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 41: Calming Constellations
"Another nightmare?" Ace grumbled out as he slowly woke back up for the third time to shaking at his side.
"Mhmm, they've been pretty bad since you got hurt," Sabo answered softly, equally groggy as he tried waking Luffy from whatever terrors were happening in his brothers' dreams.
Yesterday had been long, boring, and stressful. Being in the infirmary again brought back many painful, unwanted memories for the brothers, but there was no getting around it. They weren't going to leave Ace and they weren't going to just walk out and risk the wrath of a nurse, so they opted to stay in the terror-inducing room.
Seeing as this was the case, Luffy's sleep had been riddled with nightmares once again, both due to the smells in the room and the memories, but also because of the trauma of Aces attack. The youngest was sharing a bed with Ace, refusing to leave his brothers' side in fear that he'd wake up and the wave would be transparent again. Whenever a nightmare came on though Sabo would hear it and wake up first, tasking himself with waking the boy up before the nightmare could get any worse and, in the process, wake Ace up as well.
"Come on Lu, wake up, it's just another nightmare," Sabo said, a yawn coming out mid-sentence.
"Luufffyyyy~, wake uuuuppp~!" Ace groaned out. He loved his little brother, he did, but this was the third time he was being rudely awoken and he just wanted to go back to sleep. He didn't blame the boy though, after all, he had no control over his dreams.
"Lu, wake up," Sabo said in a much more soothing voice then Ace's had been, gently shaking him as he did. Finally, Luffy woke up, his breathing a bit heavy and fast, eyes opening slowly at first before they went wide and he was sitting upright as quick as lightning. Sabo had no warning besides past experience and was lucky enough to move away from him before he ended up being headbutted by the terrified Luffy.
"Atta boy." Ace mumbled out, rubbing his eyes as he sat up a bit, ignoring the slight sting from his injury.
"Calm down Lu, everything's fine, we're still right here." Sabo soothed, rubbing his brothers back in hopes that it would calm him down faster.
It was still pitch black outside, indicating that not much time had passed since the last nightmare and it was still late at night. Sabo was really hoping that this would be the last nightmare of the night but knew that that was unlikely.
"Sorry," Luffy said quietly, relaxing a bit as he became more aware of what had happened.
"Its fine Lu, it wasn't your fault," Sabo said, yawning again at the end as he felt his eyelids droop a bit.
"Do you wanna go sit out on deck for a minute? It might calm you down a little faster." Sabo suggested, glancing to see that Ace was already passed out again.
"Mhmm." Luffy hummed, lifting the blanket and getting out of bed. He shivered at the harsh contrast of the cold air compared to the warm bed and Sabo, having noticed, grabbed the blanket off his bed.
"Come on, I'll keep an ear on Ace while we sit," Sabo said, wrapping the blanket around Luffys shoulders and taking his hand. Luffy nodded again, holding the blanket tight with his free hand and allowing Sabo to lead him out of the smelly infirmary, nose twitching in pain from the burning smell.
Like the infirmary it was pitch dark in the halls, making it difficult for Sabo to see where they were trying to go, but he managed, keeping a hand on the wall to orient himself and walking towards the light seeping under the door at the end of the hallway. Once reaching it Sabo pushed it open, revealing the deck, and a quick listen told him that there were only those in the crow's nest and four patrolling the railings. Because of this, and not wanting to get in the way, Sabo led Luffy beside the door, against the wall, and sat down, both looking up at the dark sky.
The moon was full and lit the entirety of the deck up with ease. Stars were littered across the sky as well and there were only a few small clouds drifting along slowly, the wind almost non-existent. It was a quiet, peaceful night.
"I like the stars," Luffy said softly, not daring to speak too loud. Even the soft way he spoke though sounded loud and clear to Sabo, with or without his sensitive hearing.
"I do too. Hey, did you know that the stars form pictures in the sky?" Sabo asked, both trying to keep himself awake as well as calm Luffy.
"Really?" The boy asked in wonder, glancing at his brother and then back to the sky with interest, trying to see what Sabo meant.
"That's right, they're called constellations," Sabo said, also looking back up to the sky, trying to find one.
"Like, right there, that ones Gemini, the sign of twins. If you look it kind of looks like two people holding hands." Sabo explained, pointing out the stars as best he could to Luffy. It took him a minute, but eventually, Luffy smiled brightly, turning to Sabo.
"I see it!" After that Sabo spent a few minutes just pointing out different constellations for Luffy, both of them being careful to be quiet so they didn't disturb anyone. At one point one of the pirates patrolling the deck noticed them, but he merely smiled and waved to them before continuing on, the brothers waving back as he did.
When Luffy yawned Sabo decided that they should probably head back to the infirmary to try and get a little bit more sleep, Luffy begrudgingly agreeing and standing, following Sabo back and scrunching his nose at the wave of smell that assaulted his nose as they entered.
"Where'd'you guys go?" Ace slurred out, sounding like he was just waking up again.
"We went and sat out on deck for a bit. We're gonna try and get some more sleep, but could you tell us how to get back to the beds? I'd really rather not knock over everything in this room trying to get there myself." Sabo said, glancing around blindly in the darkness. It had been easier to get out because of the small amount of light under the door, but now they were heading into the room where there wasn't a single speck of light to help them.
"Yeah, jus' walk forward." Ace instructed, moving from the sounds of it. Sabo did as he was told, Luffy holding onto his hand as they followed the instructions until Ace told them to stop, his voice now directly on their left.
"Alright, turn left, keep going, keep goin- stop, turn a little more right- yeah, okay, now just walk forward. If you put your hands out you'll feel the beds." Ace said, a little more awake now. After a few seconds, Sabo was climbing back into his bed, sighing happily at the warmth that encompassed him, while Luffy crawled back into bed with Ace, giving Sabo back his blanket.
"Night guys," Sabo said, already closing his eyes and falling back asleep.
"Night." Ace and Luffy chorused back, both of them snuggling up together as they too fell asleep.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
By the time morning rolled around Luffy had only had one more nightmare, much less then Sabo and Ace had been expecting. It was before breakfast, but not by much, and Whiskey was on her way, Sabo hearing that she was coming to see how Ace was doing.
When she walked in Sabo and Luffy were sitting in the chairs by Aces bed, Sabo having had to persuade Luffy to leave the bed so Whiskey could check on Ace.
"Good morning you three, how are all of you today?" She asked, smiling sweetly to them. Sabo smiled back, resisting the urge to shiver at the smile.
"We're doing well, thank you. What about you?" Sabo asked politely, forcing himself to continue smiling. Whiskey made her way over to Ace, holding a roll of bandages in one hand and her clipboard in the other.
"About the same. Now, let's see how that injury of yours is." Whiskey said, sitting on her rolly stool and beginning to gently unwrap Aces bandages, showing them all that the once huge, red wound was now a thin, nearly gone line across his chest.
"It seems much better now. Everything looks to be healing correctly, and no infections so that's good. I think all we need now is to rewrap it and by tomorrow it'll be gone." Whiskey said as she inspected the cut, scanning over it carefully as if something would pop out to her and explain the fast healing.
"When will he be able to leave?" Sabo asked, trying to be as polite as possible without showing just how bad they wanted out of the infirmary they worked so hard to stay away from.
"Hmm... I think if everything's still alright after breakfast then Ace here should be all clear to leave. I do want you to come back tomorrow though so I can remove the bandages and rewrap them if necessary." Whiskey informed, looking to Ace at the last bit. Before allowing Ace to bite back something Sabo answered for him, smiling once more.
"Thank you Whiskey, we'll be sure to come by tomorrow then." He said, wanting the interaction to be over now. The nurse nodded, quickly rewrapping the injury with practiced ease before sliding back from the bed and standing.
"Well, Thatch should be by soon with breakfast. Once you're finished I'll come by as well and we can work on getting you out of here." Whiskey said, writing on her clipboard. Sabo nodded, thanking the nurse one more time, and she left the brothers.
"Man, I can't wait to get out of here!" Ace groaned, stretching his arms out, pleased to feel that the once sharp sting was now dull and bearable.
"The sooner we're out the better." Sabo agreed, glancing around. Yesterday there had been a few Whitebeards in here, all of them getting check-ups from Whiskey before leaving, but today there was no one, although it was still a bit early. The only people there were the brothers, Whiskey, and a few other nurses that the brothers were sure to keep a close eye on.
A yawn from Ace reminded Sabo and Luffy just how tired they were, all their nights having been pretty rough with the nightmares that they all had had, Luffy especially.
"Maybe we should take a nap later." Ace said after he yawned once more, immediately after the first one. Sabo, unable to resist yawning himself, looked at Ace with a bit of a smile.
"We've barely been up for half an hour and you're already scheduling nap time," Sabo said with a hint of teasing in his voice, though he agreed with Ace.
"So what if I am, according to the nurses here, I need all the rest I can get, so ha." Ace said triumphantly, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out at Sabo who rolled his eyes. Luffy laughed, feeling the playfulness coming from both of his brothers.
"You three are lively today!" Thatch's voice made the three turn, mouths salivating at the sight and smell of the food.
"You as well Thatch," Sabo said as he took the platter from the chef, divvying up the food for the three and handing his brothers the platter to split while he took a much smaller bowl.
"I guess you're right. Today's a good day, I can feel it." Thatch said confidently, taking his seat by Aces bed.
"Oh, what makes you say that?" Sabo asked curiously, beginning to eat one of his muffins. Thatch's smile widened, hands behind his head.
"Well I just found out were nearing Sabaody. Shouldn't be too long now, maybe three days." Thatch said, looking at the ceiling.
"Shabby?" Luffy questioned a bit softly from the bed, watching the chef with a curious gaze.
"Sabaody Luffy, Sa-bao-dy," Sabo said slowly, Luffy repeating the word back successfully to him.
"Oh yeah, I always forget you three don't know these things. Sabaody's basically the halfway point to many pirates. It's at the end of Paradise and after you pass it you've reached the New World." Thatch explained with a smile.
"Looks like you like the island." Ace observed from where he watched, shoving food into his mouth. The chef sighed a bit, shrugging.
"It has its ups and downs, that's for sure. As long as we stay away from groves 1-29 and 60-69 its pretty nice." He said, frowning a bit.
"Groves?" Ace asked, confused now.
"Yeah, the entire island is actually a giant forest of mangrove trees that are separated into different districts, groves 1-29, the lawless zone, 30-39, the amusement park, 40-49, the tourist areas, 50-59, the shipping areas, 60-69, marine headquarters, and 70-79 the hotel town." Thatch explained, ticking off the different sections on his fingers. The brothers shivered though at the sound of the marine headquarters, and it seemed Thatch was thinking the same thing as them at that moment as he frowned as well.
"Come to think of it, we should definitely stay far away from 60-69 this time." He muttered as if more to himself. The brothers couldn't help but find themselves nodding in agreement.
"Anyways, the islands actually pretty nice if you stay within the tourist sections. There's a wide variety of things you can get there because it's so popular. We won't be there long, just long enough for our ship to get coated and then we'll head to Fishman Island." Thatch finished, the brothers finishing their food as well. Even though Sabo had more questions, like what ship coating meant, he held them off for now, just wanting out of the infirmary as fast as possible.
"Well it sounds lovely. Thank you for the breakfast Thatch," Sabo said with a smile, placing his empty bowl on the cleared platter and handing it back to the chef. Thatch smiled brightly, taking the platter from the blonde.
"Oh, it was no problem! Hope you get better soon Ace!" Thatch said, waving goodbye to the brothers as he began to leave the room. Whiskey, noticing they were done with breakfast, made her way over and performed one last exam on Ace to make sure he was healed enough to leave. Once deemed healthy enough she allowed them to leave, the brothers having to hold themselves back from bolting out of the room.
"Thank Kami were finally out of there." Ace huffed out, glaring over his shoulder at the infirmary door. Luffy and Sabo both nodded their agreement as they stood in the hallway, contemplating what to do next.
"We could go sit out on deck?" Sabo offered, but even he didn't really want to do that.
"I think we should take a break from sitting out there, bad things keep happening whenever we do." Ace grumbled, Sabo nodding his agreement once more.
"Then what should we do?" Luffy asked, shifting his weight as he waited. Ace and Sabo looked to the boy, then to each other, and then shrugged.
"Why don't we walk around for a bit? There's still a lot we haven't seen on this ship, I'm sure." Sabo suggested, looking down the hall leading further into the ship rather than out onto the deck.
"I'm fine with that." Ace agreed.
"Yeah, let's explore!" Luffy said enthusiastically, his mood increasing in positivity now that they were free from the smelly infirmary.
"Well then, let's go," Sabo said, turning to begin walking down the hall. Luffy cheered and ran up to his side, Ace sighing as he followed as well.
Now that they weren't trying to hide or sneak around, walking around the inside of the Moby was much more peaceful and relaxing for the three. They didn't have to look over their shoulders every other second in fear that someone would round the corner and spot them. There was still the slight tension that someone would somehow manage to sneak up on them, but other than that, the three felt relatively at peace walking around the many halls.
Maybe they should have just went and found Izo so they could get the rest of that tour, but none of them wanted to go do that right now. This way the three were free to examine anything and everything without suspicion.
Did Luffy just weirdly sniff that door? Yes, he did, because it smelled like food which led the brothers to find out that someone was storing a secret stash of candy in there. Did they take just a bit? Maybe, but no one would know, because they were completely alone in the hall.
Did Sabo just freeze in the hall and tilt his head up a bit, not moving for a few seconds? Yes, he did, because he could hear someone above deck mumbling to themselves about a ghost story they had heard that was messing with their heads, making them think the ship was haunted. Did the three laugh about this? Yes, they did, because they knew there were much scarier things than ghosts in this world.
Did Ace just stand and watch a fly buzz throughout the hall for a minute before it turned the corner and disappeared? Yes, he did, because he swore that same fly had been in the mess hall the day before, he remembered the slightly messed up wing on it, most likely from getting swatted at. Did the brothers sit and wonder for a second how that fly had managed to get into the deepest part of the Moby? Yes, they did, because there was no one around to wonder what they were doing.
The brothers decided that they liked the inside of the Moby, because they could get lost inside it and not worry about anyone but themselves for a moment.
And so ends the transition period! Starting next chapter, the action, the drama, the angst, will return three-fold! I hope you've all prepared yourselves for it.
Anyways, this chapter there was some brotherly bonding, the trio finally got out of the infirmary again, and they were able to peacefully explore the Moby on their own for a while. There was also the mention of Sabaody coming up soon, which has the possibility of many different things happening. From the amusement park to Celestial Dragons, really, anything could happen on that island!
I cant wait for next week already. The chapter I have planned is going to be so much fun to write, so you all need to get yourselves ready for it! I'll see you all then!