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 44: A Day with Teach

When the next day finally rolled around the brothers found themselves waiting anxiously in their room for breakfast to be ready. They didn't want to leave the safety of the small room just yet, not wanting to go face the man filled with so much darkness that it rivaled Harus.

Luffy could feel the darkness from there, which just went to show how much of it Teach had seeing as they were inside the Moby, whereas Teach was somewhere out on the deck. It felt as if the man was standing right next to him.

They had told Shanks that they would give today a try, that they would do their best to be on the same ship with Teach, but none of them said that they would be actively going anywhere near the man. It felt just like it had their first week in their room, all of them barely even venturing out for food.

Sabo could hear pirates beginning to file into the galley for breakfast and he realized that, if they wanted to eat, they would have to head out now. They just had to get through this last day, then they could leave.

There was still the part of him that wanted to stay, though.

"Come on, breakfast is done," Sabo said a bit curtly, not wanting to be near Teach but knowing that it was inevitable. Despite his words, the three didn't move, all of them trying to encourage themselves to do it, but none of them actually doing it. After a minute of this Ace finally sighed and stood up, scowling as he did so, and made his way to the door, practically flinging it open as he stalked down the hall toward the galley. Sabo and Luffy shared a glance but followed the eldest silently.

The closer to the galley they got the harder it was for Luffy to breathe. It was like a cloud of darkness was engulfing the galley, and stepping into it would be like submerging yourself in water. In the darkness, though, there was a lightness. Warmth. Whitebeard was in the galley too, and Luffy noticed that the strong wave of warmth that the giant omitted counterbalanced the darkness that Teach omitted. Pleased by this finding, Luffy allowed the warmth to engulf him, to drive away any feeling of darkness, and was pleasantly surprised when, after letting the warmth in, there wasn't a single hint of darkness despite the fact the Teach was only sitting a few tables away.

Ace and Sabo noticed their brother, who, moments ago, was tense, breathing heavy, and practically shaking, suddenly relaxed, a hint of a smile forming. This confused them, especially sense Teach was within eyesight.

'Luffy?' Ace tapped in question as the brothers went to the table to sit.

'I'm letting the warmth in to stop the darkness.' Luffy answered, knowing what his brother was going to ask. Ace and Sabo frowned, but only because they were concerned.

'Not too much Lu, don't overdo it.' Sabo warned, Luffy nodding in understanding, feeling the worry coming from his brothers. He would be careful, he would only let in enough warmth to stop the darkness, no matter how good it felt and how much he wanted to let it all in.

The brothers sat down at the table with the Commanders, trying their best to both ignore, yet keep an eye on, Teach. Luffy made sure to focus on the man's emotions, all of them except the darkness, to look for any sudden change or any malicious feelings that could harm him, his brothers, or the pirates. Ace was scanning the room, but more often then not he was looking toward the smiling pirate, anger rising inside him at how naturally Teach could put on a friendly act despite the dark intentions he knew the man had to have. Meanwhile, Sabo was keeping a close ear on Teach while also listening and interacting with the Commanders and Captain.

Thatch came out soon enough, the brothers' food along with the Captains in his hands as he announced breakfast was being served. Pirates began standing, shuffling over to where the food was being served, while Thatch began setting the plates he had down, Sabo thanking him as he did.

The brothers ate quickly and silently, and by the time the Commanders were just beginning eating, the brothers were finishing. Ace looked ready to start leaving, Luffy too, but Sabo had an idea.

"Ne, Thatch, do you think you could get some seconds for Ace and Luffy?" Sabo asked in as polite a tone he could manage with Teach in the room, putting a pleasant smile on his face as he did. Ace halted from where he was mid rise, sitting back down instantly and giving Sabo and confused look. Luffy, who was also confused, merely glanced at the blonde, more focused on the fact that he would be able to eat more.

'Sabo, what are you doing?' Ace asked, tense. Hadn't one of their rules been to not ask for much, including more food seeing as they already ate so much. Sabo ignored his brother, smile not leaving his face.

Thatch seemed a bit shocked, but got over it quickly, a smile lighting up his own face as he nodded, standing.

"Sure thing Sabo, I'll be right back with it!" He said cheerfully, a hint of excitement in his voice as he rushed back towards the kitchen. The Commanders had turned their attention to the brothers now, eyebrows raised, but Sabo ignored them, splitting his attention once more between Teach and the commanders and Captain.

"You two are still hungry? I think I'd be full for a year if I ate that much!" Vista said, and Luffy sensed no maliciousness in the comment, only good-heartedness. Telling Sabo as much the blonde lifted his head to respond.

"My brothers are quite well known for having black holes where their stomachs should be," Sabo said with a bit of a laugh, trying to keep an air of indifference and calm around himself. Before more could be said Thatch returned, plates in hand, placing them in front of Ace and Luffy.

"There you go!" Thatch said happily as he placed plates in front of Ace and Luffy before returning to his seat. The two brothers hesitated a second, not quite knowing what was happening still, but after a quick look to each other they shrugged and dug in. They weren't going to deny good food, especially when they were still hungry. The Commanders only watched them for another second before their attention was drawn elsewhere and they carried on with their own meals. Sabo waited for his brothers to be done while keeping a close ear on Teach, listening to him laugh and joke with other members of the crew.

When they were finished they left the galley as fast as they usually did, but this time they stopped outside the galley doors.

'Should we go back to our room?' Luffy asked, not really knowing what to do. He didn't really want to go back into the room where there was nothing to do, but he didn't want to stay out here where Teach would be.

'We did say we would try and keep an eye on Teach, so maybe we should stay out here. If it gets to be too much we can go back to our room.' Sabo said, the brothers nodding and heading to the rail where they resumed their usual positions.

'So what was that all about?' Ace asked, not needing to give any more context. Sabo shrugged as he looked at the water with Luffy.

'Well, let's just call it a bit of a test.' Sabo said, confusing his brothers even more.

'A test?' Luffy asked. Sabo nodded, tapping some more.

'The pirates always said that if we were still hungry, or if we needed anything, then all we had to do was ask. Whether its because they want to be nice or they're acting, I don't know, so I decided to ask for more food. If they're acting then now is a good time to find out seeing as we're about to leave. At lunch, you can have thirds and dinner, fourths. If they turn, then we'll know that we definitely shouldn't stay here anymore then today. If they don't, then... maybe we should stay.' Sabo explained, ending a bit hesitantly at the suggestion of staying with the pirates despite Teach being there.

'You think we should stay?!' Ace tapped, trying to keep the shock from showing. Sabo anticipated this, sighing as he replied.

'It's not like I really want to, but Shanks was right, the Whitebeards offer protection we wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. It's also protection that we desperately need right now.' Sabo tapped, looking up at the clouds as his mind fought with the conflicting thoughts of wanting to leave but knowing they should stay.

'Is it really protection if there's someone with darkness here?' Ace questioned, still thinking that they should leave. How safe could safe be when there was darkness along with it?

'When that person with darkness seems to be keeping it hidden, probably. At this time we have no clue what Teach's goal is, or why he's pretending to be so friendly, so, for now, yes, this is the safest option. I want to go to Shanks too, but if we do there will be more marines and more danger of getting caught.' Sabo reasoned, knowing Teach was only a threat if he revealed to everyone here what his true intentions were. Sure, it was a ticking time bomb, but at least they wouldn't be near him when it went off seeing as they planned on avoiding him as much as humanly possible.

Luffy sat silently, letting his brothers discuss their options while he paid attention to everyone else on the ship, noticing that breakfast was finishing up and people were beginning to flood the deck, Teach being one of them. The man was on the other side of the deck, Luffy wouldn't be there still if the man was any closer, and he was making sure to memorize Teach's scent so he would be able to pick it up if necessary.

'So? We can take down a few lousy marines.' Ace tapped, crossing his arms tightly over his chest despite the fact that he was supposed to be sleeping.

'It won't be a few lousy marines, Ace, its gonna be a hoard of trained, possibly deadly, marines. We can probably handle a few, but not how many the government will no doubt send after us.' Sabo replied with a frown.

Man, Teach stunk. Bad. Luffy had never smelled a scent that was just inherently... bad. He smelled a bit like cherry, which wasn't that bad, but also like... oil? Cherry and oil. Those two scents did not mix well in Luffy's opinion.

'Then we get stronger.' Ace said defiantly, still not willing to stay on this ship.

'We can only get so strong Ace.' Sabo replied a bit reluctantly, knowing that it was true. Sure, they could train, get stronger, but eventually, they wouldn't be able to get any stronger. They were only human.

The conversation was cut short though because Luffy was suddenly spinning on the rail, jumping down and, very determinedly, heading towards Whitebeard. Sabo, without missing a beat, spun on the rail as well and followed after the youngest. Brushing Aces shoulder with his hand, the eldest's eyes flew open as he stood and followed as well.

There was no denying the fact that Teach had just been heading their way. What he wanted, none of the brothers knew, and they had no intention of waiting to find out. Out of the corner of his eye, Ace could see the man watching them head towards the Captain, his expression unreadable, and Ace suppressed the scowl that wanted to show.

They all noticed the looks they got, having surprised a few people with their sudden movement towards the Captain, but no one made any moves to stop or intercept them which was good. They reached the giant soon enough, the three of them sitting in front of him without a word, leaving the first move up to the Captain. Whether they sat in silence, or they talked, would be up to Whitebeard himself.

The man raised an eyebrow at the brothers' sudden appearance in front of him but said nothing on the subject, looking back over the rest of the crew like he had been before the brothers had joined him. Luffy watched the man carefully for a few minutes, and Ace and Sabo were just about to continue their previous conversation when Luffy stood again from where he sat inbetween his brothers.

Now everyone was confused as Luffy slowly, carefully, made his way closer to Whitebeard. He looked almost hesitant, reminding everyone watching of a rabbit, timid and afraid, yet moving slowly toward something it feared.

Ace and Sabo, knowing Luffy was up to something, restrained themselves from causing a scene and grabbing Luffy. It didn't sit well with them that their brother was getting so close to someone so unknown to them, but this was someone that they all trusted for many different reasons, and they knew Luffy wouldn't be getting this close without a good reason himself. So they watched, tense and ready to fight if necessary, along with everyone else that was watching the interaction... which was everyone.

When Luffy reached the Captains feet he merely stared at the man's legs in front of him, seemingly thinking something over before slowly reaching his hand out and grabbing the mans pants, tugging on them a bit.

Whitebeard seemed to understand what the boy wanted because he leaned down, putting a hand out in which Luffy climbed onto, again, a bit hesitantly. Whitebeard raised his hand up to his face, looking eye to eye with Luffy, Ace and Sabo practically vibrating with nervous energy as they watched Luffy stand in the hands of someone who could crush him in seconds.

Luffy made a gesture, a 'get closer' gesture, and Whitebeard brought the boy to his ear. Ace looked to Sabo and the blonde was already one step ahead of him, straining his ears to listen to whatever it was Luffy was trying to tell the Captain, hoping it wouldn't be anything bad. Everyone on the crew was doing the same, all wanting to know what exactly the youngest of the mysterious trio was going to tell their Captain, but none of them had Sabo's hearing so they didn't hear a single thing come from Luffy, not even a whisper.

Sabo, however, heard it all, Whitebeard as well. The words made both parties frown, Ace frowning as well only because he didn't know what was being said.

"The darkness is stronger. You need to watch Teach closer. He's gonna hurt someone and I don't want anyone getting hurt." Why Luffy was telling Whitebeard about the darkness, Sabo had no clue, but there was no going back now. That didn't worry him as much as the fact that the darkness was getting worse though.

To his credit, Whitebeard didn't question any of what Luffy had told him. He merely nodded, still frowning, and pulled Luffy back to look at him again.

"Thank you for the information. I'll look into it." Whitebeard said. The two stared at each other another second longer before Luffy smiled, not as wide as normal, but still a smile.

"Good. I like you, Mr. Giant. Marco too. That's why I told you." Luffy said, turning to look at his brothers, the two of them understanding what Luffy was saying.

He wanted them to know that he trusted them with information that all three of them were hesitant to give out.

'What did he tell him?' Ace asked Sabo, still not knowing. Sabo quickly told Ace while Whitebeard laughed, a smile on his face as well.

"Gurararara~! That's good to hear brat, we like you too." The captain exclaimed, bending down and setting Luffy back onto the ground. Luffy, still grinning, made his way back to his brothers, none of them wanting to leave Whitebeard knowing that Teach had been heading their way minutes ago.

The morning quickly slipped into afternoon after that, the brothers not leaving Whitebeards side as they listened to the Captain tell stories. At one point he had talked to Marco in a hushed voice that only Sabo heard, but he had only told him what Luffy had told him, which none of the brothers minded. It meant that he was taking them seriously, that he might actually be keeping an eye out on Teach like they had told Marco to do. They had no doubts that Marco had already told Whitebeard about their earlier warning, they were actually hoping he did, but Sabo had been so stressed about other things that he hadn't kept an ear out on the man to hear if he had or not.

Lunch was being called by now and the brothers continued to stick by Whitebeard, not heading into the galley until the giant himself did. They didn't want to take any chances, especially not with the spike in darkness that Teach had experienced when he headed their way. They didn't even want to try and figure out what that was about.

Lunch was passing by quickly, as usual, the brothers finishing their meals quickly, as expected of them.

"By the way, I made these for you three." Izo suddenly said as Ace and Luffy scraped the last bites of their food into their mouths. They all watched with curiosity as Izo pulled out three cotton wristbands. They were all the same, a simple black with the Whitebeard logo on the top of it. They each took one, though still confused.

"I thought it would be easier for you three to move around on islands if you didn't have to worry about your numbers showing," Izo explained with a smile, pointing to the inside of his wrist, the same spot where the brothers had their numbers permanently tattooed into their skin. Realization dawned on the brothers and they all felt a bit touched that Izo had made something like that for them.

"Oh, thank you Izo, you didn't have to!" Sabo said, examining his wristband, flipping it around in his hands. Ace and Luffy did the same, Luffy smiling happily at the present while Ace frowned, not quite sure how to take the gift. He wasn't used to people being nice to him without having a reason to be doing so.

"It was no problem, really. I'm glad you three like them." Izo said, returning to his food, reminding Sabo of the little test he was running on the pirates.

"It was very thoughtful Izo. Really, thank you. Thatch, could these two have some seconds please?" Sabo asked, returning to his own meal as well. Thatch, who had been watching along with all the other Commanders, smiled and nodded, jumping up.

"Coming right up Sabo!" He said happily, practically sprinting off to the kitchen for more food.

"I swear, Thatch could only be happier if someone said they got him an unlimited supply of hair gel." Blenheim scoffed, watching his brother run off. The Commanders laughed in agreement, Thatch returning with the seconds.

Ace and Luffy ate the seconds up just as quickly as the first, and without missing a beat Sabo turned to the chef with a smile.

"You wouldn't mind getting them thirds would you?" Sabo asked politely, wondering how the pirates would react. That was what this whole test was about after all. Seeing how they would react. Would they show their true colors and turn on them once they found just how much work they would have to put into accommodating the brothers, or would they show that they truly did just want to help and get them all the food they needed without question?

So far, it was the latter. Thatch, although a bit shocked at the request, nodded, smiling and rushing off again. The Commanders, though, remained looking shocked except for Izo and Marco who were still calmly eating, the Captain as well, though Whitebeard was smiling a bit in amusement according to Luffy.

Once the thirds came and went the brothers left once more, not really knowing what to do now. Whitebeard wasn't out there yet, but neither was Teach. They could sit on the railing until he came out, but what if Teach finished first?

"Why don't we go take a bath, it's been a few days now," Sabo suggested with a sigh. It was true, even though they were much better in terms of staying clean they had been a bit preoccupied lately to worry about hygiene. Ace and Luffy nodded their agreement and the three stalked off toward the bathroom, chatting silently to each other, the previous argument of whether they should stay or go coming up again.

'You promised we could leave, no questions asked, so why are you stopping us?' Ace asked, frustration building. Sabo frowned, already knowing how hypocritical he was being about this whole thing.

'I know, I'm sorry Ace, but that was when I was scared about the fact that someone with darkness was here. I didn't think long term and I wanted all of us off this ship, just like you do. But I've thought about it now, that's why I think we should stay. This place is nice, the pirates, so far, seem to be genuine in their feelings and have only done things to help us despite the many openings they've had to get rid of us one way or another.' Sabo explained, the three slipping into the bathroom silently and shutting the door behind them.

They had already stopped by their room for fresh clothes and they grabbed some towels from a closet on their way back.

'Even if they seem nice it doesn't mean they are! Besides, darkness, remember?!' Ace asked, and it was the same argument that they had had before, the two circling around each other with the same words and expressions they had already made. Luffy started to block out the tapping, worrying more about getting the tub filled with water, fighting the incoming memories of the tanks back at the facility as he did so.

Almost mindlessly Ace dipped his hand into the water, ignoring the slightly draining effect it had on him, and heated his hand up, in turn, heating the water up to a much nicer, hotter temperature for the brothers. If the doctors did anything right it was giving Ace and Luffy an advantage when it came to their resistance to water despite their devil fruits.

The tub wasn't big enough for all three of them so Luffy went first, Sabo helping to wash the boy's hair. Even though they had a resistance it didn't last forever and soon Ace was holding Luffy up to keep him from drooping under the water.

It was slow going, and with all hands preoccupied there was no room for conversation unless the brothers spoke out loud. Slow going and silent. It was almost welcomed, though, for the three to finally have something almost... normal after all of the stress they'd gone through in just the past day alone. To have something as simple and mundane as bathing to preoccupy their time was almost therapeutic for them, allowing a tension that had been present in them just disappear.

Once Luffy was all clean Ace went next, the youngest drying himself off so that he could help when all of Ace's strength was sapped from the water. Luffy relished in the peace rolling off of Ace and Sabo, a nice contrast to the worry, anger, frustration, fear that had taken hold of them for the past couple days. Peace, happiness, and warmth. If Luffy had his way, those would be the emotions that Ace and Sabo would always feel.

Sabo's turn came as quick as Aces went, and without having to worry about his strength disappearing at the touch of the water, he finished the fastest. Ace helped in drying Luffys hair and getting the both of them dressed while they waited for Sabo. The blonde brother finished soon enough, getting out and drying off, rubbing a towel on his head.

"I guess we spent quite a while in here, it sounds like dinners almost done," Sabo said as he headed towards the door. He could hear the chefs wrapping things up, making last second sauces and pulling out finished food.

"Is Whitebeard out there?" Ace asked, not wanting to go out on deck if he wasn't.

"From the sounds of it? Yeah. He's talking to Marco and Thatch. Something about upping the food budget again." Sabo said with a smile. He felt a little bad about using up so much of the crew's resources, but chances were, they were leaving. Even though Sabo could be pretty persuasive, he didn't know if he would be able to convince Ace to stay with the Whitebeards. He was sure he could get Luffy to understand that they should stay, but Ace was fighting tooth and nail to leave and with good reason.

"If they really do want us here then they should be prepared." Ace said with a shrug, the three of them leaving the bathroom and heading to the deck, giving Teach a wide berth. Ace noticed that the man looked their way, but didn't make a move to come near them again. It was a straight walk to Whitebeards chair, the three of them plopping down in front of him without hesitation. The Captain merely glanced at them and smiled before continuing his conversation with Marco and Thatch.

"Why don't we do that then. At the next meeting, we can discuss it further." Whitebeard said, the Commanders nodding in agreement as they headed off, the two of them beginning their own conversation as Whitebeard turned to give them his attention.

"Dinner should be done soon so why don't I tell you about the time I traveled through a storm and nearly capsized?" Whitebeard asked, Luffy's face lighting up at the mention of a story while Ace and Sabo settled down, ready to listen as well.

It would be nice if this was something they could get used too.

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

At dinner, Sabo asked for not only seconds, nor thirds, but fourths. He was sure that some of the Commanders broke after that.

Thatch, to his credit, only smiled happily and rushed off each time, returning with equally large amounts of food for his brothers with bottomless pits. Sabo was actually pretty surprised no one had questioned their eating habits more.

When, by the mention of fourths, no one turned on them, Sabo took that as a good sign. A sign that the pirates really were genuine when it came to wanting to keep the brothers happy and comfortable just because they wanted to be nice, not because they had ulterior motives they wanted to fill. Of course, this didn't mean that the brothers trusted the pirates, after all, it was easy to feed someone, but harder to put up with them for long periods of time, so the longer they went without turning on them, the more they would trust this wasn't all an elaborate trap.

Dinner was finished by the brothers at a much slower pace than normal now that they were actually eating their fill. By the time they were done, some of the faster eaters were also beginning to finish as well.

Leaving the galley the brothers headed straight to their room, the three anticipating the debate that was once again going to come up once they got there. They had promised Shanks they would stay another day, and they had, so now they had to decide if they would stay or not.

Depending on how this conversation went determined whether the brothers would stay or go.

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

Meanwhile, in the galley, the Commanders were looking where the brothers had just left, still a bit surprised at how much they had just seen Ace and Luffy shovel into their mouths.

"Who knew they could eat so much?" Kingdew asked as he ate his own food. Namur scoffed, pushing some food along his plate with his fork.

"Who knew anyone could eat that much?" Namur countered, some laughing in agreement.

"It was surprising though," Izo commented, having been surprised by it as well, but was sure to contain his expression, not wanting to make the brothers uncomfortable seeing as they were opening up to them a bit, even if it was just them eating food.

"Do they always eat so much?" Haruta asked, looking at the stack of plates Ace and Luffy left behind.

"They never said anything about it before..." Jiru said.

"Yeah, but they also didn't tell us when they were practically starving in the infirmary." Thatch said as he too glanced at the dishes.

"They're probably getting more comfortable around us then, right?" Blamenco asked, a bit hopeful.

"Probably. They have been hanging around Pops more lately." Vista mentioned, everyone, looking over at Whitebeard who smiled to his children.

"Whether they're becoming more comfortable around us or not, don't think that they're suddenly healed, my children. What they've been through will take time to work through, but this is a step in the right direction." Whitebeard said, everyone at the table nodding their agreement.

"By the way, what did Luffy tell you today Pops?" Atmos asked. Whitebeard and Marco shared a quick look before they both returned to eating their food.

"It was nothing important son, but I think that was also another step in the right direction," Whitebeard said cryptically, feeling a mix of pride and happiness that the brothers were opening up to them, but also a bit of worry for whatever Luffys warning meant. They had had Teach on their crew for years, decades, and they had never noticed anything off about him, but now suddenly they were being told he would cause trouble for them? Whitebeard didn't think that Luffy was lying, he believed the boy truly felt something bad was going to happen, maybe he even knew for certain that it would, but that didn't calm Whitebeard anymore. It just meant that they had an issue that they didn't know how to resolve quite yet.

He couldn't just turn on one of his children without good reason, so for now, he would keep a close eye on Teach like he had promised. If anything did happen, he would be ready for it. Marco as well.

The first mate ate his food silently, but he was having many of the same thoughts as his Captain, wondering what they should do about Teach. Maybe they should try and get the brothers to explain what would happen, that is, if they even knew. Or they could ask how they knew something would happen in the first place, but the first time Marco asked he hadn't gotten much of an answer.

Like Whitebeard, he believed the brothers, but he didn't know how to handle the situation, especially when they knew so little on what they were supposed to be looking out for. Was Teach going to betray them? Was he going to betray the brothers? Was he going to hurt someone? Was he going to mess up a mission? The unknowns only proved to make him more worried than anything so he decided to push them aside, instead focusing on what he could do, which wasn't much.

Whitebeard and Marco would keep an eye on Teach. They wouldn't let whatever the brothers were sensing happen anytime soon.

And another chapter is finished! The brothers have spent a whole day on the Moby with Teach, and they all have mixed feelings on whether they should stay or not. They're also opening up just a bit more by eating their fill. Whether they stay or not will be determined by their little chat, and next chapter we'll see what decision they've made.

Teach also attempted to head towards the brothers, but they didn't stick around long enough to see what he wanted. Why he wanted to see them, we wont know for a while.

So, Teach being on board has brought on more problems and more unknowns for the brothers, but they've warned Marco and Whitebeard about him, so hopefully, even if they leave, they'll be safe from what we all know Teach is planning.

Hopefully. Maybe. Who knows.

Anyway, thank you all again for your amazing reviews, your favorites, and your follows! I'll be seeing you all next Thursday with the brothers decision!