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 28: Finally! The Arrival of Shanks

"Remember Luffy, the second you don't like it, we leave." Ace said, drilling it into Luffy's head. The youngest nodded mutely, a frown on his face as he shuffled his feet along the floor, the brothers heading back from breakfast.

"I mean it Lu, even if we didn't even make it out onto the deck." Ace urged, again Luffy only nodding mutely.

"And if they come hunting us down, we run, we get a lifeboat, and we leave." Ace continued. Sabo sighed, really hoping it didn't come to that, but knowing if it did even he would go along with that plan.

"Ace, calm down, we're all on edge right now, the best thing we can do is try and relax a bit before... Shanks gets here." Sabo said, hesitating near the end, both he and Ace looking at Luffy who looked like he was trying to sink into the floor.

"Do you wanna try and take a nap? Ace and I will stay up." Sabo asked as they entered their room. Luffy shook his head but shuffled to the bed anyway and laid down, facing the wall silently. Ace and Sabo watched him with worry, the blonde sighing. They both sent the youngest pulses of warmth in hopes that it would calm him down, turning to give each other their attention.

'What do you think's wrong with him?' Ace asked through their silent language, making sure he didn't make any noise with his tapping so Luffy wasn't disturbed. Sabo shook his head.

'I wish I knew. It might have to do with whatever promise he made to Shanks, but we won't know for sure unless he tells us. The best thing we can do right now is try and keep him calm.' Sabo responded. Ace nodded in agreement.

'Yesterday... do you think he was thinking about all those kids?' Ace asked his brother, remembering the look in Luffy's eyes. He had only seen it once before, the same distant, distraught look as back when he was in the facility after Haru forced him to hurt all those kids.

'Most likely, the only time he ever looked like that was back then.' Sabo tapped back sadly, moving to sit in the desk chair while Ace sat on the bed, near the edge so he could give Luffy space.

'When do you think he'll get here?' Ace asked, moving to lay down as well. Sabo shrugged, closing his eyes.

'Who knows, any minute now really.' Sabo replied, his own anxiousness beginning to take hold.

Silence lapsed over the three, no one speaking, whether through actual words or through their silent tapping. None of them were able to relax, all on edge, ready to go. Luffy was staring despondently at the wall, a million thoughts running through his head at once.

Maybe he could just avoid Shanks, stay in the room until he left. That way, he wouldn't break the promise! But Shanks was coming there specifically to see him, so did that mean Shanks didn't believe he could keep his promise after this and wanted to take Luffy's hat back? If Luffy didn't have the hat, all of their promises would be nonexistent. The straw hat was what was binding all those promises together, reminding Luffy every day exactly what he'd agreed to when Shanks had given it to him.

So who was he to avoid Shanks if he wanted to break off their promise? It was Shanks' hat, after all, it never truly belonged to him, and he was the one to break their promise in the first place. The fact that Shanks even needed to come looking for him proved that, because no great pirate would need someone to come looking for them. A great pirate wouldn't have been caught in the first place.

He had to see Shanks then if only to give the hat back. He didn't want to though. He remembered when he used to look forward to seeing Shanks' ship in the harbor, when he was excited and happy and energized, ready to hear tales from the red-haired man and hang out with Yasopp and Ben.

Luffy didn't know how much time had passed since breakfast, but he did know that the longer he laid there, the worse his anxiety got. He didn't want to move from his spot, didn't want to look at anyone, just wanted to melt into the bed and ignore the world forever.

"He's here." Sabo's words were soft, hesitant, and they made Luffys anxiety skyrocket, to the point that he was practically shaking with nervousness.

"Don't worry Lu, remember, we don't need to see him." Ace said soothingly, but it did nothing to ease Luffys tension. Not even the warm feelings coming from Ace and Sabo helped like they normally did.

Sabo could hear the pirates greeting Shanks and his crew, hear the Red Haired pirate boarding the Moby, hear Whitebeard send Marco to get the brothers. He took a deep, steadying breath and stood from the desk chair, moving to the door.

"Do you want to go Lu? Ace is right, we don't have to go see him, I can make up an excuse." Sabo said, worried for the youngest who still hadn't moved except for the slight tremors that ran through his body. Luffy was silent for a minute and Sabo could hear Marco getting closer.

Finally, Luffy moved, sitting up and nodding.

"Wanna go." Despite his words, the youngest looked like he definitely didn't want to go, but Sabo nodded regardless, knowing Luffy would say something if he couldn't handle it. Even if he didn't, Ace and Sabo knew the signs, what to look out for so something like yesterday couldn't happen again. Yesterday had been sudden and unexpected, giving all three brothers no warning as to the fact that Luffy was going to break down, but now they, for the most part, knew what was going to happen.

"Alright, just... stay close Lu," Sabo said worriedly, a part of him wanting to stay in the room with his brothers and ignore the world outside the door. Ace seemed to be thinking the same thing if his clenched fists were anything to go by.

Marco was outside their door now, his knock echoing almost deafeningly in the now silent room. Sabo had to take another deep breath before he finally opened the door, forcing a smile onto his face, though he was sure it looked as strained as it felt.

"Red Hair's here, yoi," Marco announced without any hesitation. Sabo nodded, already knowing this, Luffy and Ace already close behind him as Sabo silently opened the door, all of them shuffling out of the room and following Marco down the hall.

The walk was made in complete silence, the air thick with tension and the brothers filled with so much nervous energy that they felt they were going to burst. Sabo noticed that Marco kept glancing at the brothers and he hoped he wouldn't say anything, seeing Ace noticing it as well from beside him. Luffy was too out of it to notice, which was probably a good thing.

When they reached the end of the hall Marco pushed the door open, the light pouring into the hall as the brothers watched Marco step outside.

"Ready?" Sabo asked Luffy, he and Ace grabbing the youngest hands to comfort him. Luffy merely stared out into the light, eventually nodding.

"Let's go then." Ace said softly, he and Sabo stepping outside, pulling Luffy along with them. All eyes were on them seeing as they were the center of attention, but the brothers ignored it, more focused on the main issue. Ace could already see the red hair that Shanks was known for sitting in front of Whitebeards chair. All of the commanders stood beside the giant Captain who was looking at Shanks, though his attention shifted to the brothers as they started making the slow walk towards him.

Ace could see Shanks standing now too, turning to face them, a slight look of worry on his face that made Ace wonder.

The walk seemed to take hours, but they eventually got close enough that even Sabo and Luffy could see the Commanders and two Captains. Luffy let go of their hands at this point, hiding behind the two of them, grabbing onto their shirts instead as they finished walking up to the Captains.

It was silent for a moment, no one knowing what to say, no one knowing who should speak up first. The brothers were now in front of Shanks himself, everyone staring at each other expectantly, no one knowing what to do, not wanting to be the one to break the silence, but eventually, it was Shanks that spoke first.

"We haven't met before, I'm Red-Haired Shanks, you must be Ace and Sabo, right?" He asked, smiling a little to the brothers who were effectively hiding Luffy behind them. Ace and Sabo nodded.

"That is correct, Mr. Akagami. Its a pleasure to meet you." Sabo said politely. He would have bowed, but he was busy hiding Luffy so he decided to stay standing.

"Call me Shanks. So, I hear you're the little anchors' brothers, huh?" Shanks asked, the tension still hanging in the air. Sabo nodded again, choosing not to comment on the anchor nickname, even as he felt Luffy shift behind him.

"Speaking of the anchor..." Shanks said, trailing off as he looked inbetween Ace and Sabo where he knew Luffy was hiding. Luffy gripped his brothers' shirts tighter in his fists, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried taking deep breaths, tried staying calm. It was time, he had to face Shanks, he had to break his promise.

Ace and Sabo glanced behind them with worry, noticing the look on Luffy's face. Everyone around them was watching with bated breaths, silence filling the air.

Slowly Luffy shuffled closer to Ace and Sabo, gently pushing them aside so he could peek at Shanks, opening his eyes slowly to meet the man's gaze.

"Luffy." The name came out with a breath of relief, Shanks face melting, a small smile still on his face. Luffy only managed to look Shanks in the eye for a second before they drifted to the ground.

"Luffy, I'm so glad you're ok," Shanks said in such pure joy that it shocked Luffy. Where was the disappointment? The anger? Shouldn't he be mad that Luffy was breaking their promise? That he had gotten captured in the first place? Why was he happy?

"When Garp told me you were kidnapped I was scared." Shanks continued, the words seeming to spill out before the Captain could stop them. Luffy finally managed to look back up to Shanks' eyes, noticing the tears that were filling them, only serving to shock him more.

"And then no one could find you, and we looked everywhere!" Shanks said, laughing a little, though it was weak and strained. Luffy could feel his own tears starting to form, his grip on his brothers' clothes loosening as his lip trembled.

"Luffy, I was so worried!" Shanks finished, and something in Luffy broke, his tears falling in much the same way they had the day before, spilling out fast, running down his cheeks quickly as his hands fell from his brothers' clothes altogether. Before he knew it he was running, nearly tackling Shanks to the ground as he wrapped his arms around him tightly, careful not to stretch them though.

And then he cried.

He cried almost as loud as he had yesterday, gripping to Shanks like he was his lifeline, like, if he let go, the man would disappear.

"SHANKS! I was so scared, and there were mean people, and they hurt me, and they hurt Ace, and they hurt Sabo, and they gave us nasty food, and they kept giving us these weird shots, and it hurt a lot, and they made me-... made me-...!" Luffy's words trailed off into more wails, the crew's hearts all collectively breaking at the boys cries. It was the most they had gotten out of the brothers about what had happened in the facility, and even still they only had more questions than answers, but they weren't going to push it.

Ace and Sabo both watched their brother cry in Shanks' arms, noticing the Red Haired pirate was shedding a few tears of his own, and relaxed. They were safe with this pirate, that much was obvious. If Luffy was able to get this close to someone it was definitely someone they could trust. That didn't mean they weren't going to keep a close eye on him though.

This lasted for a few minutes before the two finally separated, Luffy sniffling and wiping at his eyes a few times before moving back to Ace and Sabo's side.

"Shanks," Ace spoke up suddenly, shocking everyone seeing as he hadn't spoken much at all, normally leaving it to the blonde. Sabo glanced at Ace out of the corner of his eye but trusted his brother wouldn't do anything too stupid. He had a feeling he knew what he was going to say anyway.

"Yeah?" Shanks asked, wiping his own tears away. Suddenly Ace was bowing, and Sabo did the same shortly after.

"Thank you for saving our little brothers life. He can be a handful." Ace said respectfully, slightly shocking Sabo.

"And thank you for looking for us as well," Sabo added sincerely, both of them maintaining their bow for another minute before raising again, Shanks grinning, tears forgotten.

"It was no big deal, and besides, I wasn't the only one looking," Shanks said, the mood suddenly becoming more somber while the brothers shared a confused look, Luffy back inbetween his brothers.

"Who else was looking?" Sabo asked. Over the years the brothers had convinced themselves that no one was looking for them, so now to suddenly hear that more than one person had been searching was baffling to them.

"Why, Garp of course!" Shanks said incredulously as if the brothers should have known that already. The brothers frowned.

'Jii-chan was looking for us?' Luffy asked, confused.

'If that's true how come the shitty geezer never found us?' Ace asked skeptically.

'The worlds pretty big Ace, if Garp was looking for us he must have searched the blues first, and even that takes a while.' Sabo said though he was also skeptical. Garp was a marine. If he wanted them found he shouldn't have had such issues with it.

"Speaking of, I have to tell him the good news!" Shanks said, pulling out a den den mushi.

"You didn't inform him sooner?" Whitebeard asked, and the brothers had nearly forgotten the others surrounding them, which was kind of difficult. Shanks turned to face the Captain, shaking his head.

"I wanted to make sure before I gave him any hope," Shanks said softly, beginning to dial the marines number.

"Purupurupurupuru," The brothers tensed at the ringing tone, not prepared for this at all. They didn't think anyone had been looking for them and now they were about to be faced with everyone all at once, people they hadn't seen in years, people they'd given up hope on.

"Purupurupuru-, gatcha." Luffy was gripping his brothers' hands in his own, squeezing them as tight as he could as he practically shook with nervous anxiety. Ace was biting the inside of his cheek so hard that it was nearly drawing blood, whereas Sabo was doing the same with his lip, though his was actually beginning to bleed slightly. The blonde ignored the sting, only biting down harder as they heard a familiar voice speak up.

"Red hair." Their grandfathers' voice sounded much more tired than they remembered as if he hadn't slept in weeks. It wasn't as loud or boisterous, just resigned and quiet. It was unlike anything they had heard before, and it only served to confuse them.

"Garp I've got some good news," Shanks said with a smile, looking over at the brothers who tried their best to hide their anxiety from the many onlookers.

"Oh?" Garp sounded a bit more interested now, the snail perking up and the tone becoming a bit more cheery. Shanks nodded, grinning even more if possible.

"Sure do. It seems Whitebeards found 'em." Shanks said, only to be met with silence.

"You're sure?" It sounded like Garp was trying not to get his hopes up, but there was a restrained excitement to the voice, an almost choked sound coming through like he was trying not to cry.

"A hundred percent. I'm looking at 'em with my own eyes." Shanks said happily, and Ace could see tears filling the snails' eyes. Sabo, still biting his lip, stepped forward a bit. Understanding what he wanted Shanks handed over the snail to the blonde.

"Hey, there old man," Sabo said weakly, trying his best to keep his tone light and joking, but the emotion on his voice covered it. The tears, which were now visible to Sabo and Luffy, began falling now.

"Sabo," There was such happiness and emotion in Garps voice that it nearly knocked the brothers onto the floor. They had never heard their grandfather talk that way, it was rare to hear him any other way but angry or overly boisterous.

"In the flesh," Sabo said, smiling a little as he looked at the snail.

"I told you to call me grandpa you brat!" What used to be an angry exclamation was now watery and weak compared to how it used to be, the sound of Garp crying coming over the snail.

"Are your brothers with you? Are you three safe? No ones hurt you there have they?" The questions were suddenly pouring in and Sabo had to hold the snail away as Garp's voice got louder and more urgent despite his tears.

"We're here shitty Gramps. Luffy too." Ace spoke up, shocking Sabo as he hadn't expected him to want to talk to Garp.

"Ace. And you said Luffy's with you too?" Garp's voice was filled with relief as he heard the eldest. Ace nodded, nudging Luffy a little. The youngest looked hesitant but looked back over to the snail, Sabo moving it in front of Luffy.

"Hi, Jii-chan," Luffy said quietly, and Garp's tears were falling faster now.

"Thank Kami, thank Kami you three are safe." Garp cried, silence falling as Garp composed himself.

"Where are you three? I'll head your way." Garp said after a minute, and Sabo looked up at Whitebeard, not really sure where they were.

"They're safe with us Garp, were in the Grand Line." Whitebeards loud voice boomed.

"The Grand Line huh? I can be there within a day. If I find one hair out of place on my grandsons you'll regret it Whitebeard." Garp threatened, eyes narrowing. Whitebeards laughter boomed across the deck, waving off the threat.

"No need to worry Garp, we haven't harmed the brats," Whitebeard said, and Garp nodded, frown leaving his face as he addressed the brothers.

"Don't worry, I'll be there in a day, see you soon brats," Garp said, and Ace scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Shitty Gramps, we can take care of ourselves." Ace said, but even he was relieved that Garp hadn't abandoned them, the only other man they really called family besides Dadan and the bandits. Garp's laugh rang out loud and clear through snail.

"I know you can. Stay safe." He said before the snail clicked again and went to sleep, Garp having hung up. Sabo handed the snail back to Shanks who placed it back in his cloak.

"Well, now that that's over, why don't we go have ourselves a party for your safe return?! Ne, Anchor, the guys really missed you too! Yasopp was beginning to run out of people to put to sleep with his stories about Usopp! Oh, and Ben was pretty excited to hear you were safe, Lucky Roo too!" Shanks rambled happily, gesturing with his arm. Luffy smiled slightly, remembering everyone from Shanks crew and how much he got along with all of them.

"Sorry Whitebeard, but I'm gonna steal the boys from you for a bit," Shanks said, turning to address the giant who merely laughed, waving his hand.

"That's fine red-haired brat, go have some fun," Whitebeard said, Shanks, nodding and thanking the man once more before he started ushering the brothers over to his ship where his crew was watching, all of them cheering when they saw the brothers.

"Hey, it's anchor!"

"Hey Anchor, its good to see you!"

"We've missed you Luffy!"

"Glad to have you back little guy!"

Luffy fought back the tears as he saw all the familiar faces waving and cheering at him. Ace and Sabo squeezed his hands and he looked up at them, both of them smiling encouragingly as they all made their way over to the ship.

"Its good to see them again, huh Lu?" Ace asked, Luffy nodding happily in response.

"Well, it's a good thing we're heading there then," Sabo said, smiling happily to the youngest who beamed back at him. He was still a bit timid, and he could feel his brothers' tension and nervousness, but he shouldn't be scared to see Shanks' crew, they were his friends, he knew they weren't bad people. And besides, there was gonna be a party! And Shanks knew about his devil fruit and how much he ate so he and Ace could eat as much as they wanted without having to worry!

This was going to be a good thing.

Merry Christmas everyone~! Or, at least, to those of you who celebrate Christmas. Otherwise... Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or whatever else it is you all might celebrate!

I'm happy I was able to get this up before my day got too hectic, what with all the family that's going to be coming over later. The rest of my week will be pretty busy as more family comes to visit, but worry not, I will still update this Friday!

Anyways, I'm sure you're all over the moon with Shanks finally being here! I hope its lived up to all of your expectations. Shanks and Luffy have such a great bond, and I tried to show that in this chapter, but I'm not sure if I succeeded or not at it.

The brothers are all with Shanks now though, and Garps been informed and is also on his way. Things are really starting to move along after all the lack of action. Next chapter, the brothers will be with Shanks on his ship and you'll all get to see what comes of that on Friday.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was one of my favorites to write so far! Thank you all for everything, happy holidays, and I'll see you again Friday!