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 60: Taking the Mark

The next morning was slow going for most of the Whitebeard pirates. The festivities of the night before had left them all partying late into the night, and now that they were getting up they were facing the repercussions of one too many drinks.

The brothers, of course, were just fine seeing as they hadn't had any alcohol the night before, and they had gone to bed relatively early in the night compared to everyone else. They may be trying to get used to everyone, but there was no chance that they were going to allow themselves to pass out on the deck like everyone else was doing. Instead, they had gone to their room to sleep, even though Sabo had a bit of a hard time doing that with his enhanced hearing picking up the loud partying out on the deck.

Now, however, was a new day. The brothers left their rooms and made their way to the deck where many were still passed out. The few who were up were nursing headaches from their hangovers and moving sluggishly around as if it pained them to do so. Whitebeard was sitting in his chair, not looking bothered at all, and Marco stood dutifully at his side, also looking unaffected.

Breakfast was being made from what Sabo could hear, so that meant at least a few of the chefs weren't too bad off, Thatch being one of them. It was already a little later in the day than usual for breakfast to still be cooking, but that was alright seeing as most of the crew was still incapacitated.

Slowly, one by one, the pirates woke up and headed off to their rooms to get ready for the day, most, if not all, suffering from a hangover as they did so.

The brothers only laughed quietly to themselves as they made their way over to the railing by Whitebeard, assuming their normal positions as they did. Marco noticed them quickly and made his way over, and seeing as they were apart of the crew now, the brothers felt that they should start getting used to people wanting to come converse with them more. That didn't stop Luffy from doing a quick scan to make sure there was no ill intent in Marco, however. Of course, he didn't expect there to be any, Marco was someone he trusted, but he just wanted to be sure.

"Good morning, yoi." Marco greeted as he reached them. Sabo and Luffy both smiled to him while Ace only watched with a blank face, forcing himself to keep a glare or scowl off his face. He was supposed to be trying to make friends, and that meant not scaring them all off like he had been doing. Of course, none of the Commanders had ever been deterred by his glares before.

"Good morning Marco." Sabo greeted back pleasantly, wondering what the Commander would want.

"How was your first Whitebeard party?" Marco asked, turning to look at his ship brothers who were still pulling themselves off the deck floor. Sabo laughed, watching the crew as well.

"It was definitely interesting, to say the least," Sabo admitted, thinking back to when Rakuyo wanted to do karaoke and had stood on a barrel in an attempt to get higher up, only to end up on his back after the barrel swayed out from under him. Marco smiled, no doubt thinking of many of the other crazy events that had happened last night.

"That's putting it mildly, yoi," Marco said in an amused tone.

"I had fun! Everyone was really happy, and happy feelings are always the best!" Luffy said cheerfully, legs swinging as he held onto the railing underneath him.

"Yeah, you sure let in a lot of happy emotions last night." Ace piped in, sending Luffy a small smile, remembering the boy bouncing around the deck, Ace and Sabo having to chase him down the entire night.

"Shishishi~ I couldn't help it!" Luffy laughed, not sounding sorry about it in the least because he wasn't. Ace rolled his eyes but said nothing more.

"Is it a bad thing to take in too much emotion, yoi?" Marco asked, genuinely curious if they should try and prevent it from happening.

"It all depends on the emotion really. It's fine if he lets in happiness, it just makes it harder to keep an eye on him because he likes to run around more. Anger would probably be one of the ones to prevent him from getting too much of. It makes him unpredictable. Really, those are the only emotions he's been overly influenced by besides warmth, but you already know about that one, and darkness." Sabo said with a shrug.

When it came to other emotions they didn't have much experience on how Luffy would react when given too much of something like sadness or maliciousness. Sure, they had been around plenty of those particular emotions in the facility, but Luffy had always done a good job of shutting them out and focusing solely on Ace and Sabos emotions. Of course, it helped that at the time there was nothing else for him to focus on besides keeping the emotions in check. Now, however, he had much more to be worried about, which made him much more susceptible to outside influences.

"Right, well let's hope we don't have to worry about that too much, yoi," Marco said, not wanting Luffy to have any problems with his ability. Especially if it has a possibility of hurting him.

As the group talked, the pirates all managed to wake themselves up and disperse, most heading below deck to get ready for the day while the ones who woke up earlier were back out on the deck. Most looked groggy while there were a select few who looked fine. Whether it was because they didn't drink too much or because they could handle alcohol better then the others was unknown.

"Breakfast is ready. It was nice talking to you, Commander." Sabo said, first addressing his brothers, and then addressing Marco who smiled.

"It was nice talking to you three too. Oh, and remember, we're reassigning chores for the month today so you should stay out on deck after breakfast, yoi." Marco said. Sabo nodded their understanding as the trio got up, heading to the galley seconds before the breakfast bell rang, announcing that food was being served.

There was no need to worry about being mobbed trying to get in the galley seeing as more than half the crew was still trying to get ready. Keyword, trying. Sabo could hear many fumbling with their clothes and shoes, some tripping and falling over in an attempt to put their pants on. Sabo suppressed a smile as he and his brothers sat at the Commander's table, taking their usual spots.

There was a small trickle of pirates, mostly the Commanders, who made their way into the galley. Whitebeard was one of the few to enter, joining the brothers at the table. Thatch came out, holding trays of food as he walked their way. The chef looked relatively alright, but Sabo knew he had seen him taking more than a few drinks the night before.

Breakfast passed by quietly, the rest of the crew managing to arrive before it was too late, but no one was up for loud noise or conversation, which was just fine for the brothers. It was odd though because, after all this time of being with the pirates, this was the first time they had all been quiet, save for when they were sleeping.

True to his word, Marco announced the new chore list as soon as everyone had finished their breakfast. The brothers had waited patiently on the railing after they had finished eating, and after about an hour, Marco had made the announcement. By then, most of the crew were feeling better and the lively attitude was picking up again. More chatter and laughter could be heard instead of the painful silence.

As expected, the brothers were given chores as well, which was something they intended on doing. Unlike when they lived with Dadan, they felt they should do chores here, if only because they wanted to stay on the pirates' good side. Back when they lived with Dadan she had tried to make them do chores, but they'd always blown her off, and eventually left completely, for the most part, to live in the forest, so there was no reason for them to do chores.

Here, however, they were living for free, and not only that, but they had no doubt cost the crew a lot of money due to their eating habits. The least they could do was some easy chores.

At least, that's what they had thought.

It soon turned out, though, that Luffy should not be allowed near any chore what-so-ever. The brothers had been given the same chores, so they didn't need to split up, which turned out to be a good thing because the first thing they did, washing dishes, made them realize Luffy didn't know a single thing about... anything really.

The boy had taken the dishes and began washing them in a bucket that had been used to clean the kitchen floor. Sabo noticed quickly and redirected the boy to the sink where he showed him how to properly clean the plate, only... Luffy seemed to have a knack for letting the dishes slip from his hands and nearly break in the sink.

After the third time it happened, Ace had gotten frustrated from where he was drying the dishes and made Luffy switch spots with him so the youngest didn't break anything.

Of course, that didn't work either, and now Luffy was dropping the dry dishes.

"You know what Luffy, why don't you just stand right there while Ace and I finish this up?" Sabo asked with a smile, putting his hands on Luffy's shoulders and guiding him to stand a bit away, to make sure he couldn't do any harm. Luffy pouted but did as told.

"Man, you should have tried doing chores when Dadan asked you to, I bet she would have stopped asking after your first try." Ace mumbled, earning a nudge from Sabo's shoulder.

"It's not my fault all the dishes were slippery!" Luffy whined, folding his arms over his chest.

"We know that Lu, Ace just thinks he's funny," Sabo said as Ace huffed in annoyance.

After that, chores went by smoothly. It was found that, with constant supervision, Luffy had no problem swabbing the deck, seeming to actually enjoy the activity if his smile was anything to go by. There were a few times where the boy had nearly slipped, but that's where the constant supervision came in and Ace or Sabo would be there to catch him.

Those were the only two chores they had for the day and would have for most days, and the brothers were a bit bummed when they finished before lunch. The chores had given them something to do other than sit around. It wasn't all that bad though because at least now they were trying to make friends with people and didn't have to be so on guard anymore.

As Sabo and Luffy sat on the railing Ace watched the crew go about their day, his eyes flickering to the tattoos that adorned most members' skin. Not all of their tattoos were visible, and not everyone had them, but the majority were proudly showing off their own mark, symbolizing them as a Whitebeard Pirate. Glancing down at his wrist, Ace narrowed his eyes at his own tattoo, one that he didn't have because he wanted it, one that he was forced to get, one that marked him as a test subject.

Flipping his wrist over so he didn't have to see the numbers anymore, Ace looked back at the others' tattoos.

"Did you guys want to get the Whitebeard tattoo?" Ace suddenly piped up, shocking Sabo and Luffy from their cloud gazing. The two turned their heads to look at Ace, Sabo with a raised eyebrow and Luffy with a look of confusion.

"I don't know, we never really discussed it. I don't think I would be entirely against it though." Sabo replied, not quite sure where his brother was going with the question.

"If Ace and Sabo got one, I would get one too. They look pretty cool too!" Luffy chirped happily, turning to look at the tattoos as well. The eldest was quiet for a minute as he frowned, still staring at the tattoos on his, now crew mates, skin.

"Well then, why don't we go get them?"

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

"There you go, remember, avoid falling in the water for the time being." A Whitebeard crew member by the name of Percy said. Sabo smiled and thanked the man as he examined his right shoulder where the Whitebeard mark sat proudly in purple, permanent ink.

"Shsihishi, Sabo look, mine's done too!" Luffy cheered happily, his shirt off to expose his chest where he also had the same tattoo as Sabo, but his was over his heart.

"It is. It looks good too!" Sabo complimented, turning to look toward their eldest brother who was laying on his stomach, his own tattoo taking more time to complete than theirs. It was nearly done now though, Sabo and Luffy having gotten theirs done a half-hour into Ace starting his.

His shirt was also off as another crew member, Riley, tattooed across Aces back, using the same design Sabo and Luffy had used, the skull and crossbones rather than the simpler cross and crescent. Not only had he had that done, though, but he had also gotten a much simpler tattoo on his arm. Down his arm, he had the letters ASL written vertically, an X going through the S in simple, serifed bold letters. Sabo had asked Ace about it, and the eldest had merely brought up the flag design they had used so long ago, the crossbones having been behind the S on the flag which was why there was an X through the S.

It was well known that the brothers had a fear of needles, but the needles used for tattooing didn't bother the brothers in the slightest. Sabo guessed that it was because they knew it would just be ink, or maybe it was because it wasn't a syringe, but whatever the case, the brothers had no issue in sitting still for the tattoo artists.

"Seems you're all done as well Ace!" Riley announced, wiping the tattoo before Ace began sitting up.

"Thanks." Ace said simply as Riley held up a mirror, angling it into another mirror so Ace could see it properly.

"Looks good." Ace said with a grin, Sabo, and Luffy nodding their agreement as they examined the two tattoos.

All in all, the brothers were extremely pleased.

They had waited until after lunch to do this, but now it was dinner, Aces tattoo having taken a bit of time to complete, so as the brothers walked out, they saw the deck was empty, the galley as loud as usual during meal times.

Ace was still shirtless so as to not irritate the fresh tattoo, Luffy as well, while Sabo was wearing a tank top opposed to his usual long-sleeved shirts for the same reasons.

Needless to say, when they walked into the galley, all eyes went to them.

Luffy did a good job of ignoring it, whether he meant to or not. He was chatting happily with Ace, a bright smile on his face as he unknowingly showed off the tattoo on his chest. Ace did his best to focus on Luffy rather than the many eyes on them while Sabo listened closely to everyone but also tried looking like he was focused on Luffy's words.

All of the brothers knew that their bodies could be a shock to some people, scars, and burns littering their chests, and Ace and Luffy were now on display for them. Luffy didn't have a lot of scars seeing as he was rubber, but he had plenty of burn marks covering his chest instead. Ace had scars from both burns and cuts all over his chest, and some on his arms as well, the same going for Sabo who normally had his arms completely hidden, though now he was showing off the few scars that poked out from his tank top.

With that said, the pirates were both shocked by the new tattoos each brother sported, but also the multitude of scars and burns that they hadn't seen before. By the time they got to the table, most had gotten over their shock and instead everyone was beginning to cheer happily. As they sat they were given some pats on the back from the Commanders, some complimenting them on their tattoos, and others merely smiling in their direction. There were some questions on Aces tattoo, but Ace merely shrugged them off in favor of eating.

"Guess that means you're officially, officially apart of the family now!" Haruta said happily, smiling to them.

"Guess so. Now you can't get rid of us that easily." Sabo joked back easily, finding that it was becoming much easier to joke around with the Commanders. Some laughed at Sabo's words and conversations started once again, the table going back to normal. The trio was extremely grateful no one brought up their scars, knowing that they may be curious, but they weren't exactly ready to share how they'd gotten every single one of their scars.

"Hey, I have a question, and if you don't want to answer it that's completely ok, I mean, I'm sure you probably thought about it, but I was just wondering and I know its a bit of a sensitive topic, but-"

"Its alright Thatch, just ask," Sabo said with a gentle smile to the rambling chef.

"Well, it's just that I was wondering, you know, why didn't you cover your numbers? I mean, I understand that you might not have wanted to, but I was just curious. Again, you don't need to answer if you don't want to!" Thatch said, still unsure of if he should have even asked the question. The brothers glanced to each other.

They had thought about covering their numbers, and with good reason too. It would have been easy to, and it would save them a lot of trouble later down the road when it came to Marines.

"No, it's fine, you're right, we did think about it," Sabo said, all the Commanders listening, waiting for an answer. They hadn't thought about the brothers covering their tattoos, but now that Thatch mentioned it, they were curious as well.

"But?" Atmos asked curiously, prodding Sabo to continue, but understanding if he didn't want to.

"But, we didn't. We felt like... like if we covered them it would be like pretending what happened there didn't exist. Sure, we could have covered it, but we still have the memories of that place, the memories of all those other children who have these same tattoos on their wrist and might not be as lucky as us to just cover them up." Sabo explained as he stared at his wrist, his number glaring up at him as if mocking him.

"Oh. That makes sense." Thatch said with a nod as he continued eating his dinner, a smile on his face. Sabo smiled back, also returning to his food. Everyone else did the same, no one else saying another word on the subject, because there was no need for any more words, everyone understood.

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

That night, the brothers lay in their beds, all of them feeling their respective tattoos still throbbing on their skin. It was nothing compared to the pain they'd felt back in the facility, and it was almost soothing to them. Grounding even.

The mark that showed they were apart of something. The mark that showed they were protected. The mark that signified that they had a family.

It was a happy reminder that they would now have forever, something that they would always be able to look at and remember they had people who accepted them, past and all.

"I'm still gonna become Pirate King one day."

Ace and Sabo both laughed at their little brothers' words, Ace ruffling the youngest's hair while Sabo patted Luffy's hand with his own.

"We believe you Lu."

Officially, the brothers are Whitebeards! They've all taken the mark of Whitebeard and are slowly getting used to everyone now that they know they're good people and that they can trust them. Its slow going, but this whole story has been slow going, and I think all of you lovely readers have the patience of a saint to put up with how agonizingly slow its been. Next chapter, though, I promise will have more action then we've seen lately!

Shorter note than usual, but I've got lots to do today which is why I uploaded this so early, so I'll end it here! Thank you again for all your guys' support! I'll see you next Thursday!