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 13: Let the Plans Commence

Ages:

Ace, Sabo- 17

Luffy- 14

"Man, its been a while since we docked!" A man wearing a chefs outfit exclaims, stretching his arms, a smile on his face.

"We haven't been near any islands for a while, yoi." Another says, walking up beside the chef and lazily glancing around the small beach.

"Oh, Marco, so you actually decided to stop working and come have fun?" The chef asks, grinning at Marco. The man sighs, shaking his head.

"We're not here to have fun Thatch, we're here to restock and not get into any trouble," Marco says to the chef who pouts.

"But trouble is much more fun than no trouble at all." Thatch mumbles. He doesn't get a response as Marco looks around the beach more, noticing a path to the right and gesturing to it.

"That probably leads to a town. Did you send a group already, yoi?" Marco asks, the chef nodding in response. The two began making their way over to the path.

"Yeah, they left about an hour ago when we docked, should be there by now unless its further away than we thought," Thatch says, following closely behind Marco as they headed towards the path. It was quiet for a moment before Thatch spoke up again.

"This islands practically covered in trees." The chef notices, looking at all of the trees surrounding them.

"I heard there's only a small town on this island, the rest of it covered with forest, yoi," Marco says in a bored tone, closing his eyes as they walk. Thatch whistles.

"Who knows what's in those woods then, huh?" He says, more to himself seeing as Marco was focused more on getting to the town than the possibility of an adventure within the dense forest. When Marco didn't respond Thatch frowned before a smile lit up on his face

"Aren't you the least bit interested in what's out there?" Thatch presses, the smile on his face growing. Marco shrugs.

"Why would I? This is Paradise, yoi. Not to mention I've heard that the townspeople have looked and found nothing but trees." Marco says. Thatch sighs dramatically.

"But that, my feathery friend, is why you go exploring yourself! After all, why should we believe word of mouth? I say we go into the forest later!" Thatch exclaims. Marco shakes his head, though his lazy expression never changes.

"I've got too much paperwork, but you can go exploring all you want Thatch. Just know, if you get lost we're leaving without you, yoi." Marco says. Thatch pouts.

"Boring. You should lighten up! Have some fun!" Thatch prods, bumping shoulders with Marco who merely shakes his head in mild annoyance, but ignores Thatch none the less. Thatch huffs at this, crossing his arms.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

*Earlier*

This was it. They were finally going to try and escape.

The brothers had been planning, scrapping, replanning, and perfecting their escape for seven whole years. They had been trapped in hell for seven entire years, no one saving them, no one coming in to break them out, no one finding out the horrible things these people had done to children.

The brothers had been there for so long that they had quickly grown out of their clothes and the doctors had to give them new ones, but they were old, tattered, and just slightly too big for all of them. They didn't have shoes either, the doctors seeing no need in giving them any.

The last year had been the worst year of all. After the doctors practically forced Luffy to kill he had been traumatized, and no matter what the brothers did they hadn't seen him smile since. Luffy had locked himself away, sitting in the corner of the cell and not engaging with them for months. Eventually, he opened up again after the brothers constantly reassuring him that he hadn't killed the children, the doctors had. Even after they got him to start speaking again, they still hadn't gotten him to smile.

Sabo found out by listening to the doctors that they had done a series of tests on Luffy that they called the 'Pure Soul' tests. The first one, the one allowing Luffy to feel emotions and see memories, was allowing Luffy to open others' souls and see what made up a person. The second test, allowing Luffy to see colors around people, was Luffy actually seeing a soul, blue meaning the soul was nicer, purer, while black meant corrupted, evil. The final and worse test had been the waves, as Luffy called them. The last test allowed Luffy to connect his soul with another's, which they called bonding. The doctors had a theory that the reason it didn't work with the other children was because Luffy hadn't had time to get to know that person and their soul, but since he had grown up with his brothers it had worked.

After the doctors had done this to Luffy the elder two had vowed to get them out before they could do anything worse. Ace and Sabo were both 17 and if they didn't get out by the end of the year, all hope would probably be lost.

Going over the plan again for the hundredth time, Sabo felt apprehensive. Maybe they should wait a little longer so that they can make sure everything goes ok.

But they couldn't wait any longer. Not when, every time they saw Luffy, their heart broke in two.

'And then after that's done, Luffy, you have to get out, understand?' Sabo signed to Luffy, the three going over the plan once more. Luffy nodded, determination on his face as he gripped his hat tightly, placing it on his head for the first time in seven years. He could feel his brothers worry, both of them wanting the plan to work, and he was going to try as hard as he could to do the best he could and follow the instructions he had been given.

'Alright, now all we have to do is wait until breakfast.' Sabo signed, the three having gotten up earlier than normal to go over the plan.

'And remember Luffy, if, for some reason, we get split up, get out and don't talk to anyone! No matter what! Don't tell them your name, don't tell them about the facility, and definitely don't tell them about your devil fruit or any other powers the doctors gave you! Got it?" Ace asked sternly. They didn't know how many people knew about the facility, or them for that matter. Luffy nodded again.

It was a tense silence as they waited for the sounds of the food cart. All three of them felt anxiety pooling in their guts, nauseous. This plan had to work because if it didn't, they would never have another chance to try it again.

'Get ready.' Sabo signed, sitting up straighter. His brothers nodded, Ace moving closer to the cell door, Luffy beside him and Sabo on the end. It was nerve-wracking, listening to the cart get closer and closer as they stopped at every cell to hand out food. Finally, the cart reached their cell, going to the cell across from them before turning to theirs.

The plan was in action.

The second the cell was unlocked Ace jumped into action, using all the tests those doctors had performed on him to his advantage as, even with seastone, he flared his fire up, shocking the doctor as he slammed his cuffed fists on the man's head, catching him before he fell.

After the brothers found that Ace and Luffy could slightly use their powers even with seastone they had practiced until Ace was strong enough to create that burst. It left him tired and unable to use his fire anymore, but it was enough.

Luffy ran out behind Ace, Sabo close behind. The blond brother grabbed the set of keys from the doctor and the three booked it to the end of the hallway. Everything after this was unfamiliar territory, even if they had a map, which Sabo was also carrying. Sabo tried keys quickly, flipping through key after key until the door unlocked, thanking the stars that, even though confused, the children in their cells weren't making much noise about what was happening.

They flung open the door, Ace in front and Sabo and Luffy holding onto his shirt. Emily had been right, the halls were completely pitch black.

"Ok, there's only one door in here Ace!" Sabo whisper shouted. Ace nodded, seeing the door as clear as if the light was on, moving briskly to it and pushing it open.

"Don't go in the right door, go straight," Sabo said from memory. He had gone over the path they needed to go through a million times over. Ace, ignoring the door on his right, went towards the one straight ahead and opened it, entering another hall. There was only one door here so Ace moved without waiting for Sabo to say anything. As they entered the next room Sabo wasn't able to say anything when there was a blaring noise, hurting his ears.

An alarm had been sounded.

He could hear people running their way and cursed to himself, shoving the map and keys into Aces hands. He was the only one who could see the map anyways.

"Straight!" Sabo shouted over the noise, the three running quickly through the door, footsteps even closer now. The room was quickly filled with people and they were ready to fight, all three using their heightened senses to their advantage. They got a few doctors and who they assumed to be guards down, but more came in.

"Go! I'll catch up! You've got the map Ace!" Sabo shouted, pushing his two brothers ahead. Luffy was ready to protest but Ace nodded, grabbing Luffy and running.

"Wait, Sabo! Ace, we have to help Sabo, what're you doing?!" Luffy shouted as Ace pushed through another door, fighting off as many guards as he could in the meanwhile, Luffy helping. It was a lot harder to fight when their hands were cuffed and the sea stone made them more sluggish than usual.

"He'll be fine Luffy, trust me, ok?!" Ace shouted over all the noise. Luffy was going to argue more, ready to tell his older brother how wrong he was, but he could feel the worry rolling off of Ace in waves, stopping his argument. Obviously, something was happening that Luffy didn't understand. Even though he wanted to go back and help Sabo something told him to keep going. If Ace wanted him to he obviously had a plan, maybe they would come back for Sabo later.

"Ok..." Luffy said softly, Ace pushing through more guards and through yet another door.

Unbeknownst to Luffy, the older brothers hadn't actually planned on them getting out.

There was no way the three would be able to take down all the guards, especially when two of them were cuffed, so, without Luffys knowledge, they planned on getting Luffy out, and if they could, themselves. As long as Luffy was free, they'd be happy.

When Ace focused back on the fighting it was evident to him that they weren't going to get much further, Ace being overwhelmed by guards quickly.

"Luffy, remember this ok?!" Ace shouted to his brother, the two back to back. Luffy nodded, confused, but listening.

"Go right, straight, left, straight, and then keep going straight until you reach the stairs! Then go out the big doors, alright?!" Ace shouted, confusing Luffy more. Why did he need to go? What about Ace?

"Right, straight, left, straight Luffy!" Ace shouted, and the youngest sputtered, nodding.

"Right, straight, left, straight!" Luffy repeated, and suddenly something was shoved into his hands as he was pushed through a door, hearing it slam behind him. He was confused, disoriented, and now completely in the dark, both figuratively and literally, in an empty hallway. It only took him seconds to figure out what Ace had done, but no matter how much he wanted to turn around and help his brother he had to get out.

He would get out and they'd be right behind him, right? If not, Luffy was going to come back and save them, no matter how much they protested, because they were brothers! Maybe Ace was going back to get Sabo! Maybe, when he got out, they would be right there with him again!

Fighting back tears Luffy repeated like a mantra the directions Ace had told him.

"Right, straight, left, straight!" He muttered to himself, holding his hands out in front of him and running blindly to his right until he hit a wall, feeling blindly along it until he felt a door. He opened it, running in quickly and rushing forward, doing the same as he'd done before. Apparently all of the gaurds had crowded themselves in the previous rooms because he wasn't meeting anyone now. He could hear the sounds of a fight still going on, and doors were opened, slamming against the wall, giving Luffy the idea that they were running after him, only making the adrenaline in him pump faster.

"Right, straight, left, straight!" Luffy said again, not smelling anyone coming his way, only those behind him. He found the next door, hoping he was going the right way as he pushed into the next hallway. All he needed to do now was go straight, and he did. What had Ace said next? Go straight to the stairs? Luffy sure hoped so as he charged blindly forward, pushing open a door, and then another, and then-

Light.

It was dim, but it just barely lit up the stairs in front of him. He felt light and jumpy, adrenaline pumping in him and making everything seem to move in a blur as he stumbled as quickly as he could up the stairs. He could hear the people getting closer behind him, smell them too, but he was so close, he was almost out!

His heart was pumping faster than it ever had before. When he finally got up the stairs he opened the door at the top and nearly froze at all the guards that spun to look at him.

"Gear Second."

He wasn't going to mess the plan up. His body became red, steam pouring off him as he used his little bit of energy to use his gear. He could see the giant glass doors Emily had always told them about, right there, sunlight pouring through them.

As the guards rushed towards him Luffy disappeared, pushing the doors open and using his speed to run through a forest that was surrounding the outside of the facility.

Where was he going? What was he going to do now? Luffy had no clue, always assuming his brothers would be here with him when he got out so they could all leave together, but they were in there and he was out here.

He didn't know how far he ran, but after a minute his gear ended, the seastone completely taking over now as he felt weakened. Maybe Ace and Sabo were running behind? Maybe if he waited they would come running after him.

Luffy stopped to take a breath, glancing around for somewhere he could hide. He didn't know if the doctors were following him or not, but he wasn't going to take any chances. The only thing around him was trees so he decided to hide behind one, kneeling on the ground and trying to catch his breath. He made sure to focus on his sense of smell in case anyone was chasing him and looked at what Ace had shoved into his hand earlier. He hadn't been able to see it before, but now as he opened his palm he saw the keys Sabo had used to open the cell hall door.

Maybe one of them would work on his cuffs!

Luffy awkwardly fiddled with the keys, having a hard time twisting and turning them to fit into the keyhole on his cuffs, tongue sticking out in concentration. After a few failed attempts he managed to find the right key, twisting it in the lock and removing one cuff. A feeling of elation filled him and he quickly unlocked the other, removing the cuffs and throwing them as hard as he could in a random direction.

He could feel all of his energy returning now that the seastone was gone and decided to look for Ace and Sabo's waves. He had noticed a while ago that the wave was related to the brothers' health, getting more transparent when they were sick and more opaque when they were healthy. He found the red and yellow wave quickly, leading back towards the facility, but it wasn't as opaque as it had been minutes ago, it was more transparent then he had ever seen them.

What was he gonna do?! His brothers were probably caught, and who knew what Haru would do to them! Panic filled Luffy as he tried desperately to think of what to do. He couldn't just run back in there, he would get caught, but he had to get them out, and all the other kids too, he had promised Emily! And then Luffy stood up straighter.

He smelled someone.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Come on Marco, there's gotta be something else on this island! It's huge!"

"For the last time Thatch, there isn't, there's only the town, yoi."

"Well have you checked?"

"I've already told you I haven-"

"Then we should go look! Come on, don't be such a party pooper!"

The two pirates were walking down the same path that they had been earlier, only this time they were returning from the town. The group Thatch had sent ahead earlier had gotten everything they needed so they were able to relax and do some window shopping, in the end not buying anything. They were surrounded by trees on either side of them and Thatch was still persistent in getting Marco to go exploring with him.

It wasn't going too well.

"We're supposed to be getting ready to leave soon, yoi, not exploring the forest like kids," Marco said, a bored look in his tone and on his face. Thatch pouted, crossing his arms.

"Well, maybe you should lighten up and try being a bit more like a kid." Thatch said. Marco had to contain his annoyance.

"Were pirates, not kids."

"I know that but-"

Thatch cut himself off as he suddenly felt something moving towards them at a very fast speed. Marco must have noticed it too because he was facing the trees, looking in the direction of where the thing was coming from.

"Animal?" Thatch asked, trying to read whatever the thing was. It would make sense that it was an animal with how fast it was moving and the fact that it was in the never-ending trees.

"No, I don't think so, it seems more like a person, yoi," Marco said with narrowed eyes, the two slipping into battle stances.

"If it is its one fast person."

Oh man guys, it's happening! After 12 long chapters of waiting, the brothers are finally attempting to escape! As you can see, Luffys the only one out, but with his determination to get Ace and Sabo out that won't last for long. Also, the Whitebeards have finally made another appearance, which I know you were all eager for as well. I've been waiting to get this chapter out as long as you guys have been waiting to read it, and I'm happy that it's finally here!

I'm still trying to improve on my fight scenes, and I know that the whole escape thing seemed a bit choppy, but that was also done a little bit on purpose. The brothers were in complete darkness, minus Ace, so they didn't have a clear idea of what was happening around them to narrate that well, and even then they were full of adrenaline which also messes with your interpretation of things. This being said, it was also my poor action writing skills that made the scene a bit weird, but oh well.

Moving on, the response from the last chapter was amazing! It was easily the most reviews I've gotten from a chapter and the love and support from them were nearly overwhelming. I've got to admit, a few of them even made me tear up seeing how much you all love this story. Thank you all so much!

I could go on forever about how much I love you guys, but I think it would get a bit boring to read, so I'll keep those feelings to myself, but once again, thank you so much for all the views, reviews, favorites, and follows, they mean the world to me!

Now, I think I'll leave you alone until the next chapter where we'll see how Luffy plans on getting his brothers out and what the Whitebeards have to do with this! See you then!