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 11: Another Day, Another Death

Ages:

Ace, Sabo- 15

Luffy- 12

Life at the facility gradually returned to how it had been before. After the brothers had survived the fire the doctors began rebuilding the lab, leaving the brothers alone for a whole week.

It was almost like a vacation.

After being locked in a facility where they test on you every day for four years, a week where they leave you alone completely and only give you food, which still tasted horrible, was the best thing they could ask for besides being let out. After the week was up, though, they went back to normal testing. They weren't able to spar because there wasn't anyone to spar against, so they were forced to go to the lab every day and get injected with questionable drugs.

After a month the cells were once again filled with children, all under 13, which made Ace and Sabo the oldest subjects. Sparring started again with the reward being bread, and it was like nothing had changed.

By now, all the brothers could read and write, but they still practiced with Sabo when there was nothing else to do. When they were bored of that the only thing they could do was sit in silence, the hallway back to being filled with noises of pain.

They also tried to figure out how they were going to escape, but no matter how many changes they made in their plans there was always something they couldn't get around. The first and foremost obstacle being, get out of their cell. Ace and Luffy were always cuffed in seastone, and the second the doctors opened the door Sabo was cuffed as well, leaving no chance for them to get out without all of them being severely handicapped.

Over the past year, the doctors did more tests on Ace and Luffy involving their devil fruit, injecting them with different things before shoving them into water, or forcing them into tubs where they had to try and move limbs. After all the testing they found that, due to something they had been injected with, the brothers could now last ten minutes underwater before they ran out of oxygen, and another 2 minutes after that before they passed out. They also found that the two could move for the first two minutes of being in the water, meaning that Ace and Luffy could now tread water for a bit before succumbing to the waters pull. This was extremely useful seeing as they wanted to be pirates. If they fell in the water it'd be an emergency, but they could survive on their own for a bit without needing immediate rescue.

After Ace had held the fire back with seastone on the doctors had tried replicating the drug they had given Ace, giving it to Luffy as well and found that they both could use their powers to some extent, but after they would be completely drained of energy. Even before they gave Luffy the drug Luffy kept his rubber powers, even with seastone, but he couldn't use any of his gears. With the help of drug though, he could use the gears for a short period of time.

The final enhancement that the brothers got was the power of haki. Before one of their sparring matches the doctors were talking amongst themselves, Sabo listening like always, and they began wondering what effects haki would have on the brothers and all the possible tests they could do if the brothers had haki. They taught them how to use it and through lots of training the three had gotten pretty good at it. Sabo was best with observation haki while Ace and Luffy were better at armament haki. They were also learning how to suppress it after they found they could sense how strong the others haki was if you didn't.

'Im boooorreeddd~!' Luffy signed through their new and improved sign language that was much more subtle than it had been before. Through a series of taps, the brothers could communicate easily and silently amongst themselves.

'We can play hangman.' Sabo suggested, but Luffy shook his head.

'Tic-tac-toe?' Another no.

'Read? Write.' Double no. Sabo sighed.

'There's not much else we can do then Lu.' Sabo said, sitting in front of his brothers. Luffy pouted, wishing he could cross his arms.

'But I'm booorred~!' Luffy signed, practically whining.

'Well get over it, there's nothing we can do!' Ace signed, an annoyed look on his face. Over the years Ace had become a little nicer, but he was still extremely hot-headed. Sabo guessed after nearly losing each other many times it was putting things in perspective for Ace, but he was so stressed that most times he couldn't be bothered to be nice and was just mean instead.

'I know that but-'

'I swear, if you sign I'm bored.' Ace signed, a glare on his face that made Luffy stop signing completely and frown, looking at the ground instead. Sabo sighed, moving a glare towards Ace.

'Really Ace?' Sabo signed, Ace merely scowling and looking away. Shaking his head Sabo grabbed a piece of chalk, rolling another piece towards Luffy.

'Let's draw. I bet I can draw better then you can.' Sabo signed with a challenging smirk. Luffy brightened, grabbing the chalk and drawing the best he could when cuffed. Sabo began drawing as well, going much slower than Luffy was. The two competed against each other for a bit, in the end ruling Sabo as the winner, before it was time to be tested on, Haru coming through the halls and announcing numbers.

"We've got 11063, 11041, 11030," He walked down the hall, children being dragged out of cells by doctors.

"11086, and my favorites, 11062, 11085, and 11097!" Haru said, standing in front of their cell, Ace glaring harshly at the doctor. Within minutes they were in the lab which had been refurbished, all new chairs with all new straps and everything.

Testing went as it normally did, injections, pain, more injections, more pain. Doctors surrounded them, all talking and writing notes about the effects the shots were having on them. Sabo tried listening to them as much as he could, but it was hard when all he could think about was how cold that last shot made him, or how much his head hurt from the one after that. Sometimes the doctors would start talking about important information, like what they were being injected with or who was sparring next.

"Are we doing test #10972084 today?"

"I'm pretty sure we are, after all, they did bring it in."

"Good, I've been waiting to test it out!"

"Imagine if it works, it'll be a damn miracle!"

"Should we really be trying it out on him though? What if we lose him?"

"All good things come to an end eventually. Besides, '097's the best subject for this."

Sabo's blood ran cold, but it wasn't from the last injection, it was from the words. A test that had the potential to 'lose' a subject? And they were going to use it on '097? Luffy?! Sabo turned to his left to look at Luffy, needles being poked in every inch of his skin, doctors writing on clipboards around him. Turning to his right he saw Ace in much the same predicament, and he was sure that he himself was as well. Sabo rubbed his fingers together a few times, hoping Ace would notice and look his way. It seemed that the oldest never would, but as Sabo tried one more time Ace noticed, looking at him, sweat falling down his face as he breathed heavily.

Sabo crossed his middle finger over his index finger, tapping them rapidly on the chair.

'Danger!' Ace got the sign loud and clear, pain being replaced with worry as he replied with a series of taps.

'Whats wrong?' Sabo flicked his eyes towards Luffy, tapping.

'They're gonna do a test on Luffy, a deadly one.' Ace looked over to Luffy, fear shining in his eyes, though his face only showed a frown, slight pain showing. The brothers didn't know what to do, strapped down and at the mercy of the doctors who were giving them hundreds of shots.

'What do we do?' The sound of taps brought Sabo back to the problem at hand as he read the signs Ace was giving him. What could they do? Sabo didn't know, after all, they could barely move their hands, so how were they going to stop the doctors from giving Luffy the test?

"Bring it in."

"You mean test #10972084?"

"Yes, make sure you're on standby to inject the antidote."

"Yes, sir."

Sabo practically got whiplash from how fast he spun his head towards Luffy, Ace trying to look over as well when he noticed his brothers fear. A doctor was making his way towards Luffy, a tray of a dozen needles ready to go while a female doctor followed him holding a needle full of a red liquid.

Ace strained to listen to the doctors, almost wishing he had Sabos hearing at that moment.

"Beginning test #10972084. Injecting poison."

Did he just say poison?! Ace and Sabo shared a look of fear, turning back to watch as the doctor began injecting syringe after syringe of what they now knew to be poison. As they finally finished injecting the liquids into the youngest everyone stepped back, watching the effects. Luffy was quickly becoming a deathly pale color, breathing heavily with sweat rolling down his face. He was shaking and the older brothers could only imagine how much pain he was going through.

"Remove all other subjects, prep a table, heart rate rising," Haru announced calmly, checking over Luffy. Ace and Sabo, along with the other subjects, were all unstrapped and dragged to the exit, though Ace and Sabo tried getting out of the doctors' grips and go to their brother.

"Heart rate increasing, temperature rising, poison is taking effect."

The words coming from the doctors' mouths weren't helping comfort the brothers.

"Convulsing, lungs failing."

The calmness in the doctors' voices was unnerving as the brothers were pulled out of the room, the door shutting behind them. Ace was shouting at the doctor pulling him, trying to get out of his grip still, but Sabo had stopped, trying to focus on listening to the doctors, hoping that whatever they were going to give Luffy would save him. They were thrown in their cell, the doctors with Luffy still rambling about his symptoms and how his body was rapidly failing, only making Sabo feel more and more fear, more so than when they were about to be burned to death by the fire last year.

"Sabo, what's happening?! Is Luffy ok?!" Ace asked, noticing the look on Sabo's face.

"H-He's-... They're..." He couldn't even finish his sentence, listening as the doctors began speaking again.

"Heart failing, loss of consciousness."

"Sabo!"

"Administration test #10972084 now."

"Oi! Sabo! What's happening?!" The silence was deafening to Sabo. None of the doctors were talking anymore.

"SABO!" Sabo snapped back to reality, looking at Ace who had a full-blown look of panic on his face, shocking Sabo more than his shout had.

"Is Luffy ok?!" Ace asked, anger creeping into his voice. Sabo looked at Ace for a moment, mouth open to speak but not knowing what to say. Was he ok? From the sounds of it, he was... dead. He had died too though, right? And the doctors had brought him back so they would do the same for Luffy! Right?

"H-he's... I-I don't know, they're not talking." Sabo said softly, wishing the doctors would just say something already.

"2 minutes after the test has been administered, no effects so far." Sabo paled, all breath leaving him.

"A-Ace... I think... I think L-Luffy's..." Sabo stammered over his words, not wanting to say what he thought because then it would be all too real.

"What? What about him?!" Ace asked, desperately wanting to know. He hated not being able to know what was happening.

"H-He's dead..." Sabo said, tears quickly filling his eyes. Ace's own grew wide, his skin paling and his breathing practically stopping.

"3 minutes, no effect."

"Y-you're lying..." Ace said, so quiet that if Sabo didn't have such good hearing he would have missed it.

"Ace-"

"YOU'RE LYING!" Ace shouted, Sabo, flinching at the volume.

"Ace! I'm not lying! Do you think I'd really lie about something like this?!" Sabo asked, anger in his voice. The oldest of the trio merely stared at him, slowly falling to the ground in shock.

"B-but-... but you died too! So... so they'll save him!" Ace said, almost desperate. Sabo's eyebrows slanted in concern.

"4 minutes, no effect."

"Ace, they gave him a drug, to get rid of the poison, it hasn't worked so far," Sabo said in a pained voice.

"But its Luffy! He'll be fine!" Ace shouted back desperately, clenching his fists, hands still cuffed together.

"5 minutes, no effect. Test #10972084 has been ineffective."

"A-Ace, they just gave up," Sabo said, his tears finally falling. Ace felt like his heart was shattering, the shock too much for him as anger quickly took over.

"No... no... those damn BASTARDS! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE I SWEAR IM GONNA KICK YOUR ASSES!" Ace shouted, louder than Sabo had ever heard him shout before. The hothead was at the bars, screaming down the hallway while Sabo watched from where he sat, not bothering to stop his brother as he let his tears fall. He didn't want to believe that Luffy was dead, he wanted the doctors to come waltzing down the hall with him in their grip and put him in the cell, safe and sound. He wanted to draw more with him, play more tic-tac-toe, more hangman. He wanted to escape with him, wanted to be free with him, and now he couldn't. His brother was gone.

"-AND I SWEAR TO KAMI IF YOU TRY OPENING THIS CELL IT'LL BE YOUR BIGGEST MISTAKE YOU GODAMN ASSHOLE BASTARDS!" Ace shouted, spewing many more creative curses down the hall in his anger.

"6 minutes, beginning to clean up, no effect still."

The words only broke Sabos heart more, and now he wished he didn't have to hear those doctors voices speak about their brother anymore. It was painful, especially when, to the doctors, they were just test subjects, expendable, replaceable.

"7 minutes, finishing-"

The doctor cuts themselves off and Sabo sighed, figuring that he'd rather listen to Ace scream rather than hear them talk anymore.

"A heartbeat? 7 minutes, test #10972084 has taken effect! Heart rate rising, blood flowing, BP rising!"

The words made Sabo sit up in shock, a feeling he couldn't describe filling him as he made a strange choked sound.

"Ace!"

"DON'T YOU ASSHOLES EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING IN THIS HALLWAY BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO-!"

"ACE! Ace, Luffy's alive!" Ace abruptly stopped screaming, spinning to face Sabo, his face and eyes red and puffy, tears in his eyes, yet they hadn't fallen.

"What?!" He asked, rushing over to Sabo who was practically laughing in relief, a new batch of tears falling, these ones of happiness.

"Breathing heavy, heart rate returning to normal, pupils dilated."

"He's alive! Whatever they gave him worked! He's breathing again!" Sabo said. Ace was silent a moment before a smile stretched on his face, falling to the ground and staring at the ceiling.

"Thank fucking Kami!" Ace said, relieved. He closed his eyes, rubbing his face with his shackled hands.

"He's alive! He's alive!" Sabo murmured, both for Ace and himself. For the next few minutes, the two sat in relieved silence. Dinner came, but they paid it no mind, Ace still staring happily at the ceiling and Sabo just listening to the sound of Luffy breathing. At one point Sabo heard Haru mention keeping Luffy for observation, but Sabo didn't mind, as long as Luffy was safe.

The next day was uneventful. Breakfast was served at its normal time and when Ace and Sabo finished eating they both sat, waiting for their brother to return. Lunch came almost too quickly and they ate in much the same way they had their breakfast.

"Why don't we... I don't know... draw or something?" Sabo asked, tired of sitting and doing nothing. It was obvious that they weren't going to be tested on today, if they had they would have been gone before lunch, and it didn't seem like Luffy was coming back soon either, Sabo overhearing the doctors talking about the effects of the antidote still.

"Sure." Ace said unenthusiastically, impatient to see his youngest brother. The two decided on hangman, Sabo trying to think up some more difficult words for Ace to guess.

"What the hell is this word?!" Ace asked after guessing a few letters. Sabo smiled, not giving any clues. A few more guesses left Ace with a mostly assembled body. One more wrong letter and he would lose.

"What the hell kind of word is onomatopoeia?" Ace asked, completely butchering the word as Sabo laughed, writing in the missing letters after Ace failed the game.

"It's pronounced ano-mon-oh-pee-ah Ace," Sabo said slowly, Ace scowling in response.

"You made that word up cheater." Ace said stubbornly which made Sabo laugh more.

"I didn't, its an actual word that describes a word that sounds like a noise, like buzz," Sabo explained, a smile on his face as he erased the word.

"Well, what's with all the random extra letters then?!" Ace asked stubbornly. Sabo laughed again.

"They're silent, who knows why they were added in the first place," Sabo said with a shrug while Ace pouted.

"That's a stupid word." The complaint was ignored though when they both heard a door down the hall being opened, grabbing both of their attention.

It was Luffy!

The boy looked a little worse for wear, his hair slick from sweat, skin a little paler than normal, but he was alive. That was all that mattered. The second he was in the cell the two latched onto him, hugging him as tight as they could, never wanting to let go.

"Luffy! We're so glad you're ok!" Sabo said, relief flooding through his voice. Luffy smiled weakly, happy to be back with his brothers. He never liked being near the doctors for short periods of time and when he was there for a whole day it made him uneasy.

"Hi, guys." He said, his voice hoarse. They helped him sit down, dinner coming as they did.

"How are you feeling Lu?" Sabo asked softly, concerned. Luffy shrugged, frowning as he played with his food.

"Dunno... bad..." Luffy mumbled, yawning.

"Tired." He added, taking a sip of his soup. Sabo nodded.

"After you eat we can go to sleep, we're all tired," Sabo said, he and Ace having not slept all that well last night due to their worry.

"Mm." Luffy hummed, taking more spoonfuls. The soup never got any better, even after years of eating it. They went silent after that, Ace and Sabo keeping a close eye on Luffy in the meantime. Ace hadn't said anything since Luffy got back, and continued not to say anything as they finished dinner, settling down into their usual spot, everyone curling into each other.

"Ne, Ace?" Luffy asked, a frown still on his face.

"What is it Lu?" Ace asked, eyes already closed. Luffy was silent a little longer, Ace peeking an eye open to see if he was still awake, Sabo doing the same.

"Are you mad at me?" Luffy asked, frown deepening and worry in his voice. Ace raised an eyebrow, both he and Sabo were confused by the question.

"No, why?" The eldest asked. Luffy shrugged.

"I was weak, and I d-died, and I almost cried 'cause it hurt a lot, but I didn't! 'Cause I promised, but I thought you might hate me because you weren't talking to me and you seemed angry..." Luffy said, trailing off. Ace opened his mouth, ready to speak.

"Of course I'm not mad at you Lu, I'm mad at those stupid doctors. It's not your fault they did that stupid test!" Ace said. Sabo smiled at seeing Ace actually opening up to Luffy.

"We were both just worried Luffy, but now everything's ok, we're all alive," Sabo said reassuringly. Ace grimaced. They had been trapped here for too long, and they all had nearly died multiple times. What if, next time, they weren't so lucky? What if one of them really did die, and stay dead?

Ace shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts, not wanting to think about scenarios like that.

They would escape before something like that happened.

They would be out of here by the time they were 17.

Hello everybody! I'm back from my trip, which was loads of fun by the way, and now we're back to regularly scheduled uploads! However, I am going to have to move these uploads to Friday seeing as college had started up once again and I'm busy during the week.

Anyhow, about the chapter, which I'm sure a lot of you had many opinions about. Let's just talk about the elephant in the room.

Yes, Luffy died. This was influenced by two different ideas I had. In canon, when Luffy and Ace were kids and Luffy almost died by the bear, that was a pivotal moment in their lives and Aces entire attitude changed because of it. Because of this, I had something similar, yet different happen in my story, where instead of near death, Luffy actually did die. The other idea was *Spoiler if you haven't seen through the Impel Down Arc* that Luffy nearly dies from poison when fighting Magellan, which gave me the idea to move that near-death up to this point, allowing for both canon events to happen in a different way. *Spoiler over*

So with Luffys death, you can see that the brothers are much more eager to escape, and you can also see Ace becoming much more open and kind.

Trust me, they're nearly out now.

Now, its time for me to say adieu until next Friday. Goodbye!