejam seemed unperturbed
"It's nothing, they just don't want the riffraff getting in and rioting or scaring the prisses inside. I'm supposed to give them a signal so we can get in" he explains, walking up to the gate before announcing himself "Hey, it's me Bluejam, we're here!" silence followed, annoying the pirate "Hello? Open the damn door!"
"Cap'n, you don't think, we've been double-crossed, were we?" another asks
Rather than acknowledge the question, he just continued to shout "Hey come on what's the big idea? This isn't funny, open the gate! We had an agreement you bastards!" he bellows, beginning to pound away at the metal barrier, to no avail "We did everything we were told, we were supposed to be allowed to evacuate this Hellhole, the King promised to make us nobles for this, he wouldn't….." it was then his brain finally clicked 'FUCK!' "The king set us up, that spineless, lying fucker!"
High Town
They say 'third times the charm' and when it comes to escape attempts from his asshole family, it seemed 3 was the magic number for Sabo too, breaking out of the cellar he'd been locked in and running full pelt toward Edge town and hopefully onward to Grey Terminal and his REAL family. Predictably he encountered resistance from the guards, though only after he managed to reach the wheel that controlled the gate lock, at which point they beat him mercilessly with the butt of their rifles and dragged him away, Sabo screaming and squirming the entire time, until being slammed into the wall of an alleyway about a block or 2 away 'I'm sorry guys' was his last thought before passing out
Wind howled as a large man in a cloak approaches the downed child, kneeling close to check on him "What happened to you boy?" he asks in a hoarse gravelly voice
Sabo raises his head painfully, his blurred vision piecing together a gruff face with a bold red tattoo going down the left side of it "Who's there?" he wheezes then reaches forward, grabbing the man's arm "Whoever you are, please listen. The Nobles are the cause of this. You gotta believe me!" Sabo begs "Hightown reeks more than Grey Terminal ever did, monsters not even fit to bear the title of human, hidden behind their so-called noble veneer. It makes me sick, how they don't care about anything, besides making themselves look good, screw anyone who stands in their way" his grip tightens on the man's deep green cloak "I need to get away from here, otherwise, I'll never be free" he cries "I'm ashamed of my noble birth, I often wish I'd been a commoner like my brothers, the stain of this life marring my very soul"
'Goa Kingdom, look what you've done to this child, a kind soul, burned by the life forced upon him' Dragon thinks, holding in a scowl as he sympathises with the child's pain "I know how you feel" the man finally speaks "I too was born in this country, but I alone do not have the power to change this world and maybe I never will" he sighs tiredly
"But, at least you're actually listening to me, that's more than anyone else in High or even Edge town have done" Sabo argues frantically
"Of course I am" Dragon answers gruffly, nodding to the boy "And I'll never forget" he says, even as Sabo passes out once more from his injuries
Somewhere in Grey Terminal
"Hey, do you think those old guys we passed a while ago made it out?" Luffy asks
"Who cares?" Ace growls as he leaps back from more flaming debris
"Right now, Bluejam may be a bastard but he's right about me not caring about the rest of this place, while our lives are at stake" Kaos scowls "Now, where in this trash heap are we?"
"Who said you little fucks were allowed to escape?" came the pissed off voice of Bluejam
"Nobody, that's what escaping is" Luffy replies before the other 2 could stop him, looking at the pirate like he was an idiot or something
"What are you still doing here? I thought you said you had an escape plan or something for after the fire was set?" Ace asks, his grip on the pole tightening
"Guess nobles really are all scum ay Bluejam?" Kaos smirks, fairly sure they were all fucked anyway, so why not poke the bear a little.
"Shut up you punks!" Bluejam shouts, before a, not quite resigned smile crosses his face "You do know it's pointless right? The whole reason for this fire was to kill everyone, there's no way out" he explains then begins chuckling "There's a certain irony to this situation, a new perspective even. Humans are funny creatures, don't you think, I've hit rock bottom, the very land around me is burning to cinders, and all I can do is laugh, Jajajajaja!"
'§Humans aren't so different to other intelligent beings, they all break when under enough pressure, and madness is the easy out§'
"They're acting really weird" Luffy mutters
"Luffy, Kaos. Run for it!" Ace orders, the 3 turn to run just as Bluejam tells his men to grab them, more goons appearing out of the flames, laughing like maniacs as they surround the trio
"Where do you think you're going? We did this job together, it's fitting we all end it together" the pirate laughs as he approaches the boys
"We're not going to die with losers like you, we don't die that easy" Ace declares, trying to put as much bravery into his words as he could
"Luffy is pretty stubborn, he might actually outlast the fire" Kaos chuckles, beginning to twirl Hebi between his fingers, as something flickers in his eyes, and his grin extends across his cheeks
"You know, since we're all stuck here, tell me where the treasure is"
"But we told you, only Sabo knew where it was" Luffy frowns
"Yeah, but, and this may surprise you, I don't trust punk kids who steal from my men and beat the shit out of them on a regular basis. So I think you're lying, and I'll just kill you one by one until I get my answer"
"Then you'll be up 3 dead kids and down some treasure" Kaos bluffs
"Stop it, we'll tell you" Ace sighs "It's not worth it, we can just find more, but we need to survive in order to do that" he argues before either of his brothers could retort
Bluejam smirks "I knew you'd see it my way. Now show me where it is"
"Right here, hidden in the hollow of the tree" Ace explains, using a crude drawing on some unburned wood to show their hideout's location, which Bluejam snatches up
"Sounds simple enough" he muses, passing it along to one of his goons, before with a nod signalling them to grab the boys
"Hey what gives, we told you where it is!" Ace yells
"Yes, but as I already pointed out, I trust you as well as I can throw you. Now about the treasure, let's go"
"This is going in circles" Kaos groans
"Bluejam's really lost the plot" Luffy agrees
"You moron, we won't have time to get away, and I'm not dying here!" Ace scowls
Bluejam's neck twinges, then he pulls a pistol on the oldest boy "Listen here kid, don't you dare piss me off. I'm not above stealing from or murdering kids. Mark my words, I'll have my revenge on those bastard nobles, they'll rue the day they double-crossed me" the pirate sneers "They're all scum, and to think you still call one of them your brother"
"Sabo's different!"
"He hates the nobles almost as much as you do!"
"Probably because he already knew they were all pieces of shit on the inside!"
"That's where you're wrong, brats! Sure he roughed it out in the woods with you boys for however long it was, but he was just using you to sate his boredom, you were nothing more than live entertainment to him. And now Daddy Moneybags arrived to bring him home just before they burn down his playpen"
"Sabo is our brother" Ace scowls
"He's probably the most stable of the 4 of us" Kaos mutters, Hebi shifting around his hand and up his arm while Bluejam was complaining again
"All Sabo wants is to be free, including from the shitty nobles!" Luffy shouts, before freeing himself by biting down on the man holding his arm, though the man retaliates by pulling his sword and swinging down on the boy, cleaving through his pipe and cutting his face
"Luffy!" both brothers shout, the youngest rolling on the ground in pain and crying, meanwhile the pirate slowly approaches, lining up his sword for a killing strike
"You leave him alone! Get the Hell away from Luffy!" Ace screams, a heavy pulse flooding the clearing, the pressure actually extinguishing the nearest flames (though the spreading fires quickly replaced them) as well as causing most of the pirates around them to pass out and drop to the ground like dead weight, freeing the boys, though only Ace was on his feet right now
Bluejam was shocked, the pressure wave of Conqueror's haki snapping out of his insanity, though it was quickly replaced by fear and rage lunging for Ace when he turned to check on the teetering Kaos and bleary-eyed Luffy "What did you do?" he shouts, throwing the boy across the clearing following him to pin the 11 year old under his boot "You really fucked up big time brat, try that trick again before I blow you brains out, I dare you!"
"Get off me you scumbag!" Ace growls as he wriggles and squirms
"Times up, enjoy Hell" Bluejam laughs
"Ace. no!"
BANG
Bluejam scowls, was it so hard to kill one measly brat, now they have reinforcements?
"Dadan!" Luffy shouts, which has Kaos grinning widely and Ace snaps open his eyes, sure he'd been about to meet his end a second ago. But there above him, was Curly Dadan, having made it in time to throw off Bluejam's aim enough to miss Ace's head by about 3 inches
"Don't you dare. Hurt MY BOYS" Dadan scowls, biting through her cigarette as her eyes blaze hotter than Grey Terminal "I'm not afraid to kill scum like you!" she declares, swinging her axe at what was presumably Bluejam's neck, though he managed to block it with his cutlass, it still shoved him off Ace and a fair distance backward.
Hope started to bubble inside the boys as it turned out Dadan had just run off ahead, the entire Dadan Family bandit trope was just behind her, rushing to the aid of 'their brats', given they may drive everyone in that house insane, the word Family existed in their title for a reason, they stick up for their own.
"We're not too late are we?" Mogra pants heavily near the front of the pack "You alright Special K?" he adds, getting a nod from Kaos as he pulls himself to his feet
"Damn, you got roughed up pretty badly Luffy, you gonna make it?" Dogra asks, checking the boy for any more serious wounds
"I'll make it" Luffy wheezes, sitting up with the man's help
"And where's Sabo, shouldn't he be with you guys?" Mogra asks, noticing they were down one blond kid in a top hat
"His asshole noble of a father showed up and took him home, meaning the only good news is he should be safe from this mess in Hightown" Kaos answers, scowling at Bluejam as he does.
"I know you, you're that Bandit Gorilla from Mt Corvo" Bluejam sneers as he looks Dadan up and down, trying to find a weakness
"Bandit? Yes. Gorilla? I oughta fuck you up just for saying that, but that's beside the point right now. The main thing is, these kids are My responsibility, they're MY BOYS. Even if I've wanted to kill the brats myself a couple of times, that doesn't mean I'm going to just let someone like you do it" Dadan scowls as Luffy is picked up, and both Ace and Kaos slink closer to the Bandit chief "So I'm going to repeat myself just the once, nobody hurts my boys. I'm going to give you this one chance to walk away with your life Bluejam, but if you don't take it, I guarantee you'll be sorry."
Unfortunately, Bluejam was past the point of caring as he smirks and responds with a simple statement "Well, I've got nothing left to lose"
"Well then… EVERYBODY RUN!" Dadan shouts as the bandits make a strategic retreat…. Well almost everyone
"Come on Ace you need to move" Mogra groans as he tries to drag the stubborn brat away from his death
"No, I'm staying" Ace declares, pulling free of the chicken man's grip
"Always have to do things the hard way, must be genetic" Mogra turns to his right and was surprised to see Kaos had also stayed, having expected the purple-haired kid to go with the smart and safe option of running the fuck away with everyone else, but go figure, he stayed too, and given the blank expression on his face and shadowed eyes, that was a very bad sign.
"Goda damn morons! You've got nothing to gain from sticking around, besides death by fire!" Dogra shouts at the boys, while Dadan turns on her heels, panic and fear for her kids flickering in her eyes "Plus Bluejam's a hardened criminal, kids like you shouldn't be trying to fight him to the death, there are simpler ways to die dumbasses!"
"Let me go, I gotta help then" Luffy whines and squirms, the bandit just barely holding onto him
"Get Luffy out of here" Dadan orders, stepping forward "I'll stay and take care of the other 2, no matter how many asses I gotta kick" she growls, slamming her axe down on the burning ground
"Cute, but at the end of the day, you're a woman and 2 kids against a pirate. Think you can win with odds that stacked against you?" Bluejam sneers
"I'll take those odds because you've really pissed me off, enough to actually want to use this for live target practice" Kaos replies with a voice that's not his own as an all-too-tight smile splits his face, as a sharp chill runs down everyone's spines, despite the oppressive heat of the roaring blaze of the trash heap "Evisceration!" he shouts as a black mist erupts from both boy and blade, causing Bluejam to have a moment of worry before his confidence returned, while Ace and Dadan look to their brother/son in concern
Rmmm rmm rmm rmm
"Shashasha!" Kaos cackles as he leaps out of the smoke at the pirate, all 3 combatants having a momentary brain fart as the lanky 10-year-old comes out swinging a double-headed CHAINSAW STAFF! Bluejam just barely managed to bring his sword up to block the overhead swing, sparks flying as it ground against the steel blade
"Well, he's officially the one I'm the most worried about mentally" Dadan mutters "Don't just stand there like a lump Ace, you wanted to fight this asshole, so go do it!"
Ace blinks "right… sorry. Really should be getting used to weird shit involving him and Luffy, Devil fruits and magic swords and all that crap" he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose before running in "Save some pirate for me bastard!"
"Stay on his left!" Dadan shouts "No you dumbass, Kaos' left, Bluejam's right! That cord means he can't switch hands you dumbo!"
"Glad to see someone pays attention" Kaos says with a lopsided grin, swinging the staff erratically as it clashes and bounces off Bluejam's blade, managing to use it to block one of his bullets in the process
"You little shit, just die alread… gah!" Bluejam groans as Ace manages to get in a blow in his ribs with his pipe, though was quick to counter with his sword cutting across the boy's chest
"Ace! Now you've made me mad!" Dadan yells swinging wildly with her axe as she charges him, but Bluejam just chuckles as he raises his pistol at the bandit
"You make this too easy bitch!" he laughs, going to pull the trigger….. If he still had a right hand
"§And now you've finally reached the point where I'm pissed off, good fucking work§" Kaos hisses an aura of rage and malice flooding the clearing, as well as snapping Dadan out of her berzerker rage long enough to stop and avoid being skewered by the chainsaw blade
"Kid, whatever you're thinking…"
"You'll pay for that you bastard!" Bluejam screams, rage blocking the pain, though not for long "I will have my revenge, once I kill you, that punk and the gorilla, I'll get to Hightown and gut that noble bastard for daring to cross me!"
"No. You won't" Kaos grins, pointed teeth shining in the flames before leaping forward and slamming his weapon straight into Bluejam's guts, the pirate howls as with a pained heave, Kaos digs the lower half of his weapon into the dirt and raises it like a flag, the spinning blade tearing through flesh and bone until it exits through the back of Bluejam's neck and the flailing and screaming stops
"Motherfu…. Kaos!" Ace groans clutching his stomach before seeing the carnage in front of him "Are you ok?" he shouts, seeing the boy covered in blood and viscera
"It's not mine" he pants "But Bluejam's one heavy bastard, I think I'm done here" he sighs, mostly unheard over the rumble of Hebi, though it soon cuts out, dropping the pirate's corpse before the purple haired boy flops backward, into Dadan's arms
"Stupid boy, this wasn't something kids like you should be doing" she mutters, hefting the unconscious boy onto her shoulder "Come on Ace, let's get the Hell out of here before we burn to death. Got it?"
Ace snaps out of it and nods "Got it Dadan, we should get back before Luffy and the others start to worry" he tries to joke, but it falls flat as he follows his mother figure through the flames to the edge of the forest, burying the fear in his heart, something to worry about in the far future. Plus he had something else to distract him with "The fuck! When did that happen?"
Dadan turns and sees what had Ace so shocked, the area they were running past looked like a shockwave had shot through it, clearing a trench-like path between them and the coast where a large ship was moored. It must have happened during the fight since it sure as hell hadn't been there when the bandits were running toward the boys "Not a clue kid, but it seems someone out there does give a crap about the beggars of Grey Terminal" Dadan hums with a sad chuckle "Now speed up boy, I'm not taking the heat from Garp if you get lost and die in this fire!" she adds angrily, snapping Ace out of his confusion and actually causing him to run on ahead
"See something you like Dragon?" Aversa grins, only her face visible and recognizable under the heavy green cloak she and the other Revolutionaries were wearing "This place means a lot to you, must be bad to see it in flames like this" she notes
"Goa was always rotten at the core, it's just spreading out as time progresses. It's also a reminder of what I will prevent the rest of the world succumbing to. That is our goal" he grunts, watching the bandits and kids rush off with his haki, his lip twitching as he sensed his son amongst them, as well as the energetic chaos that was synonymous with the rest of the D. clan in him and 2 more "Let's go!" he bellows, his 3 companions nod before setting to work, the former residents of Grey Terminal following their lead
A week later - the day of the World Noble visit
This was it, the day he would finally be free of this Hellhole. Sabo grins as he slips out of the house once more, with everyone else at the docks his father had only left a single guard to watch over him, which after all the fights he'd gotten into living with Ace and the rest of his brothers was literal child's play to knock out, steal the keys from and leave.
With everyone focused on the Celestial Dragon's ship, security was reduced basically everywhere else, meaning Sabo was able to sneak into the harbour, unlatch a ship, after making the necessary modifications such as his current prototype Pirate Flag (Crossbones with a big blue S over them), and getting the hell away from this island
"Nice weather we're having, it's a perfect day to set sail" Sabo grins to himself, sure he would have liked to wait and go off with his brothers, but it was safer for all of them if he kept his distance for the moment, they'll meet up again eventually if they were meant to cross paths, and him being gone means his asshole parents have no reason to go looking for Ace, Kaos or Luffy to find him. It was the closest to a perfect plan as the nearly 11 year old Sabo could come up with
"Hey! Are you nuts kid? Get back here!" came an angry voice from the pier, but Sabo paid it no mind
'I'm not afraid of anything, as long as I can be free. I just have to be far away from here' he thinks, smiling widely, tilting the wheel slightly to the left so he was clear of the wake of the ship heading toward the island "I may be a pirate in the future, but I'm not an asshole, they clearly have right of way" he chuckles to himself as both ships pass without incident "It's a nice ship though, hope my pirate ship will be as cool as that one someday" he grins, though puts his fantasies on hold until he was clear of danger…
KA-BOOOMMMM!
TBC
LW: Well, shit. But to be fair the World Nobles are assholes of the highest order with an undeservedly high opinion of themselves, did you really think someone passing them by minding their own business would be allowed to go unpunished?
Does anyone else think Dragon has a very gravely, Batman-type voice, or is it just me?