The next day Garp was at Dragons door before the sun even had a chance to fully rise. Dragon opened it on the six or seventh knock. His face was tight and it looked like he hadn't slept in a while.
"Garp," He greeted coldly. "What are you doing here?"
Garp pushed in shoving the door open as he did.
"I have something I need to ask you." Garp said testily. And I need a serious answer."
"A little early for you to come bursting into my house isn't it?" Dragon commented as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
Garp was in no mood for a heated debate with his estranged son. He needed answers and he needed them now.
"It's about Luffy."
Dragon stiffened at that for a completely different reason then his father.
"Listen Garp…"
"The night that he disappeared, how did he end up in the woods?"
"What?"
Garp pushed closer so they were practically nose to nose. "How did Luffy end up in the woods!"
Dragon stared back unintimidated. "The report said the wolves grabbed him."
Garp let out a low growl. "I know what the damn report said!" He all but bellowed. "I'm not here at five in the goddamn mourning to ask what the report said. I'm here to ask my son what his seven year old child was doing out in the middle of the night!"
Dragon remained silent, looking back at his fathers enraged face.
Garp's fury melted away as he ran a weary hand over his face. "Damn it Dragon," He muttered after a few moments turning away.
Dragon watched as Garp paced around the kitchen his hands systematically running through his white hair.
"How could you?" He finally asked. "That was your son! You were supposed to be looking out for him."
"I'm sorry." Dragon said finally turning away from his father. He meant it. That had been wrong of him.
"What were you thinking?" Garp asked his voice so soft it could have been a whisper.
"I was thinking it would be good for him." Dragon said bitterly. "I thought it might bring us closer. That it would help him."
"You thought you could push him to becoming the head hunter to take over for you." Garp spit out. "He was just a little kid. You may as well shot him yourself. That was all but murder."
"No!" Dragon's eyes were suddenly alight. "Luffy was a protégée as a hunter. He could do it, I knew he could have. He took down a full sized wolf in training all by himself. I knew he would be scared but I also knew he would pull through like he always does."
"But you were wrong." Garp spat. "He failed the exam and the wolves got him."
Silence fell across the kitchen as Dragon regarded him carefully. "Why now? Why are you suddenly asking me about this after so many years?"
Now it was Garp's turn to step away. He was torn. On one hand this was Luffy's father. He had no doubt Dragon felt real remorse for forcing Luffy to take the exam at such a young age. On the other hand Dragon had nearly killed his own son. And Luffy seemed terrified of them all. Whatever trust Luffy still had in Garp had to be treated delicately. Garp turned his head away.
"No reason." He said, "It had just been bothering me for a while."
"Dad," The seriousness in his sons voice made Garp freeze.
"It's Luffy." Dragons tone was calm, measured. Garp was sure he was looking for a reaction, for anything that would give the old man away. Garp made sure to keep his face neutral as he turned to face his son.
"He's alive."
"How do you know that?" He asked quietly. "No one should have been able to survive loosing that much blood. We found his clothes…I mean it's a nice thought but."
"NO!" Dragon cut his father off sharply. "He's alive I know it. I saw the security footage from one of the outposts. It was Luffy, there was no doubt about it." Dragon trailed off as he regarded his father thoughtfully."
"But you knew that didn't you."
When Garp didn't say anything Dragon continued. "How?"
When Garp still didn't talk his son sighed deeply. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"
Only now did Garp open his mouth, regretfully. "Because he is scared." So very scared. And Garp didn't know of what.
Dragon's eyes widened. "You talked to him?"
"Only for a moment. He got away before he could tell me anything."
"Why would he run from us?"
Garp glared at his son, "Well he wasn't too happy about you leaving him to die when he was seven." His voice rose to a thundering pitch. "He thought I knew about it and let it happen. NOW WHY WOULD HE THINK SOMETHING LIKE THAT?"
Dragon snapped towards him, anger in his eyes. "IT WAS A MISTAKE! Is that what you want me to say? I messed up, I know I did. After Makino I was messed up. But I have a chance to make it right again. And I'm not going to let it go."
Garp ran his hand over his face again, taking in a weary breath. "It looked to me like Luffy wants nothing to do with us. Don't you think it's a little odd? He's been alive all this time and never once tried to contact us?"
"Ace!" Dragon growled as he hit the counter with his fist. "I thought that mongrel was dead but I was wrong about both of them. He has Luffy."
Garp remembered the pictures of Luffy and Ace sleeping, Luffy tucked securely in Ace's arms. He wasn't sure what to make of that. He wasn't sure about anything lately. He thought he knew his son. But apparently not. He thought he knew his grandson but no. Not anymore at least.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that gone damn dog stole my son. He poisoned him against me."
That would explains Luffy's fear, his loyalty and how he knew about the raid. But if that was true why did he try so hard to warn them? It felt like a puzzle, only each piece was from a completely different picture.
True he didn't know very much about Rodgers son. He would be lying if he said the thought of Ace being in arms reach of his defenseless grandson didn't make his skin crawl. But Luffy was still here wasn't he. Alive and kicking.
"You don't know that this is Ace's doing?"
Dragon laughed, a dark sound. "Of course I do. That boy swore to destroy me. He won't rest until he's taken everything from me."
Garp frowned unsure of what to say. He knew that Ace must hate Dragon for what he had done to his family, to him. The thought that Ace was out for revenge wasn't too farfetched. But if that were true why did he wait all these years. Why hadn't he done a single thing to them yet? Things just didn't seem to add up.
He didn't know what to do, how to act. He wanted to find Luffy force him to explain himself. But not at the cost of betraying his grandson. That would destroy any of the remaining relationship the two had. For one of the first times in his life he didn't know what to do.
XXXXX
Far away deep within the woods Sabo sat at the kitchen table watching sunlight slowly creep through the trees. Unsurprisingly he hadn't gotten very much sleep last night. Not when his two would be murder victims were just a few feet away. He looked up at a small shuffling.
"Your up." Sabo said sounding almost disappointed.
Luffy nodded as he sunk into a chair.
"Are you feeling okay?" Sabo asked after a few moments of awkward silence.
Apparently immune to it Luffy nodded. "How's Ace?"
"How does he look?" Sabo asked tilting his head curiously. Last he checked the teen had been alright. His breathing was strong and his color was coming back but he didn't so much as stir when Sabo tried poking him.
"Tired," Luffy told him.
"Yea, we should let him sleep." As much as Ace liked to believe it he was not indestructible. Sabo hated how Ace always used himself as cannon fodder, the very same way he use to when they were little kids. Even after all these years he was just as reckless and self-sacrificing as the day Sabo had met him. Even though they had been best friends and brothers for most of Sabo's life sometimes he did not understand him.
Sabo was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't see Luffy approaching until he felt a poke in the cheek. Sabo almost jumped at the contact as he pushed the finger away making Luffy frown.
"Are you okay?"
"I should be asking you that?"
Luffy nodded as he sat in the chair besides Sabo, resting his back against the teens bent knees.
"Are you mad at me?"
Luffy shook his head looking down at his bare feet.
"Are you sure?"
"Sabo," Luffy argued leaning back further into him. "Are you still crazy?"
"No more than usual."
"Then I'm not mad."
Sabo sighed as he too leaned back. He was glad that Luffy wasn't angry, although when he really thought about it he wasn't that surprised. Ace had been right afterall.
Sabo moved to relax but a flash of his little brothers face, streaked with tears and betrayal right before he brought the knife down came into his mind and made him jerk away from Luffy.
"What's wrong?"
"You should be," Sabo told him resting his chin on his knees.
"You don't get to tell me what to feel," Luffy reminded him as he scooched his chair closer so he could once again lean against the blond.
"I can tell you whatever I want." Sabo said relaxing against the contact. "You just don't have to listen to me."
"And I never listen."
"Your almost as bad as Ace," he agreed.
"Can I ask you something?" Luffy asked after a pause.
"No."
"Sabo!" Luffy whined the same way he used to when they were kids.
"Fine but can you steer away from the questions of the universe, at least for today." He didn't know about Luffy but he had his fill of tough conversations for a year, at the very least untile the sun came up."
As always Luffy ignored him. "Did you mean what you said?"
Sabo let out a low sigh, he did not want to talk about this without coffee. "Which part?" He asked weakly.
"All of it."
"No…maybe…I don't really know can you be more specific? I said a lot of things."
"About Ace dying?"
Crap. Sabo ran his hands over his knees nervously. Why the hell was he the one telling Luffy this? It wasn't even his secret.
"Yea. Sorry we didn't tell you. I think Ace just didn't want you to worry about it."
"Oh."
"What else did talkative me tell you?" He might as well get this over with now. Lucky for them Luffy wasn't very dramatic nor emotional. At least not by normal human standards.
"You said I was… wrong or something."
"So I did," Sabo recalled. His exacts words were 'really messed up' but he didn't see the need to correct him.
Luffy turned to look at him, his large eyes impossibly larger with worry. "Am I wrong or weird or broken?"
Sabo cut him off before he could continue. "Maybe a little." He almost laughed at Luffy's face. The epitome of a kicked puppy. "But don't worry about it." He promised quickly. "Everyone is a little messed up. If I was super healthy I wouldn't have tried to kill you and if Ace was normal he wouldn't have a death wish."
Luffy nodded slowly. "Alright," He agreed after a moment.
"You said one other thing."
Sabo tensed at that, they were headed into dangerous territory. He silently cursed his soulless self for making so much trouble for him.
"And what would that be?"
Luffy met his eyes evenly for a second before turning back to stare out the window.
It's nothing," He said with a sigh. "You were just lying."
"Probably." Sabo agreed as he turned to the window as well.
XXX
Ace was dreaming, he knew it was true. For one thing he was a toddler again and for another he was in his old house. His mother stood over the stove humming strawberry fields forever as she worked. At least it was a good dream.
His dad use to tease his mom about her cooking but Ace thought all food was great. He kicked his legs against the table as Rouge put a bowl of stew down in front of him kissing his head as she did.
"Did you get up to anything interesting today Big Bad?"
Images of Sabo standing over Luffy with a knife flashed through his head but he pushed them aside. His mother didn't want to hear about something as violent as that. Instead he told her about the squirrel he had chased that day. He had been after the dumb thing for months but he couldn't catch it. He thought the squirrel was mocking him from its tree. Telling him he was a bad hunter.
Rogue didn't understand the need to prove himself to the neighboring squirrels. But she laughed anyway telling him he as a goof.
"Why do you have to kill it?" She asked as she stood up. Ace followed her curious about where she was going.
"Because it's a squirrel, and I'm a wolf. It's what we do." Ace told her as she unlocked the door stepping out into the yard. Even though they had just finished lunch it was late at night. He could tell as much from the darkened sky. Rather than the sloping hills fringed by trees they were back in the forest.
"Who says just because you are born something you have to act how everyone else expects you to."
Ace shrugged, he didn't really know. "When everyone thinks you are a certain way it doesn't really matter if you're like that or not. It's how things work."
Rogue looked up at the stars, admiring them. "Why did they kill me then Big Bad? If what you say is true I'm a human. Humans aren't supposed to kill other humans."
Ace knew the answer to this question easily.
"Because you're not a human to them anymore. You're a traitor. And Hunters kill everything that isn't human."
"If I'm a traitor then what does that make you?"
"A monster."
His mother turned her eyes to him sharply. "Ace don't talk like that, you'll make your mother sad."
"It's true mom. Everyone knows it."
"Ace me and your father did not make a monster. We made a perfect baby. A kind baby. We made you."
Ace shook his head as the stars above seemed to shift and spin like a kaleidoscope. Maybe at first he had been good and innocent but he had lost that battle a long time ago. There was nothing innocent about him anymore. A monster was what he had to become to survive. He had chosen to live and that meant shouldering all the hatred and self-loathing. Rather than fight it he decided to go along with it. Why not become a monster and make those who took everything from him feel the same pain he did.
"That's stupid." A familiar voice called out. He looked up to see Sabo sitting in a tree reading one of his books. His brother was ten years old again and still sporting the colorful bruises he had when Ace met him.
He snapped the book shut and jumped down. "If that's true why are you and me friends? We shouldn't be, we should hate each other." Sabo tilted his head. "Do you hate me Ace?"
Ace shook his head wordlessly.
"Why don't we hate each other? When every other one of our species does. Why are we different?"
Ace didn't have an answer for that one either.
"If that's true why didn't you just kill me?" Ace tuned around to see Luffy standing behind him, back to his seven year old self. You hate my dad, you wanted to kill me right? So what stopped you? Why was I any different?"
Ace had often asked himself why he hadn't followed through with his intention to kill Luffy.
"It's easy," Luffy promised Ace as he fished the knife from his boot handing it to Ace. "Right through the heart he reminded him. You've done it before right?"
Ace looked at the knife in his hands and then back to Luffy as the little kid leaned over to wrap his arms around Ace. He rested his chin on Ace's shoulder with a weary sigh. "Go ahead." Luffy told him tightening his grip. "They're going to end up killing me anyways. I would rather die here then have to go back to them."
Sabo rolled his eyes. "Honestly," He said as he grabbed the knife from Ace's loose grip pulling Luffy away from him.
"It's easy Ace." He told him, only they weren't little kids anymore. They were the teenagers from last night. Ace stood there unable to move as Sabo brought the blade down, plunging it into Luffy heart.
Ace woke up screaming.
It took a long moment for his fuzzy mind to separate dreams from reality and for a horrible second he could still taste the soup his mother had made for him, still feel the knife in his hands and still hear the sounds of Luffy screaming.
Then the second was over and his sluggish thoughts recognized the figure on the edge of the bed as his distinctly not dead little brother.
Luffy was asking him something but he ignored it to instead pull him into a tight hug.
Luffy stilled but when Ace didn't let go he began to wiggle around trying to ask Ace what was wrong. Ace ignored him as he resting his cheek on the soft hair, content to go back to sleep despite Luffy struggling in his arms. He shifted so Luffys mouth was muffled by his shoulder. Ace knew that if he let him call Sabo the blonde would make him let go. He told Ace that just because he was stronger then the kid that didn't mean he was allowed to force him to do things, like be his teddy bear for example. Ace disagreed, that was exactly what that meant.
He was far too tired to get up but he was worried about having another nightmare. Couldn't he just have one nice dream before his diseased psyche ruined it? Or whatever cocktail of pain pills he was currently on. He hated medication, it always gave him the oddest dreams. Whne he finally did drift off again, Luffy wiggling in his arms irritatingly, only nightmares awaited him.
XXX
"Looks like we missed all the action boys." A young man said as he surveyed the damage around the town. He hadn't been back for years. It was only the recent attack on the town that had forced him to break his self-imposed exile and return.
"I can't believe those things had the stones to do a full out assault on the town." A curly haired man said.
The man nodded silently as he put a hand on the gravestone patting it reassuringly. "Yea boys, it looks like a war is brewing and this town seems to be smack in the middle of it."
"So what's the plan boss?"
The man bent down to place roses on both of the tombstones in front of him. There were older flowers, just starting to wither besides his own. He wondered who had been responsible for those.
"Same old," He told his crew with a smirk as he straightened. Kill the monsters rescue the humans and maybe get lucky with some damsels along the way."
The black haired man besides him took a long drag from his pipe before putting it out, slinging his gun over his shoulder. "Sounds good to me."
"Don't worry anchor." The scarred man promised gently as he gave the tombstone one last look before turning away. "We will get the bastards that did this to you." Every last one of them.
XXX
Thank you to everyone who's still with my weird and a little twisted story. I'm so glad people seem to like it. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. It would make my day and I will give you a baby werewolf of your own to cuddle and love either way hang in there for the rest of the semester. Summers almost here and we are so close to freedom!
***If you thought the dream sequence was a little corny it was because that's the only way I know how to foreshadow. This chapter was just dealing with the fallout from chapter 20 and next chapter is going to be a big piece out of Ace's past. Then the rest of the straw hats reunite as they have been a little lacking lately. And Dragon starts to look for his lost son killing everything along the way. And Shanks is back now.
***Fun fact, if you were ever curious of what your stripper name would be my old boss told me that it's the name of your first pet + the first street you lived on
FairyAlchemist400: You might have to force feed him chill pills. I don't think he is going to take this lying down. I'm so glad you liked soulless Sabo. He creeped me out too and I didn't realize how dark the chapter had gotten until I reread it and thought 'oops'. Yes, I think Sabo had enough to worry about before and now he has the added stress of this. Thank you so much for your kind review!
Guest: Thank you for not being mad at Sabo. He had a rough day.
Rin27: That is so nice! I'm so happy you like the story. I worry sometimes that it's too abstract. Here is Dragons reaction ad he is note pleased. Thank you for the review! Hopefully this chapter was good as well!
lostdog200: Yes of course! I'm glad you like it
SEllen23: I'm really happy you liked the Ace/Sabo bromance. I think they are really great together. Sorry the chapter turned a little dark and Soulless Sabo was so mean. Thank you for the review I hope you like this one as well.
