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 35: Bad Day

Multiple times throughout the night the brothers were woken up because Luffy would have a nightmare. Instead of having the one nightmare and then a peaceful sleep, the youngest had been plagued with them every time he closed his eyes and no matter how hard he tried getting a restful sleep it didn't work.

Ace and Sabo were definitely feeling the effects. Every time they woke up to Luffy's thrashing, or whimpering, or sometimes even screaming, they would feel tireder than the last time. By the time light was finally starting to shine in their room the three had given up on trying to fall back asleep, instead deciding to get up for the day despite the fact that none of them felt as if they had gotten any sleep.

Today marked the second week since the three had escaped the facility, two whole weeks that they had been on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, and even though they made progress in terms of physical recovery, they had barely moved an inch when it came to mental recovery.

The trio were sitting in bed, all with their eyes closed, yet not falling asleep, just trying to relax a bit before breakfast was ready.

Sabo vaguely realized that he was starting to drift off again but couldn't find it in himself to care as his senses slowly began dulling, the haziness of sleep beginning to take over his mind, and he happily welcomed it.

Only seconds after this though a noise caught his attention, and he shot up in bed, eyes wide with panic and breathing suddenly much faster then it had been before. The suddenness of Sabo's movements made Ace and Luffy jump up as well, thinking something was happening, but after a few seconds with Sabo saying nothing the blonde slowly began to calm down, slowly slumping back into the mattress.

"Sabo?" Luffy asked softly, concerned as to what had just happened. He had felt the sheer terror coming from his older brother, which had unknowingly influenced him into feeling it as well, but now the blonde was calming down. That didn't explain what had happened though.

"Hey, you ok?" Ace asked softly when Sabo didn't respond to Luffy. Finally, Sabo nodded, letting his eyes shut again.

"Yeah, 'm fine, just heard a rolling cart," Sabo muttered, and just like that Ace and Luffy understood. The two nodded, also lying back down to get a little bit of rest while they could. Luffy was terrified of falling asleep again, not wanting to have another nightmare, so he stared at the ceiling silently.

When Sabo had been drifting off he hadn't been in the right state of mind, so when he heard a rolling cart that sounded just like the food cart in the facility he had panicked, his brain thinking he had to get his brothers up, get them ready for another day of testing.

Eventually, the day started and Sabo informed them that they should leave for breakfast. Like yesterday all three of them were on edge, reverting back to how they had been their first day on the Moby, but instead of getting better after breakfast the unease stayed.

Luffy was extremely timid, not wanting to move even an inch away from his brothers in fear that something would happen. All of the nightmares he had had were replaying in his head, and even though he knew it was illogical for some of the dreams to happen, that didn't make him any less scared of them.

Ace was also even more on guard, spinning to see every minute movement. He knew it was bad when a fly buzzed by and he nearly flamed his fist up to attack it as if it were a weapon.

Sabo wasn't any better than the other two, using his hearing to listen to anything and everything, paranoid that someone was going to somehow sneak up on them even though it was nearly impossible to with how guarded and tense the three were.

The lack of sleep that night wasn't doing any of them any favors and it seemed the Whitebeard pirates knew something was up. It wasn't hard to figure out with how twitchy and jumpy the three were throughout breakfast, but no one knew what to do, not wanting to upset the brothers. Some suggested getting a nurse but that was ultimately decided to end up doing more harm than good so instead, they decided to give the three a bit of space.

It was conflicting for the brothers, because more than anything they wanted to be left alone, but at the same time they didn't want to go back to their room where they would be confined in such a small space. They were exhausted, but they wanted, needed, the fresh air, the feeling of being able to move around.

In the end, the brothers ended up going to their usual spot at the railing, assuming their normal positions and trying to relax.

Of course, the key word there was trying.

Even as they forced themselves to enjoy the view of the ocean, or being able to lay down in Aces case, they were still buzzing with nervous energy, feeling as if any second something was going to happen

Within a few minutes Ace was falling victim to another sleep attack, and that did nothing to help Sabo and Luffy relax, the three even more wired than before as they focused on making sure no one got too close to them or Ace. Sabo was aware of the fact that Ace's sleep attacks were getting worse, this being the third day in a row in which he'd had one, but he also knew that it was because of the lack of sleep and the high emotional state he'd been in recently.

Sadly, it didn't seem like things were going to get any better. If Luffy's nightmares continued this way none of them would get any sleep, and the fact that they were going to be on the Moby for a while surrounded by possibly murderous pirates wasn't going to help Ace calm down from his overly stressed state anytime soon either.

Eventually, Ace was waking back up, dazed and confused as he tried to figure out where he was and what was happening. Sabo calmed him down before he did anything too drastic, telling him where they were and that he had fallen asleep.

Unlike yesterday it seemed the sky was finally beginning to see a change in weather as Sabo could see dark clouds on the horizon and Sabo couldn't help but snort at how fitting it was, for this to be the day where it finally gets stormy. His brothers gave him questioning looks but he ignored them, watching the ocean again.

More and more time passed, though not nearly as fast as the brothers would have liked. Unlike usual where they would at least communicate with each other through their silent language, today they weren't saying anything to one another, but that was ok. None of them were up for conversation, instead wanting to mull over their own anxieties alone.

But even that came to an end when one pirate came running out from below deck.

Any other time the brothers would have glanced at him, noticed he wasn't running towards them, or even in their general direction, and went back to what they were doing, but this time was different.

"Ne, Haruta, guess what?!"

The brothers froze at the name, and with their already high stress and anxiety, the sound of that mans name at the beginning of the commanders' name tipped them just over the edge.

Most of the pirates had noticed that, around the brothers, Haruta was called Ruta, but apparently that pirate hadn't gotten the memo. Now there were many eyes on them, everyone wondering how the trio would react to the name.

Much like the first time they had heard it they were frozen, lost in their own memories of the facility. Luffy was beginning to shake and Ace was so tense it was beginning to hurt, while Sabo was gripping the railing so tight he was afraid it was going to snap beneath him. No words were spoken, Ace merely stood up, grabbed Luffy's hand, pulled him off the railing, and walked away, Sabo close behind.

They were walking in such a zombified manner that it stunned some pirates, watching as the three disappeared below deck. It had gone silent, no one wanting to speak, but the sound of the door shutting shocked them out of their stupor.

"Ah... I forgot it was Ruta now..."

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

Today was definitely not the day for this.

Ace was still trying to shake himself out of the memories of the facility, annoyed that this was even happening at all. He was out of there, this shouldn't be happening anymore! He had nothing to worry about, it's not like those people could come get him right now!

But they could. These pirates had seen the facility, had defeated the doctors. What if it was all a show? What if they contacted the doctors and one day they would wake up right back in their cell again?

But it had been two weeks now, why would the pirates wait that long? Maybe the facility was rebuilding itself and would come get the brothers when it was ready.

No matter how outlandish the idea was, Aces brain managed to rationalize it enough that he believed it, became paranoid that the possibilities would come true, that, one day, they would see Harus ugly face again.

Sabo and Luffy weren't any better then he was, Sabo thinking the exact same thoughts as Ace, wondering if this was all some elaborate trick, that the pirates really would betray them and send them back. There was no way of knowing for sure, no way of knowing that they wouldn't send them back once they realized the brothers were too difficult to take care of.

Luffy was even worse though, still shaking from having heard Haruta's name. The triggering word had sent him into a pit of thoughts and memories that he couldn't climb out of. He was suddenly remembering his every moment in the facility, how painful every shot was, every cut, every test, how cold the cells were, how gross and slimy the doctors' feelings were. He was even remembering his nightmares from last night, things that hadn't happened but had seemed so real that Luffy didn't know if they were repressed memories or something his brain made up to scare him.

Had they done that test to see if he could regrow limbs, or had that been a figment of his imagination? Could he really jump super high because of a painful stimulant they had put into his legs or was that fake too? It was getting difficult for Luffy to differentiate his nightmares from his memories.

None of the brothers could snap out of it. They were stuck in their own heads, stuck back in a facility that they had escaped from.

They didn't know how long they sat there in their room, stuck, but when the ship suddenly started violently rocking it was enough to sober up Sabo, the blonde looking around in dazed confusion.

He could hear a commotion outside along with a loud patter of something on the deck.

Oh, it was storming.

Apparently, those dark storm clouds he had seen earlier had finally reached the Moby and now the pirates were fighting their way through it. He could hear some commanders ordering others on what to do so they could get out safely and used that to ground himself.

He wasn't at the facility, he was on the Moby. Sure these pirates could betray them, send them back, but right now they weren't, and if they did, they would deal with it then. They wouldn't go back, they would do everything in their power to not go back. Besides, now they had Garp and Shanks on their sides, they would help them if they were taken again.

Slowly returning back to reality Sabo noticed that Ace and Luffy were most definitely not in the same reality as him.

It took a bit of coaxing but he had eventually gotten Ace out of his trance, the two of them working together to get Luffy out of it who was much further gone then they had been. It took a bit of time and a lot of effort but they did it, the three of them listening to the crashing waves and pelting rain outside. Ace and Luffy were even able to hear some of the pirates shouting too. The three laid on the bed, trying to relax a bit.

"Today's been a shitty day," Ace muttered, Luffy and Sabo nodding in agreement.

"We just didn't get enough sleep. It messed us up." Sabo said with a sigh.

"Sorry," Luffy mumbled meekly, Ace and Sabo sending him warm feelings at how small his voice sounded.

"Its fine Lu, it's not your fault." Ace said, Sabo, nodding in agreement. Luffy pouted.

"But I kept waking you guys up, so it is my fault," Luffy said, feeling bad that he had woken his brothers up so many times throughout the night. He wasn't a kid, he should be able to get over his own nightmares, but he couldn't.

"But you can't control what dreams you have, can you?" Sabo asked, Luffy shaking his head no.

"See, so it wasn't your fault. Everyone has nightmares, and after everything, we've been through we just get them much easier and more often than normal people. That's all." Sabo said, cheering Luffy up a bit.

"Now, speaking of sleep, why don't we try to take a nap?"

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

It was now much later in the day, almost time for dinner, lunch having come and gone. The commanders were all in a meeting with Whitebeard, discussing their next course of action. When they had found the brothers at the facility they had been restocking after having helped one of their islands, but now they needed to get back to the New World before the marines got too twitchy about them being in the calmer waters.

It was agreed that they would land at one more island before Sabaody so that they could restock again, as well as get the necessary items for the brothers.

"I made them enough clothes for a week, so they must have already gone through everything by now. I don't have any more fabric to make more clothes so that should definitely be top priority in terms of things they need." Izo said, everyone, nodding in understanding while Marco wrote things down, putting that at the top of the brothers' list.

"And Ace and Luffy eat a lot more than anyone else, we'll have to up our food budget to accommodate that," Thatch added, eliciting more nods from the group.

"Other than that we should restock the med bay. After helping all those kids from the facility we're starting to run low on supplies." Blamenco finished. The meeting had been long, but that was normal, especially when they were making lists for restocking. Now that everything was done the commanders began relaxing, chatting about the day they'd had.

"Did you notice how tense the brothers were today?" At Rakuyos question all attention turned to him, everyone suddenly invested in the topic.

"Yeah, how could you not, they looked ready to bolt the entire day!" Haruta said, though there was worry laced in his tone as he remembered how on edge the trio had been all day.

"I wouldn't say bolt. Remember when Jack said your name Haruta? They walked off like they were sleep walkin'!" Atmos said, many nodding as they remembered.

"Their reaction to your name was much stronger today than it had been before," Namur noted, remembering back to the first time the three had heard it.

"They must have been having a bad day today, yoi," Marco said, still writing things down on his list.

"Yes, those three did look troubled the entire day today." Whitebeard agreed, having been keeping a closer eye on the brothers today, worried about them with how they had been acting, almost as if they were cornered animals getting ready to snap.

After the Haruta incident though the brothers had stayed holed up in their room, not even coming out for lunch. Of course, this worried everyone even more, but when the platter of food that Thatch had left outside their door ended up empty the Captain decided not to send the nurses after them, rather let them stay in their room for the time being.

Obviously, they needed the solitude, a place where they wouldn't be disturbed, and if he sent the nurses after them, even with good intentions, that would only make it worse. The brothers, like every other child they had saved from the facility, had an obvious disliking towards the nurses and needles, and if they were having a bad day because of the things that had happened in the facility, nurses were the last thing they needed.

Whitebeard sighed, watching as his children began talking amongst themselves once more. He hoped that one day the three would open up, be comfortable enough that they could act like normal children without worry.

He knew that it wouldn't happen overnight, that it would be a long time coming, but if they continued to help the brothers he hoped that they would see that they weren't going to hurt them, that they didn't want them to be scared of them. Everyone on the Moby was family, and those three weren't an exception, many already thinking of them as brothers even though they weren't officially apart of the crew.

Family helps each other get over trauma, and that's what they were going to do for the brothers. They wouldn't push them, they'll let them open up on their own, but they weren't going to shy away from them either, they were going to show those three that not everyone in this world was a bad person.

Now they just had to hope that tomorrow was a better day then today had been.

A bit of insight on the crews thoughts at the end there. The brothers had a bit of a rough time this chapter, but I wanted to show that the three of them all of lasting trauma after going through what they did, and even though its obvious in their changed personalities, I wanted to show its more then that. Trauma is difficult to get past, especially when it was their whole lives for seven years. Nightmares, triggering memories/words/thoughts, and paranoia are things that the brothers all have to get past.

Another reason was to show how much the brothers have changed since they've been on the Moby. It hasn't been much, but compared to how they used to be, its definitely an improvement, even if it isn't all that obvious yet. This bad day was just a bit of a set back to their healing process, and before we know it the three of them will be acting just like they used to when they were kids. It may take a bit of time, but like I said before, trauma isn't easy to get over.

Also, thanks to everyone who has stuck around this long! I know there hasn't been much action, and everyone's still eagerly awaiting Teach's arrival, and I know I've said this before, but he'll be here soon. Teach is definitely going to be an issue for the brothers so when he finally does arrive, things will get even more tense then they already are, but there's reasons for everything.

Thanks to all of you're favorites, follows and reviews, they mean the world to me, which I say every time, but they really do! I cant wait for you all to see what I have in store for this story, and I hope you'll all stick around to see it!