LoveToBake: They need to go home. :(

iyulia juuzou: Thank you!

HOLAA913: Yeah, it happened to two of my stories, but fanfiction fixed it. I think it was an error on their side. Super annoying.

Aquarica: Yeah it was really annoying. Sometimes first impressions matter too much, and Marco was an asshole in the start.

94insane: Thank you! It would be really hard for them to want to stay after everything. Especially after what happens in this chapter.

Everyone should be happy with this chapter. Warning for graphic scene. Enjoy~

They woke up, and found that Ace had been cleaned up, his skin blood free. Luffy was still attached to the ventilator, and Sabo was sitting up and taking some pills. There was an assortment of them that weren't there the night before. One of the Spades had gone to get them for him while he slept.

Ace sat up slowly, and looked around. Everyone was there, looking at them in worry. "We didn't reset, don't worry," Ace said. He looked up and asked how Sabo felt.

"I feel fine. We should get Luffy out of that," Sabo said, and walked forward to Luffy's bed and pulled it out of his throat, which he managed to sleep through somehow. Ace felt under his nose, glad there was nothing wet or crusty under it. He could pretend it hadn't happened.

They dragged themselves off the beds and changed, making their bodies go to the galley with all the strength they could muster. They were so tired, like they hadn't slept in weeks. They were dead on their feet, but their stomachs were growling angrily. They got into the dining room, which was filled with people already, and made their ways to the bar counter, where they usually sat, and served themselves food.

All three brothers could barely have the energy to bring their forks to their mouths, and had to prop their elbows up and lean more forward so their arms had less work to do. Once they were done, that just stared at the counter sleepily.

"C'mon, guys. Let's go back to our room," Jojo said encouragingly. They nodded and got off of the stools. Deuce supported Ace while Saber took Sabo and Jojo took Luffy. Stares followed them out but none of them cared, they were taking care of their captains and their brother.

When they got back to their room, the three took another nap, though none seemed in pain. Deuce ventured out to the infirmary, which he had problems with breaking into and taking any medications that could help.

The nurses asked him what he was doing when he entered. Deuce ignored them, and went to their supply of medication to find any meds that clotted blood. It might stop the blood coming out on a day that wasn't a reset. There were no stopping resets. The brothers had tried everything before giving up and accepting that was their life now.

The nurses pestered him, but he was too big and strong for them to even move. He was like a mountain to them. He picked up strong pain medicine and sleeping pills. There was nothing to get for Luffy. He had the ventilator and the inhaler. That was the best they could do.

"Hey! You can't just take stuff from our storage! You have to have the okay from a commander or us!" the head nurse shouted, kicking Deuce's shin. He barely felt it.

"Fine, go ask Marco or Thatch. I'm sure they'd let us have these medications," he said flatly and began to leave before grabbing three sets of crutches. He carried everything back to their room, and put the pain medication on Sabo's tray, along with the sleeping pills. The crutches leaned against the wall near the door.

They were still asleep. It looked to be a peaceful sleep, thankfully. Jojo was looking really agitated the longer the brothers were asleep until she finally announced that she needed to cook. She left the room, closing the door gently behind her.

It was about an hour after Deuce raided the infirmary when there was a soft knock on the door. Ace, Sabo and Luffy were still asleep, though they'd each changed positions in their sleep. Ace snored and Sabo talked in his sleep lightly. Nothing understandable. Deuce opened the door a crack to see Marco there. He left the room, closing the door behind him gently.

"Are they alright?" Marco asked, getting straight to the point.

"To be honest, no, they are not. Forcing their reset early made them sick," he responded coldly, putting all the blame on the Whitebeards. It was their actions that caused his good friends and captains to be ill.

Marco looked worried, and asked if they reset a second time. Deuce shook his head. "Then what's happening? Is there anything anyone can do to help?"

"If you're asking to help, then no, they wouldn't like that. We all rightfully blame you for this," the blue haired man said. Marco winced slightly. "They are showing symptoms. I got medication and supplies for them. We're doing all we can to help them, and your assistance is not needed or welcome." And he went inside the room, leaving Marco standing there and looking guilty. Good, he should be.

Sabo had woken when Deuce opened the door, and was reading the log he'd made on a piece of scratch paper, about when he was able to safely take pills. He didn't use the sleep medicine yet, but he did take some of the light pain pills. He wasn't in agony anymore, so he didn't feel the need to take something stronger. Ace and Luffy were still sleeping.

"How are you feeling?" Aggie 68 asked quietly.

"Not normal exactly, but not in much pain. I think I need some fresh air," he replied honestly. Aggie 68, being the biggest of them, took Sabo. He didn't take the crutches since he could just lean on or be carried by the large crew member.

Sabo ignored the looks, assuming he looked sick. He was a bit sweaty, but that was it at the moment. When he got outside, he sighed at the feeling of wind on his face. He walked to the railing, just enjoying looking at the ocean. Glad they were going home, that this nightmare would be over. But… would it really? Would these symptoms continue to happen? It would be dangerous for them. To be weak like this out in the New World. He gripped the railing tightly, gloved hands causing it to splinter slightly.

Someone walked up behind them and Sabo turned to see Thatch. "Not now, please, Thatch. Just… not now," Sabo said, his voice tired, though he didn't want to sleep again.

Thatch looked like a kicked puppy, but Sabo couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for him. He just wasn't in the mood. He wanted to mope by himself for a bit. "We wanted to tell you that you can use the infirmary to reset next time. Whenever that happens," he said, and then left before Sabo could respond. Usually, he would have said thank you, but they owed it to them to at least make them comfortable next time.

Even if he came to think they were good people, he would never take the blame off of them. He hurt his brothers badly. Sabo didn't care about himself, his brothers were in pain, and he was never there for them. Not a single time had he been able to help Ace, or be with Luffy when it got messy.

He was always the one that wasn't there for them. He also left them alone the first time, all those years ago. All those resets. All the fear, all the pain, all the stress. Why did this happen to them? Why couldn't it have been a one time thing? He leaned forward against the railing, wishing he had his hat. He also wished he had his pipe.

He sighed, putting his head in his arms. Aggie was still there, but leaving Sabo to his thoughts. When his legs started to get tired of standing, he stretched and then left to go back to his brothers, hoping they felt better still. Sabo wasn't in pain at the moment, so he hoped the same for his brothers.

When the two Spades returned to their room, Ace was sweating in his bed. Luffy put a wet washcloth on his forehead. "Sabo, Ace has a temperature," Luffy said sadly. It was good that the oldest wasn't bleeding. He could definitely fight a fever, though it was a bit strange because of his fruit.

He opened his eyes, looking exhausted. "Sabo, read me a story," he said in a tired voice. Sabo smiled. It was something he had Sabo do when he was stressed. It didn't matter if it was out of a book or just made up by him. Luffy liked it, too, and snuggled up with Ace while Sabo sat across from him. Some of the Spades were not in the room, out doing other things. Jojo was probably still cooking off her stress.

The blonde didn't have and didn't need a book as he told his brothers the story that popped into his head. Ace and Luffy didn't fall asleep, but looked relaxed. Ace didn't look to be in discomfort anymore, he was just still a bit sweaty.

"Thatch came to me when I was outside. They're offering us to use the infirmary beds for our next reset, whenever that is," the blonde explained.

Ace was unimpressed. Luffy couldn't figure out what to feel. On one hand, that was nice of them, but on the other, wasn't it their fault? It only started getting really bad when they were stressed. It peaked the day before, and they reset when they definitely weren't supposed to. "Are we sick?" he asked suddenly.

Ace muttered, "Aren't we always? Who else resets like we do? I doubt many, if any." Sabo nodded in agreement. Luffy pouted.

"Well, most people don't come back alive, right? Aren't we lucky, then?" Luffy asked, the optimist in the room.

Ace nodded. "We are lucky, we got a second chance. But this isn't lucky. Going through painful and traumatizing experiences biweekly. But, if it's the only thing keeping us alive, then I guess it's not so bad. I mean, it's bad, but we just have to deal with it I guess." Sabo looked at the little porthole.

"Well, hopefully we'll be back to normal soon. Or at least, a less painful normal," the blonde said in a faint voice. "But I'm worried. We can't fight like this. How will we protect our crew? If we're suffering from asthma, or nosebleeds, or awful cramps, then aren't we weakened considerably?"

Ace buried his head in the pillow and groaned. "Stupid Whitebeards. Messed everything up." Luffy frowned sadly.

"I thought I liked Thatch before this. But then we reset too soon and it was scary and now we're all weird and getting sick like we never have before," Luffy said. "It's scary."

"Yeah, Lu. It is," Sabo agreed, laying down on his bed. Things had been going great for them! They'd gotten their first bounty, recognition, and were living their life-long dream. It was cruel that it was all ended just on the whim of someone they didn't even know. How were you a decent person when you force them to join you? That's just as bad as normal pirates. These ones acted like they were family oriented and it just made him wonder how much of them were forced there. How many had only accepted this life because of pressure.

If they had asked, and not taken, the brothers would have had a conversation with them. They would have declined to join, but it would have been easy.

"Hey, please join us."

"No thank you."

"Please."

"We like our lives. We don't want to work under someone else."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure, thank you."

And things could have continued on their course. But instead, the yonko crew thought they were better than small time pirates, and decided they liked the brothers (without knowing a thing about them) and so they were theirs to keep. Big timers can't imagine anyone wouldn't want to join them.

They weren't meant to be underlings. Never had and never would be. They were captains, Luffy their first mate, since he had put his brothers before his dream after losing them both. Now his dream was to sail with his beloved brothers. Even his dream was taken away.

They could only hope that, once they were back home, things would go back to normal. Jojo came in, a cart wheeling in front of her, which was overloaded with food. Ace looked at it and felt sick. There was no way he could eat all of that now. Sabo looked just as averse. "What? You got a problem?" Jojo asked.

Luffy inhaled the food. "Ache and Shabo don't feel gud," he said, stuffing everything into his mouth. Jojo pushed his face away and his grabby hands were swatted.

"Save some for them, Luffy. Just because they don't feel good doesn't mean you can eat all of their food." Luffy pouted at her and crossed his arms, facing away. Ace chuckled and Sabo laughed as well. The mood was lightened just barely, and Luffy's pout changed to a smile at hearing his brothers both laugh.

-x-

The next day, the three felt much better. They were happy to not be in pain, and spent their time outside. They'd spent so much inside that the sky and breeze were a necessity. They were at the back railing, Luffy sitting on the railing with his legs hanging over the side. His brothers forced him to wrap a couple fingers around the railing, so he had his pointer and middle fingers tied in a tight knot if he'd be caught if he fell. He wouldn't, though. But he did it, not wanting to worry his precious brothers.

The day was good, and they thought that maybe things were looking up. Going back to normal. Their normal, most people didn't have their situation. They went to bed looking forward to another pain free day, another day closer to the PoS. Their beloved ship who must be lonely all by herself. When they got back, they'd show her love and care. Their safe space was waiting for their return. And they would return.

Things went downhill rapidly the next day. It started out great. Jojo made them berry pancakes with glazed banana "mush" (as Luffy named it), and they ate before anyone else had arrived. The Spades ate with them, some joking around with one another. The mood was lighter, as they could practically feel themselves getting back home, even if it would take a couple more weeks, going by how long it took to leave it.

Thatch was talking with Luffy, Ace stuffing his face contently. Luffy was telling Thatch about when he went fishing once and caught a human body. Thatch didn't find it very funny, but Luffy thought it was hilarious. "And then, and then, the shirt ripped off, right? And guess what! A sea king came up and ate him!"

Ace laughed. "Way to be morbid, Lu. Look, you freaked him out." Luffy looked back at the chef, and giggled. "Oops."

Sabo bonked his head affectionately. The Spades were feeling happy and light, that maybe the worst was behind them. Since they had only just reset a few days ago, if they were back to normal, they'd have two weeks of reprieve. They didn't think they were going to reset that day. After all, the day before they were showing symptoms but it didn't happen.

It wouldn't make sense for them to reset now where they felt perfectly fine.

But, Sabo felt the pain in his stomach, a feeling he knew well. "Guys, infirmary, now," Sabo said sternly. Ace and Luffy realized, and Ace put his head in his hands.

"Not again, please not again," he begged. Sabo's shirt started to dot with blood.

"Take us to the infirmary now!" Sabo bellowed, and Jojo picked Luffy up, Deuce taking Sabo and Thatch frantically took Ace. Ace was crying, not wanting to go through it again. Blood started to dribble out of his nose. He continued to cry, not wanting to go through the pain. Thatch was shaking, but they made it to the infirmary just before Ace coughed blood all over the chef. He coughed it over his chest.

They were all set on the beds, and Sabo was trying to stay alive, be with his brothers. But he always went first. And he did, with Thatch holding onto his hand, not knowing what to do. The nurses had run in, having heard about it but not seen it.

As blood seeped out of Ace's face, he decided not to fight, even as he sobbed. He didn't want to prolong it any longer than necessary. Plus, when he fought it, it scared Luffy. He was breathing in gasps of air as he writhed, trying to get air to his lungs. He knew it was pointless, but it was his body's natural instinct.

Ace threw up blood all over his chest, seeing Sabo laying lifeless and limp. The tears stopped, and Ace resigned to the fact he was resetting, and just wanted it to come faster. To be over with. He closed his eyes, wishing for it to be over. He faded away, still hearing Luffy's attempts to live.

Thatch was freaking out far back while Deuce held Luffy's hand, telling him things would be okay, and soon he'd be in a nice comfy bed, having good dreams. Then Luffy died, too, and Deuce, for the umpteenth time, closed his eyes for him. Luffy was always the one to fight against it the most. That's why he never closed his eyes, and never resigned to it. No matter how many times it happened, he always tried to get that breath in.

One of the nurses had thrown up in a bucket from the sight of Ace's face. Thatch was crying, and Deuce walked over and patted his back. His hand wasn't bloody this time, so he didn't get any blood on Thatch's clothes. He had wiped his face, which had been dotted with blood.

"C-Can I help you clean them up? I want to do anything to help," the chef asked. Deuce asked if he was sure. "I'm sure. I want to be useful."

"You can go get us some rags and water. We're going to wipe down Ace first," Deuce said, kindly. He was very concerned. The brothers had been perfectly happy and healthy. There had been no signs of a reset. Waking up was going to be ugly. Ace would probably start screaming, Luffy crying and Sabo acting indifferent.

Thatch, unsurprisingly, had a hard time. He worked on Ace's body while Deuce got the blood off of his face and head. He had some water and opened Ace's eyes to drip it in to help the blood get out. When Ace was dead he didn't blink, so it was easy to do.

Jojo worked on Sabo, cleaning his abdomen and mouth. He'd had a lot of blood in his mouth this time. Deuce sometimes felt they downplayed Sabo's experience because his was always quick, and he was always first to go. It didn't mean he wasn't just as traumatized as the other two.

Tami, one of the nurses, came and got a new pillow for Ace. They tucked the three in, and then rolled the beds close to one another, and put their hands together. They would like this, waking up close and touching in some way.