Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, those rights belong to Eiichiro Oda
Whitebeard looked at the 2 smaller ships in front of him. While it was true that no ship could hold a candle to the Moby Dick, the Red Force was its own vessel. Whatever those kids were living on at the moment wasn't even a ship to begin with. It was borderline dinghy.
When he was sure he entered earshot of Garp and Red Hair, he boomed,
"Garp, I hope you've got your answer ready!"
He could visibly see the sky darkening above where Garp was in turmoil. Shanks was resolute, but one could see the conflict in his eyes. Garp was hesitating. Not a sight many see of the marine Hero.
All of a sudden, a boom shook the deck. Whitebeard inclined his head in the direction of the boom, and he saw Garp there.
"Oi, Newgate," a powerful said, Whitebeard snapped back to reality and looked at Garp with an inquisitive look in his eyes, "What?"
"Take care of my grandsons, and their friends,"
Whitebeard stilled for a moment before guffawing and saying, "You've got it, Garp!"
o-o
Marco was practically fuming when Garp left yet another crater on the ship. That totaled three craters that Rakuyo had to fix. The 7th division commander would not be happy.
"Oi Newgate," Marco's attention snapped over to Garp, "Take care of my grandsons and their friends,"
Marco's brain screeched to a halt.
Friends? he thought numbly,
He stiffly turned his head to his father and saw that he had stilled at the news as well, eyes widened imperceptibly.
Then, that old man, that he so very much loved, but sometimes could get too much, laughed and agreed.
Eh?
o-o
Luffy was nervous. His Grandpa went up to old man moustache with a look that he never saw on his face ever, and practically threatened banana moustache to take care of him.
"Whoa.", Ace whispered from beside him, "We're going to be living on that ship," he looked up reverently, drinking in the sight of the imposing ship that somehow gave them the sense of safety as well.
Sabo scoffed, "That's what we had to sail away for, idio—", Sabo froze.
"Eh? Sabo?", Luffy turned around.
"Sabo?" Ace asked, slightly worried.
"No…" Sabo muttered, "No! Not that! Anything but that!", at that point he was in hysterics, "Please, kill me if you must! Don't do that—no…" he froze again, and Ace was one step away from literally shaking Sabo back into perspective.
"You'll never take me alive."
Luffy stilled, and then launched himself towards Sabo, effectively pinning him on the ground, "Sabo!" he called out desperately, "Sabo! You're here! You're not there, you're here! You're with us, you're okay! Please…" he sniffed, tear tracks running down his cheeks, "Sabo…".
Sabo groaned and then froze again.
"Luffy…?" he croaked, "What did… I do?" he sounded so lost.
Ace winced and cautiously walked over to Sabo.
"'bo? Are you… okay?" he asked quietly.
Sabo distantly noted that the world had stopped spinning around him and everything had gone quiet, yet the silence was so loud—
"Is it healthy for silence to be loud?", Sabo gave a shaky grin and then fell unconscious again.
"What happened?", Shanks growled after a few moments.
Ace had the decency to look at his feet in shame as Luffy began explaining.
"Ace went crazy, we ended up using our mystery power to fight without moving, and then Sabo went crazy, so I had to cut our fight short, and then knock Sabo out, but then Ace didn't stop and—" Luffy whimpered, "I could feel his mind break under the pressure"
Shanks winced and spared Sabo's unmoving body a glance. He turned his attention to Ace, whose head was still hung in shame and tears pricked the edge of Ace's eyes. Shanks walked up to him and put his hand under his chin. He angled Ace's head up and looked into his eyes. For a moment, his mind blanked out.
God, those eyes look so much like my Captain's…
"You're brothers, aren't you?" He found his voice, "Then, fix it together," Oda knows that I didn't, was what he left unsaid. He had yet to mend ties with Buggy after their Captain died. Buggy ended up going to East Blue to stay in the sea that their Captain was born in, whereas Shanks went ahead to become a Yonko of the sea. As a result, despite the fact that those two were practical brothers (not that Buggy would admit it, of course), they had a major falling out, and old hatred in Buggy did the rest.
They barely even talked anymore. I'm going to have to fix that, he resolved, later, he added sheepishly.
Ace looked at him with wide eyes, and before he could say anything, Shanks blurted out, "When I saw your freckles, I was reminded of Rouge," Ace's eyes widened even more as he looked at Shanks with wonder.
"To be honest, that's the first thing I thought of when I looked at your face," he admitted, before seriously looking into Ace's eyes, "When I saw your eyes, they reminded me of Roger,", and just like that, Ace's mood soured.
He muttered something incoherent under his breath, but before he could loudly vocalize his opinions, Shanks forged on, "Rouge was like a mother to me, so that would make us brothers," he winked at Ace, "Now we're all family, whether you like it or not, firecracker!". Ace's face turned into a happy grin, and then Luffy rocketed into him.
"Oof!"
"Hey, hey, SHANKS! Does that make us brothers too?" Luffy hyperactively bounced around.
Shanks laughed and agreed, "Yeah, Anchor! That makes us family for sure, Sabo-boy included!"
After the brothers and Shanks started laughing like they just pranked Sengoku the Golden Buddha, Garp made his presence known to the 3 children and the 1 man-child which doubled for a Yonko of the sea.
"Come on, brats, let's go,".
o-o
Once the ASL brothers, and their crew (?) made it onto the ship, Usopp immediately became closed off. He fell off the side of the ship and flew beside the Moby Dick, while Zoro took his 3 katana, while carefully holding Wado closest to him, he walked towards the mast and began napping by it. To normal people, it would look like he was just napping, but everyone on that ship knew that he wasn't.
They could tell, they would have to be blind in order not to see that in the position he slept in, he had a clear opening towards his katana, and he was in a position which would be easier to launch himself up from and fight on the go.
To those who escaped from the facility, however, they could also see that in the position by which he was napping, he was ready to go into Asura form at a moment's notice.
Ace picked Sabo up and went to the back deck, a tactical move, seeing how it was completely isolated, and with Usopp flying along the sides of the ship, all they had to do was jump off and they would be able to get a ride off.
But that's only taking into consideration which ones have Devil Fruits and which ones don't, Marco realized, All of them, they're unnatural, his phoenix senses screamed at him that, he'd be damned if he forgot it, They're unnatural, but only 2 have Devil Fruits? How…
Luffy immediately bounded up to the figurehead of the ship and sat down, while exuding a thick miasma of an aura, so that no one would even think to come near him.
They were taken in by the Whitebeards, yes, but that never meant that the ASLZU had to trust them. (Ace, Sabo, Luffy, Zoro, Usopp).
6 years, at the most, 6 years and they could leave. In 6 years, Luffy would be 17 and no one would have any power over them. Just. 6. Years.
Luffy groaned.
That's foreveeeerrrrrr…
o-o
2 weeks later
"Why…"
"Thatch—" Marco began—
"Whyyyy…" Thatch cut him off with a petulant whine. In his perspective, his whining was entirely justified. No matter what Marco said, Thatch could tell that even he, the always unflappable Phoenix Marco was becoming annoyed by how quiet the brats were being.
Some crewmates were even questioning whether they left the ship or not.
Thatch was broken out of his whining when the ship rocked violently. Within 5 seconds of that, the door to the galley was slammed open, and a winded Namur made himself known to the 2 commanders.
"Attack…" he wheezed, "Oyaji… Marines—" that in itself was more than enough to rouse the 2 commanders from the table.
"Where?" Thatch asked.
Namur sucked in a breath and led them towards the deck, where a huge battle was happening… And the Whitebeards were on the losing side. It seemed that the Marines were more confident in themselves since the last 3 years. How—?
Oh, that's right, Marco's face soured, Garp, that geezer.
Marco ran at full speed across the deck, and when he reached a point, he jumped high and shifted into his half-phoenix form before letting out a screech and dive-bombing the Navy ship to the right of the Moby.
Thatch, however, had other things on mind. The brats, WHERE ARE THE BRATS?! He kept on searching around, and before he could react, a wind brushed past him. It was a weird wind, considering it almost scalded him—
"HIKEN!"
A column of fire erupted from one of the Navy ships attempting to surround the Moby, and within seconds, burned down into nothing but ash. Everyone was speechless for a moment, as the flames condensed and shifted into a solid form—
"Yeesh, you could've at least attacked us when I wasn't sleeping ya jerk," Ace groused while sending several lances of fire through another Navy ship.
"Jeez, Ace, could you stop complaining? I've got a splitting headache," another voice chuckled.
Sabo sped through a marine battleship that was burning and bit a grunt. Within 5 seconds, all he became was a lump of flesh with his veins running dry.
He licked his lips, fangs glinting in the sunlight, "Never mind! I'm feeling better now!"
Another Navy ship was sliced into disproportionate thirds. Zoro got up from the remains of the ship that still managed to float. His three heads and 6 arms were as clear as day.
"Where am I?", at this statement, Sabo sweatdropped and wondered, Did he really get lost… there?
"Damn ship, it moved again!" Zoro growled once he found the direction of the Moby Dick. He crouched down and rocketed upwards, landing with a boom right next to Haruta.
He walked up to Whitebeard and reprimanded—reprimanded— "You should stop moving your ship so much, it becomes hard for people to find out where you are,"
Newgate blinked, but before he could return with something, Zoro was already by the mast and napping.
A screech stole their attention and they looked towards another Navy ship where Marco was working on bombarding with dive-bombs and the such. Then, a brown and white blur raced past them and another dive-bomb occurred, this time not from Marco.
Usopp tucked in his wings and rocketed towards the bruised and battered Navy Ship below him. I have to prove my worth, he thought desperately, otherwise captain will leave me! He will leave me behind and say that I'm too weak to continue, I must prove that I'm equal!
Tears pricked at the edges of his eyes as he formed tunnel vision from the force he was plummeting down at.
"Hey, isn't he falling?" Haruta asked, before defending herself, "What? I mean, when you see Marco dive, he goes at an angle, this guy is…"
"He's falling," Thatch realized, "MARCO!" he shouted.
"Marco!" Marco's head perked up from where he had been slashing at a Marine's stomach. He turned his attention away and ignored the grunt's pained moans as his guts oozed out of the gash.
"Stop the kid!"
Stop the kid? What… Marco's enhanced hearing picked something up from above him. There was a slight change in air pressure, and Marco's head jerked upwards, seeing the harpy kid plummeting downwards onto the ship at a 90o angle. Faster than the eye could see, Marco unfurled his wings and launched himself upwards, meeting the harpy kid in less than 2 seconds.
"Hey, kid," Marco shouted over the whistling of the wind. He could feel the kid's surprise, and attention, so he continued, "You're diving the wrong way," he said nonchalantly before going under the kid and redirecting his trajectory to a slight angle, almost 90o but not quite.
The kid fumbled for a bit before righting himself, and then found himself going faster than before with slightly less tunnel vision. He looked at Marco in surprise, before giving a small, yet thankful smile. Then the kid dive-bombed into the ship with slightly less force than Marco, but enough to leave a crater that couldn't be ignored.
Marco smirked and flew over to the Moby Dick. My work is done, that kid will do the rest, he landed on the deck while simultaneously shifting into his human form. He crossed his arms and looked at the destruction on the marines. The ones that were on the Moby were long since taken care of, and now everyone was watching the show of power.
"Why aren't you stopping the brat?" Vista questioned while sheathing his blades.
Marco just smiled, "That kid…"
o-o
Marco rocketed upwards in an attempt to get to the kid. Before he could say anything though, his breath was stolen by the sheer desperation in the black orbs of the one named Usopp. He was originally going to stop the kid, but recognized the desperation in those eyes.
It reminded him of himself. The will to prove to your captain that you're not worthless, that they're good enough not to be abandoned. He wanted to prove himself.
In the end, Marco didn't have the heart to stop him, and instead helped change his trajectory to maximize damage to the enemy and minimize it done to oneself.
His heart melted when the harpy kid gave him a smile.
Damn me and my bleeding heart, Marco cursed in his mind. He turned around and flew over to the Moby Dick.
o-o
"Reminded me of someone, is all," Marco finished after a pause.
From the look on Vista's face, he didn't buy it, but relented for now.
"Hey, do you know where the sixth brat is? Because he's not raining havoc and destruction like the rest of them," Thatch pointed out. Looking closer, Marco could see, yes, there was no sixth brat raining destruction on the marines.
BOOM!
Oh wait, never mind.
"GOMU GOMU NO ONO!" *
Right on cue, a leg coated in haki stretched up into the heavens and crashed into the last remaining, unscathed battleship.
Ha. 'Unscathed'. Like hell.
That one axe kick that rained heavenly destruction the Celestial Dragons would've been jealous of, broke the entire ship in half, and made it sink like the Titanic.
But no, the brat didn't stop there. He kept on going, with his fists, soon steam rose up from them and he smacked both his palms on the part of the ship that was still above water.
"GOMU GOMU NO HOU!" **
Then, the part of the ship that was above water exploded and the remains sunk into the briny deep.
"3 minutes," Kingdew said numbly, "3 minutes was all it took… to destroy 6 battleships…"
When did he get back? Marco shook away that thought and nodded along, "Yeah, those brats have got talent, that's for sure,"
The first to make it back on the ship was the blond*** boy, Sabo, if Newgate recalled correctly. From what Newgate remembered from the talk he had with Garp during the exchange, as his crew had taken to calling it, was that Sabo was undeniably the sanest one of them all.
Now, with said Sabo walking on deck, drenched in the blood and remains of his enemies, he began doubting that little piece of information.
He was humming, too.
The next to walk on deck was the freckled brat, Ace. He was yawning, and his overall demeanor was sleepy. That is not one's demeanor after they burn one ship to ash and almost do that for another, just how much control over his flames does this kid have?!
Next to come was Usopp, although, he didn't really walk on deck.
BOOM, CRACK!
He crashed into the mast.
He got up, a little dazed, before putting on a huge smile and looking around. The smile then dimmed a little when he didn't find who he was looking for. Must've been the Straw-Hat Brat. Although, the second he laid his eyes on Marco, his smile went up a few watts again.
He bounced over to the Phoenix and began talking animatedly, but there were some subjects that he visibly avoided, and some subjects that he would talk about, but was blatantly guarded when talking about them.
Those particular subjects were those about the last 3 years. Newgate could completely understand.
Then, the last brat came onto the Moby. He was a small brat. Almost unhealthily so. The blond boy was also unhealthily small, but that was because he was chained. Ever since he got out of those chains, his unnatural genetics tweaked at him, and he hit a growth spurt.
He grew about 7 inches in the last 4 weeks.
The Ace brat grew normally, and one could see that, he was probably the best treated out of all of them.
Physically the best treated. Mentally, was another matter.
Newgate could hear the maniacal laughter in the night and trace it back to Ace. There was so much pain, longing, acceptance, and amusement in one laugh. Whatever those brats went through in those 3 years, he wouldn't wish even on his worst enemy.
He was snapped back to attention by the small brat walking up to him. Aside from the fact that he was small, his hair pooled around him, and was matted with dirt, grime, and dried blood. What caught him off-guard though, were the eyes—
They were like endless pools of darkness. Murky depths that were too unholy for the human eye to see, yet so bright and willful. Power beyond what could be fit in that little body.
So much it was almost unnatural.
"Oi, Ossan," the kid started, and half his crew fell over in the sheer nonchalance in that statement.
It honestly reminded him of Garp.
"You're going to protect us, right?" he asked, while giving him the blankest stare of all blank stares.
Never mind, it doesn't remind me of Garp anymore, this is eerily familiar to Roger and that Dragon-brat's stares.
"Yes, I will, I don't break my promises," Whitebeard vowed, inwardly hoping he said the right thing. He knew these kinds of people. They were stubborn beyond comprehension, and if one thing is wrong to them, or a threat to those they care about, you can say bye-bye at your hopes and dreams.
Luffy kept his blank stare on for a moment or two before his face turned into a bright grin, and Marco swore that it eclipsed the sun itself.
"You're a good guy, I trust you!" the brat laughed, before bouncing over to his brothers and friends.
For the next three days, those brats were seen by almost everybody on the ship.
Then Teach came back from his mission.
…
The brats disappeared again.
AN: So, yeah… Updates won't be weekly. But I will try to do it twice (or more) per month. Also, could someone give me the names and occupations of the Division Commanders? I kinda… forgot… hehe… *sheepish*
*Attacks infused with haki will be in bold
**Normal attacks will be in simple italics.
***Blonde means something else. Blond means yellow-pigmented hair.
~~3,283 words.