Warnings: Dark themes, lots of mentions of death, strong language, human experimentation, experimenting on children, child abduction, graphic descriptions of experimenting, lots of needles, lots of violence, poor descriptions of panic attacks, descriptions of blood, rated M for safety.
*If I need to add anymore warnings please tell me in the reviews or a PM and I'll be sure to add it!*
Chapter 5: Mikans and Chalk
Ages:
Ace, Sabo-11
Luffy-8
A year had passed almost too quickly for the three brothers, every day being a new, and worse, hell then the last. The doctors found the three to be their favorite test subjects, wich was unfortunate for them because it meant they were tested on constantly. The doctors also seemed to be amazed that the boys had survived that long, causing Ace and Sabo to remember the conversation they had with 11049 all that time ago, saying they wouldn't live past 3 weeks max.
They had fallen into a routine. Eat breakfast, hang out for an hour, then go for testing, which lasted until dinner. Eat dinner, go to sleep. It was an easy, simple routine, but they were rarely given any breaks from testing. When they were it was only because they were too injured and the doctors didn't want to risk killing one of their prized subjects, so they would get a day off. Those days were both a blessing and a curse. Sure, they got out of that horrible lab for a day, but that meant they had to sit in the cell alone, wondering what was happening to their brothers who were still being tested on.
They had also seen many test subjects come and go over time. Even though they seemed to be outliers and survived a year, everyone else lasted the usual 2-3 weeks before they passed away. The brothers had opted to ignore everyone else in the facility, because what was the point of recognizing a face that would be gone in a few weeks, or even days?
It was breakfast time.
The sound of the rolling cart coming their way woke Ace up, having gotten good at listening for it in the morning. Ever since that night a year ago the brothers had gotten accustomed to sleeping close together, Ace in the middle with Sabo on his right and Luffy on his left, the two resting their heads on his chest.
"Hey, breakfast," Ace announced, shaking his brothers who woke relatively quickly. They were all light sleepers after more than a few incidents where Haru or another random doctor would come in and drag one of them off for early testing. The brothers went closer to the bars, waiting for the usual man to come serve them food, but were surprised to see a woman doing it this time. It had always been the same guy before, so who was this new person?
Luffy caught his brothers' attention by doing a quiet snap, more of just the sound of his fingers rubbing together than an actual snap. Luffy scrunched his nose, tilting his head at the same time.
'Where's the smelly guy?'
Over the year the three had gotten proficient in speaking purely through their made-up sign language, even if there was no one listening to them. Sabo shrugged subtly, wiggling his fingers.
'I don't know, fired?'
They turned their attention back to the woman who was reaching their cell. She gave food to the cell across from them where, this week, there was a small girl around six in there, terrified. The woman then turned to them, hesitating a moment as she looked at them before smiling gently at them, only furthering their confusion.
"So, I'm assuming you three are the famous trio then, hm?" She asked, getting no response other than a glare from Ace and Sabo shifting Luffy slightly more behind the two older brothers.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on hurting you three. Here, breakfast!" She said, pushing their bowls in for them, though it was the same unappetizing slop as usual. Even the woman grimaced at it.
"Is that stuff as bad as it looks? I snagged these, but I could only grab two, sorry." She said, pulling two mikans from her coat pocket, the same doctors coat everyone else in the facility wore. She handed the fruit to Ace who took them hesitantly, eyeing the woman suspiciously. What was she playing at? No one here was nice to them, so why was she? Though his mouth drooled at the sight of actual, sweet, food, he didn't dare eat it, fearing it might be a new elaborate test the doctors were putting them through. He looked at Sabo who gave him a confused look as well before they both turned to look at the woman.
"Don't worry, they're just normal mikans. Go on, if rumors are true and you've been here a year then that should be a little treat, right?" She asked. They still didn't say anything but Luffy, who had been watching the woman intensely, rubbed his fingers together again, getting his brothers attention once more. He smiled brightly at them, nodding his head ever so slightly.
'Good.'
Ace gave him a pointed look, tilting his head.
'You sure?'
Luffy nodded again and Ace and Sabo gave the woman one more glance. Luffy hadn't felt comfortable around any of the doctors in this facility, so the fact he felt that this woman was good meant there was a high probability that she was. Ace looked at the two mikans, tossing one to Luffy and splitting the other for him and Sabo. The three looked at the fruit, almost not wanting to eat it.
"Go on! They're good, I promise." The woman said with a smile that gave them all a slightly nostalgic feeling, remembering Makino. Ace peeled a piece of the fruit off, popping it in his mouth and almost tearing up at how amazing the taste was. He ate the piece greedily, peeling another one off and eating it. Sabo and Luffy followed his lead, both enjoying the amazing taste as well.
"See? Good, huh? My names Emily, pleased to meet you three!" She greeted happily, smiling again. Luffy smiled brightly at her, waving as he ate the fruit.
"I would love to stay and chat some more but I should leave before they notice anything. Here, I also brought this, after all, it must be pretty boring in there, huh?" She asked, rolling a few sticks of chalk into the cell. Luffys smile only brightened, having drawn in all the dust by now to the point that there was no more left to coat the floor.
"Bye, see you three later!" Emily said, waving as she pushed the cart back down the hall.
"What was that all about?" Ace asked, eating his soup, though he left a piece of fruit for after he finished.
"Who knows. Another test?" Sabo asked. Ace shrugged.
"She was nice! I liked her!" Luffy said, eating his soup quickly and moving to finish his fruit.
"Yeah, but why was she nice? She works in a place where they do experiments on children. Does she not know that?" Ace asked with a growl.
"No, she knew about us, she knows about what they do here. There's no use in worrying about it now though, so let's just wait for the doctors." Sabo said.
"Oh! Can we play tic-tac-toe?!" Luffy asked happily, thinking of all the games they could play now that they had chalk. Sabo smiled.
"Sure, and since you two are getting better at reading we can try playing some hangman too," Sabo said. Ace and Luffy gave him a confused look.
"Hangman? What's that?" Ace asked. Sabo laughed, taking a piece of chalk.
"I'll teach you later, you watch for any doctors," Sabo said, sitting in the corner with Luffy as the boy started drawing the grid. Ace grumbled but went to the bars anyways, looking out. The three played tic-tac-toe for a little bit, letting Luffy win. After each round, Sabo and Ace would switch spots, one playing, one on the lookout. After a few rounds, Sabo explained how to play hangman and Ace and Luffy agreed on trying it out, Sabo and Luffy going first.
"Alright Lu, this ones got 4 letters, ok?" Sabo asked. Luffy nodded, a determined look on his face.
"Mmm... O!" Luffy announced, Sabo smiling as he drew an O on the ground in the second to last spot.
"Yes! Ace, look! I did it, I got a letter!" Luffy cheered happily. Ace rolled his eyes but was internally happy that his baby brother was happy.
"Good job Lu." He said, Luffy beaming at the praise.
"Next letter?" Sabo asked, also happy with how elated Luffy was.
"N!" Sabo made a buzzing noise, drawing a head. Luffy pouted, though became more determined.
"D!" Sabo nodded, writing the letter D in the first spot.
"Umm... S?" Luffy asked, trying to come up with words. Sabo buzzed again, drawing a line for the body.
"Aww! P?!" Luffy asked, determined to win. Sabo smiled, making a ding noise and writing a P in the last slot.
"Oh! Oh! Is it Drop?!" Luffy asked. Sabo made more dinging noises, filling in the last letter and clapping.
"Good job Lu!" Sabo said as Luffy cheered happily. Even Ace was clapping a little for Luffy.
"Aces turn!" Luffy said cheerfully, taking Aces spot as the guard. Again, rounds continued this way, except Sabo stayed to make sure the words were actually spelled correctly. After some time and a few rounds, it was back to Luffys turn.
"7 letters! A little longer than the others." Sabo said, erasing the previous round where Ace guessed the word Travel. Luffy nodded, ready to win.
"R!" Luffy said, eyes narrowed. Sabo nodded, writing in the letter R.
"S!" Sabo buzzed, only making Luffy more determined, an intense look in his eye.
"P!" Another buzz.
"F!" Sabo dinged, the first letter being an F.
"U?" Luffy asked, unsure. Sabo buzzed and Luffy frowned.
"M!" He said, wanting to win. Sabo dinged, the last letter being an M.
"O-" The game was cut off when Ace snapped twice, the signal someone was coming. Sabo quickly erased any trace of the chalk being on the ground, hiding the sticks behind the toilet. Luffy frowned, sad that the game had been abruptly ended. Sabo snapped at him and he turned, seeing Sabo showing him his hands. Luffy lifted his own, palms up, and Sabo quickly started rubbing of the chalk dust lingering on his fingers. It was just in time because the cell opened and their numbers were announced.
"11062, 11085, 11097." The three left the cell wordlessly, not even fighting back. Sabo glanced back at the cell, looking at the spot they had been playing in seconds ago.
The word had been freedom.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Purupurupurupuru," The snail rang in its usual monotonous voice.
"Purupurupurupuru," The left eye of the snail had three lines across it, scarring it.
"Hello?" The voice was light, carefree.
"What have I said about answering those when you don't know who they are?" A voice in the background said, chastising the one who answered.
"Ah, whatever!" The voice said, laughing.
"Anyways, who's this?" They asked.
"It's Garp." The marine answered with a tired sigh. The snail gave a confused look.
"Garp? Now, why are you calling me? Gonna come to visit?" Garp gave a breath that would once have been a bellow of laughter.
"Luffys missing." Confusion turned to shock, and then there was yelling.
"Anchor?! Since when? What happened?!" Garp was wondering if he should really entrust this man with the information he was about to tell him. It wouldn't be the first time he corresponded with pirates, and his options were running out. It had been a year now that his grandsons went missing without a trace. He had searched all the blues and had moved on to Paradise and the New World, but there were so many islands it was nearly impossible to search them all.
"A year now. He and his brothers were kidnapped from Dawn Island without a trace." Garp informed. To hell with Sengoku and the Navy, this was his family. If he had to resort to pirates, he would.
"Kidnapped?! Wait, Luffy has brothers?" Garp smiled slightly, nodding.
"Yes, both older. I took in Ace before Luffy was born, had him live in the mountains. He made a friend named Sabo and the three soon became best friends. They called each other brothers." Garp reminisced, smiling at the memory.
"What do you need?" The tone was back to serious and Garp's smile fell.
"I've had my men search all the four blues and as much of Paradise and the New World that we could, but we've found no trace of them," Garp said, looking at the maps of different islands they'd searched.
"I can keep a lookout on the different islands we land on. I'll have a few go off to some other islands too." Garp sighed in relief, nodding.
"Thank you, Red Hair." Shanks' smile lit up on the snail.
"Nobody takes the little anchor and gets away with it."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Over the next few days, Emily continued to make appearances at the brothers' cell, bringing different goodies every time. Sometimes she brought candy, other times it would be more chalk, saying that she didn't want them to worry about the other sticks wearing down too much. She even snuck fruit sometimes, mostly mikans, but on rare occasions, she would bring a few apples for them to share.
The brothers warmed up to her quickly. She was just as nice as Makino and gave off a motherly vibe that they had only ever felt from the green-haired woman.
"You're nice Emily!" Luffy said on the fourth day of knowing her, shocking the woman seeing as they hadn't ever spoken to her. She got over the shock quickly, smiling to Luffy.
"Thank you Luffy, that's very nice of you to say!" She said happily, crouching down outside their cell.
"Why are you so nice?" Ace asked suddenly, Luffy and Sabo glancing at their brother. Ace had an accusatory glare settled on her, and though the question shocked Emily, she smiled quickly again.
"Because being mean is... mean. I see no point in it." She said in a very Luffy-like manner.
"But... you do know what they do here, right?" Sabo asked. What those doctors did definitely constituted as mean. Emily sighed, nodding.
"Yes, I know exactly what they do, and it's not right. Not right at all!" She said with a frown. She took a deep breath, calming herself and smiling again.
"That's why I'm here to help. No one, especially not children, should be subject to horrors like this place." She said.
"What do you mean help?" Ace asked, skeptical. Another smile lit up Emily's face as she glanced down the hallway, leaning in closer to the cell and whispering.
"I mean help, as in help get you out of here." She said, pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket and quickly sliding it in through the bars. Sabo picked it up, confused, and opened it, eyes widening in shock at what he saw.
"T-This is-" Sabo stopped himself, looking up at Emily in shock, Ace and Luffy giving him confused stares.
"Yes, it is. Keep it safe, and hidden, nobody can find that!" She said sternly.
"Why? What is it?" Ace asked, trying to lean in and look at it, but Sabo quickly folded it back up.
"Here, I brought tape. You can tape it to the bottom of your toilet." She said, ripping a piece off and handing it to Sabo who quickly scurried to the toilet, taping the paper to the underside of the tank.
"I have to go now! Good luck today!" Emily said, waving and pushing the food cart away with her. Ace spun to Sabo, wanting answers.
"What was it?!" He asks in a near shout. Sabo lifts a finger to his mouth sternly, shutting Ace up.
'A map.'
When Sabo signed the words Aces eyes widened in surprise, Luffy grinning stupidly, probably not really understanding how helpful the item was, but knowing it was a good thing.
'Really?!'
Sabo nodded at Aces sign, causing Ace to smile happily.
"11077, 11000, 11019!" The happiness was short lived. Back to testing.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"It seems to be Akagami"
"Are they a threat?"
"No, they want to talk."
"Send the others inside." The first mate nodded, following his Captains orders and sending most of the men onboard inside. Red Haired Shanks' ship came up beside theirs, the red-haired Captain himself standing near the railing.
"Permission to come aboard?"
"Permission granted." The select few watched as Shanks crossed over to their ship, sending a wave of Haki through the air. Shanks walked up to the Captain, a bottle of sake dragging behind him.
"What do you want brat?"
"I've got something I want to discuss with you. Brought some healing water too." Shanks said, lifting the sake with a smirk. There was silence, and then a laugh.
"Gurarararara! What is it you want to talk about then?" Shanks sighed, sitting down, cross-legged.
"Remember when I told you about the one I wagered my arm on?" Shanks asked, gripping his missing arm. The large man in front of him nodded. Shanks frowned.
"He's been kidnapped. Been gone for a year now." The tone in Shanks' voice was on edge. There was silence again, Shanks pouring drinks.
"How does this involve me, brat?" A sigh.
"Because, Whitebeard, you travel a lot. You've got a lot of crewmates, a lot of territories. All I'm asking is for you to keep an eye out for three kids." Whitebeard raised an eyebrow.
"Kids?" He hadn't known who Shanks had wagered his arm on, but he didn't expect it to be a child. Shanks nodded.
"I've already got my men on the lookout but we could use the extra eyes. It's Garps grandson, the damn anchor. He was such a smiley kid, wants to be a pirate and all!" Shanks said with a smile, remembering his time with Luffy. Whitebeard looked at the pirate, noticing the look in his eye.
"I'll have my men keep an eye out. What do they look like?" Whitebeard asked.
"Two of them are 11, that's Ace and Sabo, the oldest brothers. Luffys only 8, that's Garps grandson." Shanks started before going into full detail about the three.
"That was the description Garp gave me though, I've never met the two older ones." Shanks finished. Whitebeard nodded, sipping from his cup.
"I'll ask the islands under my protection if they've seen them," Whitebeard said, the conversation over now. Shanks nodded, standing and grabbing the empty bottle of sake.
"I'll be seeing you then, Whitebeard," Shanks said, walking back over to his ship.
"Gurarararara! See you brat!"
How was that for a chapter, huh? It's getting interesting now! Not only does there seem to be a nice doctor in the facility lookin to help them escape, but Garp has now asked for outside help, from pirates no less, and Whitebeard has made an appearance as well. This chapter was so much fun to write for multiple reasons, one of them being that I love watching my plans slowly come to fruition right in front of my eyes. Like I said about OC's before, I don't really like writing or reading them, so Emily will be the last OC I create for a long while as far as I'm aware.
Let's not forget the amazing reviews, favorites, and follows you guys have given this story! Although I don't have time to get back to all of your reviews, do know that I read and appreciate every single one of them. They continue to motivate me throughout the weeks as I write, knowing that there are people out there who like my stories enough to comment on them and show me they do. Even if you don't review, even if you don't follow or favorite, I still see the numbers of views on this story rise, and even that is encouragement enough to continue writing, knowing that someone saw my story's poor summary and decided it was worth their time to click on this.
To end off this note, I think that after these next two weeks, I'll finally begin updating this story weekly! I've been managing to get these chapters written fast enough that I've now got a few written ahead of time, in case I miss a week or something. Besides, if it becomes too much, I can always go back to the bi-weekly updates.
With that said, I'll be seeing you all in the next two weeks with the next chapter!