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 30: The Illusion of Peace
It was strange, after seven years of torture and pain, the brothers always on edge, always ready for the next person they met to hurt them in new ways. For them to suddenly be able to be at peace was strange.
Or, at least, a semblance of peace that is.
The Red Haired Pirates threw a party that the brothers had never experienced before. They may have been the guests of honor, the whole reason for the party, but no one gave them special attention, no one made them uncomfortable, no one forced them into the spotlight.
It was nice. It was a small blessing that the three never got to experience anymore. They were always the center of everyone's attention, for the past seven years, and now, they could leave and hide out in their room and no one would bat an eye. No one would demand they come back, they would accept that they were gone and that would be that.
Food was brought out about an hour after the festivities started. Now there was food to go with the many drinks being passed around and the music playing felt much cheerier now that they were filling their stomachs with delicious food. The brothers ate with no qualms to those watching for once, which was also a blessing they hadn't had in years.
Back on the Whitebeards ship, they were too scared to even dare ask for seconds, much less eat without the manners they had been forced to learn. Food was shoveled into Ace and Luffy's mouths faster than it was appearing on their plates, and while Sabo was eating much slower, and with utensils, it was still much faster than a normal person should safely consume food.
They ate seconds and thirds, and though that's where Sabo stopped, it's not where his brothers stopped. They continued on to eat fourths, fifths, sixths even! By their ninth plate, they finally finished, much more satisfied then they had been in a long while. The pirates around them cheered, some collecting bets that they had made while they had been eating.
With food out of the way, the party continued on with singing, dancing, and overall chatter. Luffy seemed to relax around everyone more, going and joining in on the singing, talking to someone named Yasopp cheerfully, listening to the man talk about his son, and eventually dozing off during one of these stories.
Ace and Sabo watched him closely throughout this, ready to come to his aide at any moment should he need it, but they knew that wouldn't be necessary, not while they were with the Red-Haired Pirates. It was strange, to feel that peace, that sense of security. They hadn't ever really felt that before, not even back in the forest, because you never knew when an angry pirate from the Grey Terminal would come running after them, but here with these complete strangers, at least in Ace and Sabo's case, they felt safe.
After the talk they'd had with Shanks and Benn, the two oldest brothers had been a bit more on edge around the Captain and first mate, especially after Luffy told them they were both angry. Despite the youngest telling them repeatedly that they weren't angry at them, but at the facility, the brothers couldn't help but feel that anger would suddenly be directed at them and they would have to run, to hide.
It never happened though, and it seemed that the two men truly wanted the brothers to be safe and happy. Luffy told them that they were still angry, despite their outward appearances saying otherwise, but it was becoming easier for Sabo and Ace to relax around them. To feel safe.
That definitely was not a feeling they thought they would be feeling in a long time. Maybe it was because Luffy so obviously trusted them, maybe it was because of their history with Luffy, maybe it was because they had always heard such high praise of them, but whatever it was it worked.
So when they saw Luffy fall asleep they found that they felt no need to rush to his side, no need to carry him away, no need to hide their brothers' weakness from these pirates. They did go over and pick him up though, taking Shanks' directions to a room inside the ship that they could use for the night. They didn't feel the need to look out for any incoming pirates that might be roaming the halls instead of being out on deck partying, they merely made their way to their room and placed Luffy on one of the two beds, Ace crawling in beside the youngest while Sabo moved to the other empty bed, laying down and staring at the ceiling.
"Ace?" Sabo asked softly, not wanting to wake Luffy.
"Hm?" Ace hummed, his eyes closed but still awake. Sabo paused, glancing at Ace out of the corner of his eye, smiling a bit.
"You think we could get this feeling back again?" Sabo asked, liking how secure he felt here, how nice the feelings were to experience, a harsh contrast to the one he'd experienced most of his life. Now Ace was quiet a minute, most likely thinking through his thoughts.
"Don't know, depends on tomorrow I guess..." Ace muttered, and Sabo frowned a bit at the reminder of tomorrow. Tomorrow Garp would be coming, and that was probably going to be harder than when they saw Shanks because Garp was their Grandfather, he was family, someone they all knew and were, for the most part, close with. Seeing a stranger you knew about was a cake walk compared to seeing a family member you had given up hope on ever seeing again.
Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day, that was for sure.
"Guess you're right... Night Ace." Sabo said, turning to lay on his side, getting comfortable and closing his eyes.
"Night Sabo." Ace mumbled back, also shifting a bit to get more comfortable on the tiny bed he was sharing with Luffy.
The two fell into a peaceful sleep within minutes.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Wakey Wakey, rise and shine!" Shanks' voice drifted through the door and into the brothers' room, all of them groaning at being woken up. The Captain was also knocking loudly on their door, and it didn't seem like he was going to stop anytime soon. Groaning Sabo stood up from his bed, stretching and shuffling towards the door begrudgingly.
"Yeah yeah, shut up you red-haired bastard..." Aces mumble wasn't loud enough for the Captain outside to hear but it made Sabo smile none the less as he reached the door, only pausing when he realized something.
Normally they were all pretty light sleepers, Sabo especially, and the second anyone started coming toward their room he was normally wide awake. The blonde decided to shrug this off though, deciding to chalk it up to a mixture of feeling safe here and being completely exhausted from both the facility and making sure they were acceptable enough for the Whitebeards.
"G'Morning Shanks," Sabo said with a yawn. The red-haired man was grinning widely to him, finally ceasing his knocking.
"Ah, finally, good morning Sabo! Breakfast is ready if you three want to head to the galley, I'm sure Luffy remembers where it is if you want a few minutes." Shanks said, peeking behind him and seeing the still very much asleep Ace and Luffy. Sabo smiled a little, nodding.
"I think that's a good idea. We'll see you in a few, thanks for waking us up." Sabo said, Shanks, nodding and walking away, waving goodbye as he did. Closing the door Sabo sighed, turning to face Ace and Luffy.
"Alright you two, come on," Sabo said, walking over to them and shaking them, trying to get them up as best he could. They both groaned and swatted at his hands causing him to roll his eyes.
"Its breakfast time, and if you two don't get up soon who knows if there'll be enough food left for you." He said, grinning as he knew it would work. Within seconds the two shot out of bed, Luffy already on the other side of the room and flinging the door open.
"Oi, Lu, wait up!" Ace called as he chased after the youngest. Sabo chuckled, following at a much slower pace, not worried about getting lost. If he did have trouble all he would have to do was listen for Ace and Luffy's bickering as they fought over food.
It was still odd to Sabo to feel so... normal. It was such a sudden change from the tenseness and fear of the previous morning, but Sabo couldn't find it in himself to complain about it. After all they had been through, they deserved at least this much because he knew by the time his brothers really started to wake up they would remember what was happening today. They would remember that Garp, their grandfather that they had given up hope on ever seeing again, was going to come and see them sometime today. When, they didn't know, but that would only make them more unnerved.
Reaching the galley Sabo was met with food flying every which way, Ace and Luffy the center of it all as they scarfed down as much as they could.
"Oh, hey Famo!" Ace greeted, waving to Sabo as he spoke with his mouth full. Sabo shook his head, sitting beside Luffy.
"Swallow before you talk Ace, we've been over this," Sabo said, beginning to eat his own food. Ace merely shrugged, saying nothing more as he continued eating as well. Shanks joined them soon after bringing a plate of his own food over.
"Your appetite is as big as ever, huh Luffy?" Shanks asked as he watched the youngest finish his fourth plate. Luffy beamed at him, cheeks puffed out from all the food in his mouth and nodded.
"Mm!" Shanks laughed at that, turning to Sabo now.
"So, are you ready for today?" Shanks asked with a small smile. Sabo froze for a second, swallowing his bite slowly as he stared at his plate, thinking about how he should respond. Sabo assumed Ace and Luffy hadn't been listening because they continued eating as if the mention of Garp coming hadn't been brought up. He did notice that Luffy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, glancing at Sabo as he ate. He had probably picked up on his suddenly nervous feelings. Taking a deep breath Sabo calmed himself, sending a smile to Luffy which the boy accepted, returning to his food.
"As ready as I think we could be." Sabo decided to say eventually. Shanks nodded in understanding.
"Benn said he should be here around noon, but the thing is, we have to leave soon, probably after breakfast. The marines were already antsy when they found out I was heading towards Whitebeard and now that we've spent this much time near them they're surely going to be sending someone to check it out if we don't go soon so its the best we can do." Shanks said, and this time Sabo stopped eating, realizing quickly exactly what all of this meant.
"So we'll have to continue staying with the Whitebeard pirates until Garp shows up is what you're saying, correct?" Sabo asked, not meeting the man's eyes. Apparently Ace and Luffy were listening now because they froze, meals forgotten as they looked over with wide eyes.
"Afraid so, but don't worry, the Whitebeards aren't bad people, they'll keep you safe until Garp shows up," Shanks said, trying to be reassuring, but it didn't have the effect intended on the brothers. Even though the Whitebeards had saved the brothers and kept them safe and as comfortable as possible the trio was still uneasy around them.
If the pirates found out about what happened in the facility they surely wouldn't be so accommodating.
"Besides, it'll only be a few hours until Garp gets here, don't worry," Shanks said, but that didn't help calm the brothers either.
Breakfast continued in almost a tense silence. The brothers were internally freaking out about having to stay with the Whitebeards again while Shanks didn't know what else to say to calm them down. After they all finished Shanks was told by the navigator that everything was set for them to leave and that's when the brothers felt even more uneasy.
Shanks escorted them back to the Whitebeards ship where they were once again the center of attention, all eyes on them, and any feelings of safety and security went away as they left the Red Haired Pirates' ship.
"Welcome back." Whitebeard greeted, smiling to the group as they stepped onto the deck. Shanks smiled back, nodding to the man before turning to face the brothers.
"Alright you three, as I said before, Garp'll be here soon so just relax for a bit. Everything will be just fine, I'm sure of it, but just in case, here." Shanks said, pulling something out of his pocket and handing it to Sabo. It was two pieces of paper, one with a number on it, most likely the man's den den mushi number, and another completely blank paper.
"What is it?" Ace asked, peering over Sabo's shoulder to see it.
"That ones my den den number, but this is my vivre card. Its a paper tied to the owners' life force, so if you hold it it'll move in the direction of that person, see?" Shanks explained, opening Sabo's palm and placing the paper in his palm, all of them watching as it crept closer to the man.
"Woah~! So it's a mystery paper!" Luffy said with a toothy grin, Shanks laughing loudly in response.
"You got that right anchor! Anyways, I gave you enough to rip it into three so each of you can have one. If you ever need to find me, that paper'll lead you right to me." Shanks said, still smiling. Luffy was now pouting at the mention of Shanks' favorite nickname for him while Ace and Sabo were nodding in understanding.
"Thank you, Shanks, for everything," Sabo said, bowing to the man, Ace following suit and doing the same. Shanks waved, still smiling.
"Ah, it was nothing! Stay safe you three! And Anchor," Shanks said, turning to address the still pouting boy. Luffy perked up to show he was listening, but he continued to pout as well.
"I'm still holding you to our promise, yeah?" The red-haired man asked, shocking the pout right off of Luffys face. The boy hadn't been expecting that, he had thought that their promise was dead now, thought that Shanks wouldn't want him to keep the infamous hat anymore, but hearing those words confirmed for the boy that it was still strong.
Luffy beamed to Shanks, nodding.
"Mm!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The brothers finally stopped waving when they couldn't even see Shanks' ship on the horizon anymore. They had been trying to ignore the fact that they were once again stuck with the Whitebeards, but now they were going to be forced to face that fact seeing as they couldn't stall any longer with watching after Shanks' ship.
'Why don't we just make a break for it back to the room?' Ace asked while Sabo suppressed a sigh.
'Because that might cause them to come after us, which we definitely don't want.' Sabo replied. Now that their only sense of security was gone the brothers had reverted back to their timid and antsy state. Their smiles were gone, replaced with tense frowns, and they were back to speaking their silent language almost exclusively. No one had approached them yet, but it was only a matter of time until someone did.
'So we're supposed to just stand here?' Ace asked. Luffy was shifting nervously inbetween the two, wanting to be back with Shanks but knowing that wasn't going to happen.
'Of course not, but right now-' Sabo stopped his tapping when he noticed someone heading their way, stealing his nerves as he turned away from the sea to address the person, his brothers doing the same.
"Welcome back, we got word not too long that Garp would be here in about an hour, yoi." The brothers' stomachs dropped at the news given to them by the Whitebeards first commander. Wasn't Garp supposed to get here at noon? Another three hours from now?
"He's made good time then, huh?" Sabo asked weakly, trying to hide the nervousness that he felt. Marco nodded in response, glancing at the ocean behind them.
"According to him, he hit good waters which reduced his travel time," Marco said, turning to watch the brothers again. Sabo nodded, swallowing.
"That's... good news then. Thank you, Commander." Sabo said, forcing himself to give the man a pleasant smile. Marco seemed to notice that the smile was a little off, but to Sabo's relief he said nothing, merely nodding and turning to walk away.
'Now can we go to our room?' Ace asked, any shred of a good mood that he had had that day gone completely. Sabo only nodded, the three turning to leave the deck, heading to where they knew their room was.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"It's like a complete turn-a-round!" Thatch said in slight amazement as he and the other Commanders along with Whitebeard watched the brothers slink off to their room, not looking at anybody.
"They looked so happy back on the Red Force, now they looked like they're scared we're gonna bite their heads off," Haruta said, confused as to the sudden personality change in the trio.
"They also knew Shanks though, yoi," Marco said as he reached the group.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Rakuyou asked.
"They know the Akagami brat so they were more comfortable around him, but here they don't know us at all," Whitebeard explained though some were still confused.
"So they're scared of us?" Blenheim asked.
"Most likely it's not that they're scared of us as people, but more of what we could do. We have no idea what happened to them in the facility, but it definitely wasn't anything good and that may have influenced the way they see strangers, yoi." Marco elaborated, everyone slowly beginning to understand more and more.
"Poor kids," Vista said as he looked over to the brothers who were disappearing into the depths of the Moby.
"All we can do right now is try to make them as comfortable as possible until Garp gets here," Whitebeard said with a sigh, wishing he could do more to help the boys, but he didn't want to force them to do anything that would make them more uncomfortable than was necessary.
"I don't think that'll be an issue, they're probably going to camp out in their room 'till he gets here." Fossa said as he folded his arms across his chest.
"And that's ok. If they want to stay there then we won't force them to come out." Whitebeard said softly.
New year, new chapter! Welcome to 2019 and chapter 30!
I know this chapter wasn't the most exciting, but it was more of a transition between the brothers seeing Shanks and Garp's arrival. Next chapter, Garp will definitely be making an appearance so you all don't have to worry about waiting too long for him. I also wanted to show the difference in the way the brothers both acted and felt with Shanks compared to how it is when they're with the Whitebeards. Even though Ace and Sabo don't know Shanks personally, they grew up hearing praises of the man from Luffy, and it also helps that Luffy had no qualms when it came to Shanks after seeing him again. If Luffy hadn't been so trusting of Shanks then the interaction would have gone completely different, but with Luffy reassuring them that he was a safe, good man, they were able to get over their suspicion and anxieties.
Also, speaking of Shanks, I know his reaction last chapter to the brothers' story didn't seem all that Shanks like, but there was also reason for that. I mentioned this chapter that Luffy could feel that Shanks was angry despite his happy-go-lucky appearance, and it was the same when they were telling him about the facility. I know Shanks is portrayed as a childish, yet serious when needed, man, much like canon Luffy, so when he heard the story, I feel like he would have been able to pick up on the fact that, around the brothers, he needed to remain calm and try to keep the mood light. Showing the brothers his anger would have done nothing more then cause them to revert further into themselves, and he and Benn could both see that the brothers had issues telling them about the facility, so they decided it would be best to keep their anger to themselves.
With that said, now that Shanks is away from the brothers, hes no doubt ranting and raving to Benn about everything they heard and swearing vengeance.
Anyways, with that explanation out of the way, as I said before, the next chapter will be Garp's arrival, and with it we'll be getting a lot of answers to questions you've all probably had since the beginning, so get excited~! Next chapter is where we'll be seeing more of the plot progression take place, and with it, more excitement.
However, this will all have to wait until next week. I love you all, and here's to a good New Year~!