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To Everyone: *Cookies for reading cause you're amazing people*

ASDFGHJK I'm sorry this is late I forgot to post yesterday cause I had a doctors appointment!! It was busy!!! I'll post another chapter in a bit to make up for it, for now, Happy Reading!!! pls forgive me

Ace was the first to wake up from the threes' nap. He sat up slowly and stretched his arms out with a yawn. Glancing down he saw both Sabo and Luffy still curled up tightly next to each other.

Ace smiled at them and then steadily got off the bed, trying not to wake his sleeping siblings. He walked over to the door and opened it, cringing when it squeaked a little. He spared a look at his brothers and sighed in relief when he found them still snoozing soundly.

He continued out the door and shut it quietly behind him. He rubbed the rest of the sleep from his eyes as he walked out the short wooden corridor and onto the bustling deck.

Ace looked out to the sea and found the sun hanging low in the sky, pink starting to etch its way into the horizon. It was about two or so hours until sunset.

Ace then assumed that they'd been asleep most of the day... Five hours or so.

Wow, we really were exhausted, Ace thought to himself as he walked over to the ship railing as to get a better view of the ocean.

He stood there a few minutes in a serene state as he watched the sun slowly dip closer and closer to the sea, the crew working diligently behind him becoming the perfect white noise.

Then, Ace's stomach let out a ferocious growl, instantly dampening the tranquil mood.

Ace sighed and moved away from the railing, heading towards the kitchen for some grub. Now that he thought about it, he and his brothers had slept straight through lunch. By the looks of things, it was just about dinner time, maybe even just past it.

Ace hoped with all his heart he had not indeed missed dinner time, because he was positively starving.

As he came upon the Galley, he opened one of the double doors that led to it and entered them. He headed straight for the bar that lay in front of the kitchen, hoping to find Thatch and ask for some sort of snack at least.

The ravenous ten-year-old hopped up eagerly onto one of the bar stools in the hopes of getting a bite. Once he was seated comfortably, Ace peered into the kitchen to see if he could spot Thatch somewhere in the mass of cooks.

Lucky for him, he didn't have to wait long. Thatch, noticing the lone kid, walked up to him out of pure curiosity. When Ace spotted the large haired chef, his dark eyes lit up.

Thatch leaned on the opposite side of the counter and smiled brightly.

"What's up kiddo? It's not often we catch you without your brothers," Thatch asked cheerfully.

Ace smirked back. "They're still asleep and I was hungry. I have no idea what time it is- can I get some food? I'm hungry."

As if to prove his point, Ace's stomach let out a loud rumble just as he finished speaking.

Thatch laughed as Ace was unnerved by the interference and continued to stare straight at him

"It's around six, and we're just about finished cooking dinner," Thatch answered

Ace seemed to glow at the fact that he had in fact not missed the last meal of the day, and it made Thatch simply giddy. Unable to control his laughter he turned away slightly as Ace bubbled his cheeks in annoyance at the reaction.

"Tell ya what kid," Thatch chuckled while wiping a tear from his eye, "you go wake up your brothers and bring them right here to the bar, and by the time you come back I'll have enough food for all three of you to feast on."

Ace beamed at that and nodded rapidly before jumping from the stool and dashing out of the galley, calling behind him, "I'll be Right Back!!! You better keep your promise Cook Guy!"

"My name's Thatch, brat!" Thatch yelled out after him. But it fell on deaf ears as Ace was already long gone with food for thought.

I better get cooking... Thatch realised quickly and he turned back to the kitchen to prepare the promise.

"SAABOOOOOOOOO!!"

Sabo bolted straight up as Ace's cheery yell filled the room. Luffy fell off the bed, having just had the scare of his life.

"Oww," Luffy groaned from the wooden floor.

His foot was caught in one of the blankets, so he was hanging upside down, having fallen just enough to hit his head.

"Ace!?" Sabo scolded, running around the bed to help Luffy right himself, "Why on earth are you running in here and screaming like a maniac!? I thought the ship was on fire for Oda's sake!"

Ace walked up the bedside and rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly. "Heh heh, sorry about that."

Sabo flashed a glare at his brother as he sat Luffy on the floor. Luffy criss-crossed his legs and held his ankles, peering up at Ace with his head tilted to the side, round brown eyes wondering what he was here for. The seven-year-old was feeling better after some rest, and not quite so jumpy.

"Well?" Sabo prompted.

Ace sighed and plopped himself down in front of Luffy and Sabo on the floor.

"I was hungry. So, I got up and went to the kitchen to get food. But it's already dinner time so Thatch said to come here and get you guys and by the time I got back there would be food!" Ace explained excitedly.

A red vein popped out on Sabo's forehead as he smacked Ace upside the head. "You're telling me you ran in here like a lunatic and woke us up because yoU WERE HUNGRY!?" Sabo yelled.

Luffy flinched slightly at the noise and covered his ears. Sabo and Ace looked at him, and instantly softened their emotions.

Sabo patted Luffy's head. "Sorry bud, forgot you were still a little tired," Sabo said gently.

Luffy took his hands from his ears and wrapped his hand around Sabo's. "It's okay," he responded softly, "I forget a lot of things too."

The elder brothers frowned at that, but before they could ask what the youngest meant, a ship announcement blasted over the speaker and Thatch's voice came in over the intercom.

"Dinners ready folks! Get it while it's still here!" Informed the head chef.

Luffy had one hand over his ear and the other still on Sabo. The older two sighed, but then Ace bounced up and down and pulled both of the others to their feet.

"Come onnnnn!!! Food time!" Ace cheered while dragging Sabo and Luffy out the door.

"Okay, okay were coming! But slow down a little you moron! Luffy can't keep up, " Sabo replied in irritation.

Ace did slow a little after realising that Luffy was indeed having a bit of trouble with the pace, but not much. They practically sprinted down to the galley and burst through the doors with a rather impressive entrance.

After that, the three practically flew to the bar where, as promised, was a large buffet set out for them.

Ace's eyes shined stars and he didn't even bother with a plate before digging straight in, inhaling the food like some sort of beast.

Sabo helped Luffy up onto the high seat and then sat down between Ace and Luffy. Being a bit more refined, he grabbed him and Luffy plates, then filled them up before devouring every last crumb he could find.

The brothers urged Luffy to eat something, and managed to get him to eat a bit of bread and meat after a few contests, but it still wasn't much.

They grew increasingly worried about Luffy's eating and wondered what had caused it.

Their worries were cut short when Thatch strolled up to the bar for some conversation.

He smiled at Ace and Sabo who were still nomming away at their meal, but faltered slightly when it came to Luffy.

"Hey Luffy! Is something wrong with the food? I can make you something else if you want, just name it," Thatch offered.

Luffy's eyes widened as he realised what the chef was implying, and began waving his hands in objection.

"No no! The food is fine I'm just.." He looked down at the floor, which seemed so far below him now, "I'm not hungry," he finished in a mumble.

Thatch's lips twitched downward at the straw hat kids demeanor. It didn't stay though and the smile was back at full strength just as quickly as it'd weakened.

"Awe, are ya sure? I could make you some desert or something, I won't tell anyone," he winked.

Luffy looked up at Thatch, his eyes distant. "No thank you," he stated quietly, grabbing Sabo's arm and squeezing it slightly.

"Are you sure Luffy?" Sabo coaxed as well, "That's a preeetty good offer. "

Luffy didn't respond, but instead focused back into the ground below, holding tightly to Sabo's arm.

Sabo and Ace sighed and shook their heads at Thatch.

Thatch leaned in closer to the boys and kept his voice low. "How long has he been like that?" He asked in concern.

Both boys shrugged and Ace whispered back, "I think since we've been on the ship. We can't figure out why though. He used to eat even more than me, so we're kinda worried."

All three glanced at Luffy with different expressions. Thatch was staring in shock and awe.

This kid used to eat more than Ace!? He looked at the hundreds of empty plates that already filled the counter and was still being added to.

He couldn't possibly imagine any kid, especially someone as small as Luffy, putting down that much food. It couldn't be possible... Right?

Thatch was abruptly pulled from his delusions by someone in the kitchen calling his name. He sighed and looked at the boys before him.

"Well, guess that's my queue. See you guys later!" All three boys gave little waves as Thatch turned around calling out, "I'M HERE I'M HERE, stop yelling already- geez..."

Ace and Sabo laughed at that, and even Luffy smirked slightly. Thatch was a very upbeat guy and the trio liked the man quite a bit. Another ally they could rely on when needed.

Ace and Sabo had finished stuffing their faces and everything that had once filled the counter had been devoured, but hardly any of it by Luffy.

"So, Lu, you wanna go hang out on the deck or stay here?" Sabo asked while resting his head on his hand, elbow on the smooth wooden countertop.

Luffy looked at the counter a minute before looking up at Sabo and shrugging, then returning to examining the intricacies of the wood grain.

Sabo sighed and glanced at Ace, who also shrugged.

He rose a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"I'm surrounded by indecisive idiots," The blond groaned into his palm.

Ace laughed. "Could be worse!" He stated carelessly.

"Yeah, could be worse," came a quiet and haunting answer from Luffy who was still staring down at the table top.

Both older brothers stopped and stared at the young raven. Realisation hit Ace like a train.

"Luffy..." He couldn't find any words to comfort the traumatized child.

Luffy shifted uncomfortably in the barstool. "I want to go to the room now," he said in a sad hush.

Unable to speak, Sabo merely nodded and helped him down. The three headed back to their quarters wordlessly, feeling that anything said at the moment would be used as a trigger for their little brother.

When they reached the room, Luffy went to his bed, scrambled slowly up the side, and then curled up into a tight ball next to the fluffy pillows and blankets.

Ace took a step forward to reach Luffy, and opened his mouth, but it was stopped by Sabo. Ace looked at the blond with confusion. Sabo shook his head slowly, hand still held out stopping Ace from going forward.

Then, he walked to his own bed and picked up a book from the side table, beginning to read it.

Ace stood there a few lingering seconds, then sighed and got into his own bed. He knew what Sabo's message had been. Luffy just needed some space today.

He got under the blankets and decided to turn in early, having nothing better to do. Luffy seemed to be thinking the same, so he just followed the band wagon.

Ace huddled into the warmth, enjoying it thoroughly despite his worries. Soon enough, his eyes fluttered shut and he fell asleep into a comforting black abyss.

Luffy was also asleep at this point, leaving Sabo the only one up. He peered out from his book and looked over to Luffy. He rolled his eyes at his little brother and set the book down, walking over to the be

He always falls asleep on top of the covers with his hat around his neck. He's gonna get a cold and strangle himself if he doesn't start being more careful! Sabo lectured in his head while putting Luffy's hat beside him on the bed and pulling the thick blankets over top of his small frame.

Sabo grimaced. Too small.

He shook his head free from the thought and went back to his book. He settled on the bed once more and kept reading late into the night, keeping close watch on his siblings all the while.

Sabo could never fully dissipate into the world within his book however, as an aching feeling gnawed at the back of his brain, constantly reminding him of all his failures to his family.

He finally gave up reading and got under the covers himself, but not before sparring a sympathetic glance at Luffy.

I'm sorry, Luffy. I'm sorry I couldn't save you in time.

Sabo didn't feel he deserved the kind darkness that began to seep around him, but couldn't help and be glad for it all the same.

It had been a full month since the trio of trouble were rescued from slavery and joined the Whitebeard Pirates' adventures in the New World.

Ace had become good friends with Thatch, and Sabo would often hangout with Marco while Ace was watching Luffy.

Luffy had continued to stay pretty distant from everyone, however. He had gotten closer to Marco and Thatch, and was okay with Aria, but it seemed everyone else set him on edge.

He would sometimes hang out with Izou on a good day, and if the brothers were lucky, even manage to introduce him to someone new. But Luffy's so-called "Good day's" were few and far between.

And of course, he still hasn't even met Whitebeard.

Ace and Sabo were both introduced to their Captain at some point. In fact, Sabo often liked to hear his stories. Ace liked to hear what the old man thought of Gol D. Roger, because Whitebeard never said anything bad about the man and it was such a different perspective that Ace couldn't help but be curious. Not that it changed his hatred for the old Pirate King.

Neither of them had shared much of anything about their past, it stung too much. They told Aria at some point the basis of everything, but nothing personal, and certainly not the fact that they were the sons of a noble, the Pirate King, and some dude named Dragon (no one had really cared enough to ask who he was, and Garp certainly didn't bother explaining).

In the past month, Luffy often had anxiety and panic attacks. Ones caused by anxiety were usually built up over time and the eldest brothers would learn something new about Luffy and try to make it better. This normally ended in Luffy being better off in the long run.

On the other side of the scale, his panic attacks were often triggered. Whether it was a small problem or something large and sudden happening, these almost always spiraled out of control and took hours to calm Luffy down. Luffy would always end up asleep afterwards. Aria had explained it as part of Luffy's defense mechanism, and not to worry about it too much.

Speaking of which, that was another thing. Luffy hardly got a full night of sleep. He either stayed up worrying or would toss and turn in a half conscious state of nightmares and memories.

He hardly spoke, hardly ate, and never laughed.

Every now and again, usually with Izou, they'd get him to smile at something, but the effects of psychosis were worse than the Doctor had originally thought. When Ace and Sabo had noticed it, they brought him to Aria, but she just shook her head and said to give it time.

Evidently, that meant more than a month. Although the brothers couldn't deny that Luffy had indeed gotten better at expressing himself. Instead of the stoic silence he used to give off, you could now take a look at his face and at least figure out whether he was in a good mood or not, sometimes even which mood he was in.

Today, you could take one look at Luffy and see that he was anything but 'alright'.

To start off, the young boy had awoken with a yell, startling a groggy Ace and Sabo awake and immediately took defensive positions whilst standing upon the bed.

"Who there!?" Asked a half asleep Ace.

When nothing happened, they both rubbed their eyes and looked around the room. It didn't take long for them to lay eyes on Luffy, curled up in the top corner of his bed where the frame met the wall and shaking terribly. His eyes were wide and his breathing was fast, huffing in and out as chocolate eyes darted around the room.

"Luffy?" Sabo called gently.

Just that one bit of noise made Luffy jump violently and his eyes finally laid on Sabo, who was inching towards him slowly.

The two ten-year-olds were accustomed to Luffy's frantic stages, and knew that if his eyes looked fearful, you stayed quiet, still, and slow. It was the only way to get near him without him trying to get away from you. Which was understandable, when you thought about it. If someone is coming near you and you're not the most stable at the moment, especially if you've been trapped somewhere for a long time, you certainly would want to stay away for fear of going back to being trapped. Yes, they understood Luffy quite well; but it didn't make him any easier to deal with.

Sabo had made it to the bed, being the closest to Luffy. He'd sat down on the far edge and spoke softly.

Another sign that Luffy was not of sorts: his hat was in his hands instead of on his head.

They'd learned that this was a habit he'd picked up from when he was alone, along with muttering to himself and hiding in corners.

It didn't matter if you could see him from said corner. As long as he was in one he didn't seem to care, and the elder boys didn't mind since it made him feel safer.

Much like right now, how Luffy had huddled himself into a tight ball, gripping Shanks hat in both hands and sinking into the walls where they met.

Mornings we're not friends of the Straw-hatted seven-year-old.

"Did you have another nightmare?" Sabo asked.

Ace was behind him now.

Luffy nodded, head down, eyes fixed on the straw hat as he fiddled with the red ribbon.

Sabo sighed and moved up the bed a bit and closer to his brother.

He managed to get next to Luffy and was now sitting beside him on the wall. To Sabo's left, Ace had joined them on the wall as well.

"You wanna talk about it?" Ace chimed in.

There was a moment of silence before they both heard Luffy whisper, "No."

They both frowned. Luffy had been becoming more closed off when it came to talking about things that bothered him. Sure, you could tell when something was wrong now by the way he expressed himself, but that information was useless if Luffy refused your help every single time.

"Com'n Lu," Ace coaxed, "we wanna help. Whatever it was obviously bothered you-"

"Too much."

Both brothers looked at Luffy, he hadn't looked up from his hat but the tears brimming his round eyes were evident.

"What's too much?" Sabo pressed, hoping for more information.

Luffy clutched the hat even closer to his chest, accompanied by a satisfying crunch of squished straw.

He let out a shaky breath and looked up slightly, but not at his brothers.

"Everything. I don't like it. People are scary, and so is my head. And they won't go away!" Luffy really was crying now.

Even though what he said didn't make sense, there was one thing that did catch the elder two's attention.

"They? Luffy who is they?" Ace and Sabo questioned.

"You can't see them," Luffy answered bluntly in a hushed tone.

A thought suddenly sparked in Sabo's mind. "Luffy, do you mean that you're hallucinating? Seeing things that aren't there?"

Apparently that was correct, but also the wrong thing to say so bluntly out loud, because Luffy was now sobbing into Sabo's night shirt while nodding his head.

"Oh Luffy..." Ace couldn't find any other words of comfort, only questions.

Sabo knew this was serious, it was heartbreaking to see Luffy like this. He looked down when he heard the muffled voice of the raven.

"I'm not crazy. I'm not, I know they aren't real but they won't leave me alone!" Luffy half yelled while holding onto the blond.

Sabo stroked Luffy's silky hair and wrapped arms around his small frame, drawing him closer.

"We know you aren't crazy Luffy. Your minds have been through more than any of us can imagine. We know it's hard for you, but can you try and tell us more about this? We want to be able to help but we need more information Lu," Sabo requested while comforting Luffy.

Luffy was quiet for a few moments before he pulled away slightly and sat in Sabo's lap while facing Ace, Sabo's arms still wrapped around him.

"Sometimes they make things hard to see... Like instead of what's really there I see these weird scary people," Luffy's lowered lip shivered slightly and his mouth twitched downward, "most of the time, they aren't nice people. They wanna take me back there. I don't let them tho so I close my eyes and then the go away and you come back," Luffy paused a minute in his explanation and a small smile made its way to his face as he added, "Sometimes they're nice though, like the little lil rabbit I named Fluffy. He's nice..."

Luffy then seemed to go into a daze thinking about his rabbit friend Fluffy.

That last bit made Ace and Sabo smile. It was like an imaginary friend that came a little too close to blurring the lines of reality and imagination.

Everything except the rabbit, was incredibly concerning. If Luffy was having such bad hallucinations that they sometimes made it difficult for him to tell what was real, then they'd have to deal with it sooner rather than later. It did explain why Luffy would sometimes go into a trance and get that daunting look to his eyes that Ace and Sabo hated so much.

Sabo looked at Ace, blue eyes becoming deep pools of concern.

"Ace, how should we handle this one? If we tell Aria then she'll think he's lost it and stop letting him out and stuff. I think this might have been lingering from before we rescued him... It is something solitary confinement can cause," Sabo whispered. He'd been reading up on symptoms of solitary confinement ever since they'd come back.

Ace nodded in agreement with Sabo. "We'll have to keep this a secret, for now at least. If it gets too much to handle... well..."

They let a brief silence fill the air while Luffy was still distracted and they thought about what to do, considering their options.

Sabo sighed. "We're gonna have to just watch it. It's obvious that sometimes it gets in the way. I bet that's why sometimes he freaks out when we try to help him. He just sees those stupid Celestial guards."

Ace growled and Sabo glared at nothing in particular. Everything, all of this was that stupid Celestial Dragons fault! If it wasn't for them being captured and imprisoned then none of this would have happened and Luffy would still be living with that carefree smile.

Oh how they missed that smile.

They turned their attention back to Luffy and saw he was still staring blankly into space.

"Hey, Lu," Ace said while tapping the kids shoulder.

Luffy instantly snapped out of it and whipped his head around to see who was behind him. Finding it just to be Ace, he relaxed a little bit. Luffy loved his brothers, and without them, he was sure he really would have gone crazy.

But no, he'd be okay. He had to be okay, he didn't want to cause trouble for his family.

At least, that's what he wanted so desperately to say. To just smile it off and act alright. But he couldn't. It was like he was stuck in a fog, forced to be down. He didn't have enough energy to pretend, he had too much to deal with to try and act like it was alright. It was too frightening to pretend it wasn't scary. Everything was scary. Everyone was untrustworthy until proven otherwise.

Luffy wanted to go back to before, but he couldn't even remember what it was like before. Half the time he didn't even think he knew the time. How long had he been on that ship without his family?

A day?

A few months?

Years!?

Oh gosh- it couldn't possibly have been years... right? Alone? Ill? Starved? For years??? There was no way-

But then he didn't even know how long he'd been on this ship. Sure, he knew for a fact it's been a few weeks, but how many?

His breathing quickened as his thoughts started spinning in his head. His eyes stopped seeing what was in front of him.

Was this a dream?

Was he still hallucinating and Ace and Sabo were still trapped and he was alone in the white room?

Gosh how he hated the colour white.

What if you're dying right now because you're just a useless kid? You're half gone already, why would they want you back.

You may be free, but you're still trapped.

Stuck in your head.

There is no escape. Freedom doesn't exist for you.

You can't get better.

Was it just him or was it getting dark?

You're too far gone and a burden to everyone. Who'd want you?

Is it just him? Where the heck did that dark shadow come from? Why is it talking!?

You're going to be alone forever.

"SHUT UP!" Luffy screamed at the top of his lungs. He shut his eyes tight and clamped both hands tightly over his ears, shaking his head rapidly to get rid of the voice.

Ace and Sabo jumped back at the unexpected outburst. They had noticed Luffy zoning out again, a murky look in his eyes when he turned around to face Ace.

They had called to him, but he wouldn't answer, his expression only became more pained with every second until-

"Go away go away go AWAY! " Luffy chanted, trying to block out the noise.

It's too loud!

It's not real.

Itsnotrealitsnotreal-

"Luffy?"

It's not real it's not real it's not real-

"Luffy!"

It's not r-

"LUFFY!?"

Luffy was jolted, firm hands on his shoulders, taking him away from the false world.

He stared up with widened brown eyes glossed over with fear and despair.

Suddenly, there was warmth all around him. It became a light as Luffy clung to the warm touch, wrapping his arms around it and gripping it in a tight vise. He welcomed the feeling of his hat being placed around his head and falling into his back, the hand that pet his hair to smooth it down.

This was the only thing that kept him connected to reality anymore.

Ace and Sabo held Luffy in a tight hug. He had tears in his eyes and was mumbling about something.

"It's not real" over and over and over.

The brothers had stared wide eyed in worry as their little brother went full blown panic on them, obviously trapped in his own mind.

They held him as close as possible, Sabo had draped his hat over his neck so it hung loosely on his back while Ace ran his hands through Luffy's ruffled hair.

Calling out to him didn't work for far too long. If the brothers weren't worried before, they certainly were now.

They comforted Luffy like this for a while. They were late for breakfast, which meant someone would come for them soon, although they doubted Luffy even heard the announcement through the tyranny in his head.

"Luffy?" Sabo asked hesitantly, unsure how the boy would react.

"Yeah?" Came the small voice between them, it sounded distant and tired, hoarse.

"We're late for breakfast, are you hungry?" Sabo asked, pulling away a little to see Luffy's face.

Silence, and then, "No."

Sabo sighed. It was worth a shot.

He felt a tug on his clothing and looked down to see Luffy's fist grasped onto the rim of his shirt, arm stretched just a little past what a normal person would be able to do.

"Please don't go yet," Luffy's voice shook slightly.

Sabo looked at Luffy and thought about the other times he'd told him that same thing. Always holding onto his hands or clothing and saying those same three words:

"Please don't go."

Sabo looked at Ace, and nodded. Ace understood the message and began to maneuver off the bed and towards the door.

Luffy looked panicked for a split second, looking up to Ace as he left the room, but Sabo turned Luffy to face him and smiled warmly at the raven.

"Don't worry Lu, I'm staying right here with you," Sabo explained gently while grasping Luffy's hand and giving it a comforting squeeze.

Sabo could visibly see Luffy's shoulders stop tensing as his slender figure relaxed once more.

"While we're waiting for Ace to come back, why don't we get dressed? Then when we eat, we can go hang out on the deck in the sun," Sabo suggested light heartedly.

Luffy thought about this a moment and then agreed. Their room was dimly lit, so he really liked the thought of seeing the sun.

After that, Sabo helped Luffy into his red vest and shorts, clothing himself in a blue tail coat, topping it off with his goggles and hat upon his head.

Just as they finished up, Ace came back with three plates of food, two were piled way over what they should be able to hold, while what was obviously Luffy's portion had a normal amount, maybe even less.

They ate on the floor together, Ace and Sabo diving into their food while Luffy nibbled a few different things. He really didn't feel like eating, but he didn't think he should cause anymore worry for his brothers this morning. He'd already upset everyone enough.

Ace and Sabo were glad to see Luffy at least trying to eat something, even if they had already guessed the true intentions behind it.

Once they had all finished eating (Ace ended up devouring whatever Luffy hadn't) they all went outside onto the open deck to hang out. They made a quick stop at Galley to drop off their dirtied plates first, and then found a good spot on deck to relax.

They found themselves near the front of the ship by the whale figurehead. Luffy seemed to always guide them in that direction, so the older two just went along with it.

They all simply sat staring at the ocean while the light sea breeze tousled their hair. Luffy sat between his brothers, a few inches from each but they were all touching fingertips so Luffy knew they were there.

There were pirates on deck having conversations, orders being given from commanders, and from the railing above the boys was an overprotective Phoenix watching to make sure they were all right.

The trio allowed the bustling of the Moby Dick to become their ambience, barely acknowledging it in the back of their minds but glad it was there.

It was a lovely serene replacement for the chaos that the morning had brought. Ace and Sabo were relieved as they sat upon the figurehead and looked into the horizon. Luffy was okay for the moment, though they knew anything too sudden would send him off the deep end of his own mind.

They decided not to think about that, however, and focused on the good things. The sun hung high in the sky as noon began to make its appearance, few clouds dwindled in a bright blue sky while salty fresh air floated around them.

Ace took a deep breath and exhaled, glancing to the side and away from the scene before him for a split second.

Somewhere in his peripheral vision he saw a flag, and figured it was one of the other ships in their fleet, turning back to the sea.

Someone in the crows nest began yelling something, though the boys couldn't make it out, blocking it out for the most part.

Luffy twitched.

And suddenly:

The ship was jolted as a large explosion went off near the middle of the vessel, a shockwave accompanied by a loud BOOM wracking the boys where they sat.

Ace and Sabo went wide eyed as confusion inside and pirates began flooding the deck. Then, the boys figured it out.

They were under attack.

Ace and Sabo stood up and whipped around to grab Luffy.

"Com'n Luffy!" They both shouted, reaching their hands out for their little brother to take.

One second.

Two seconds.

They pivoted around and saw between them nothing but air as the ship was once again violently shaken by cannon fire.

Shock hit the brothers as they steadied themselves to keep from falling over the edge.

Panic seeped into their brains as one thought circulated in their minds like a broken record player as they stood frozen to the whale head:

Luffy was missing.

Hello everyone! I left this one on a cliff hanger hahaha hahaha. Not to mention it turned into a kinda tense chapter.

Oops.

Poor Luffy xD. *Feels zero regret* Honestly, I just push whatever I'm feeling at the moment onto Luffy and hope the chapter goes alright. The plot has officially started tho, and I came up with this great- *spoils the plot it took her weeks to come up with*

I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!!! If you have any questions or comments I'd love to hear from you guys! I like to hear what y'all think.

I'm still surprised that people like this!! But I'm so happy you do!!! You have no idea how excited I get when someone Favourite/Follows/Reviews or even just looks at my story. It makes every word worth it! So thanks guys!

Hope you all have a wonderful day/night, I wish the best to you all!

Chão!!!

Word count: 5933 (longest chapter so far, oof)