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 61: Nightmares and a Fight

Of course, after every good day, the brothers always have to have a bad one.

Even though they had all gone to sleep happy, happier then they had been in a long long time, the same couldn't be said about the way they woke up.

Sabo was stuck in a nightmare, and it wasn't a good one either apparently. Even though thirteen minutes had passed since the blonde had woken Ace and Luffy, they were having no luck in waking their brother up, no matter how hard they tried.

They didn't have Sabo's great sense of hearing, so they had no clue if breakfast was ready or not, or even if breakfast was being made yet. They had no sense of whether the crew was worrying if they would show up, or if the crew was even awake yet. Without Sabo, their knowledge of everyone outside their door was unknown to them, and that was a bit terrifying to them, especially seeing as this was something they did not need someone just wandering into unexpectedly.

"Sabo, calm down, its morning, we're on the Moby Dick, we're with the Whitebeard Pirates, we're out of that shitty place." Ace said in as soothing a voice he could manage with how anxious he was getting. Luffy sat beside the blonde, holding his sleeping brother's hand in his own as he watched with worry, stretching out his haki as best he could to make sure no one was heading their way, using his sense of smell to help as well. It wasn't as good as Sabo, but it would help for the time being.

"Ssh, ssh, it's ok, it's just a nightmare." Ace soothed as Sabo thrashed a bit. Ace and Sabo got stuck in their nightmares much more sparingly then Luffy, but when they did get stuck, they were normally pretty bad nightmares.

"Come on, you can do it, just wake up and you'll see that everything's fine now." Ace encouraged, hoping that his brother would just open his eyes.

Another few minutes of coaxing the blonde passed, but they weren't without reward. After the seventeenth minute of Sabo being stuck, he finally woke up, springing up in the bed and gasping loudly, as if he had been deprived of air until then. His eyes were wide as he heaved, chest rising and falling quickly as he tried to catch his breath.

Luffy rubbed Sabo's back quietly while Ace continued to do his best to soothe the blonde, whispering quiet, reassuring words to him in hopes of calming him down some more. Another minute passed before Sabo got a hold of himself, sitting up straighter as he looked at his brothers. Briefly, he noticed their tattoos, looking to his own and finding comfort in it. It was definitive proof that they weren't back in the facility.

No words were spoken because honestly, none needed to be. This had happened to them before, and it would no doubt happen again. It was routine, just something they'd all come to terms with, so when they got up and got ready for the day, nothing needed to be said about what had happened.

If they ever wanted to talk about their nightmares, they could, and they all knew that. There was no need for words.

"Breakfast only just started. How long was I stuck?" Sabo asked in a slightly more groggy than usual voice.

"Seventeen minutes," Luffy said, having been in charge of keeping count. Sabo nodded, getting dressed quickly along with his brothers before they left their room.

Like Ace and Luffy had guessed, Sabo had had a particularly unpleasant nightmare, and it hadn't left him in the best of moods. Everyone at breakfast seemed to take notice of this, realizing that where Sabo usually wore a pleasant smile, he wore a frown as he glared at his food, pushing it around on his plate. Luffy and Ace looked just fine however if a bit more guarded then they normally were.

Sabo ate his food eventually, maybe a bit slower than normal, so the Commanders and Whitebeard decided not to ask, figuring Ace and Luffy had the issue covered. For all they knew, it was something the blonde wouldn't want to talk about in the first place, at least, not with them. They understood that, even though the brothers had revealed their dark past to them, that didn't mean they were going to tell them everything about themselves. That was something they would have to earn with time and trust.

So when the brothers left the galley, the commanders watched them go silently.

As time passed, it seemed to be the right decision, because shortly after breakfast, Sabo was smiling again, as if he hadn't been grumpy this morning. They chalked it off to a bad nights sleep and it was left at that.

The brothers did their chores, finishing before lunch again, and were now sitting in their usual spot. Sabo had gotten over his nightmare a bit easier than he usually did. Normally after a nightmare, the brothers would be bothered by it for the rest of the day, or at least up until dinner, but he'd gotten over his in record time. Maybe it was because of all the distractions on the Moby, maybe it was because Luffy was so blindingly happy that particular day, or maybe it was even because Sabo had enjoyed Thatch's cooking much more than usual. Whatever it was, Sabo didn't mind as he sat with Luffy, picking out clouds that they found to look a particular shape or animal.

Time passed peacefully, slowly. A few crew members that they didn't quite know the names of yet came up and said hi, some introducing themselves before leaving, and the brothers allowed it.

It was a change that many onboard noticed. Once upon a time, the brothers had kept anyone that attempted conversation away with a glare or even just ignoring them, but now they were allowing people to not only walk up to them but have small conversations. Some were still a bit cautious about the whole change, not quite sure if they were allowed to walk up and talk, but once they saw the first one do it, they all decided it was alright.

Not everyone on deck knew about their past or even their abilities, but they did know that they were apart of the crew now, and they chalked it up to the brothers opening up to their new crew members.

"Ace," Sabo said, calling his brother. It was one of the brief times that no one was bothering the brothers, and now that the noise around them had quieted slightly, Sabo swore he could hear something. Ace peeked an eye open in confusion, looking up at Sabo, wondering what he wanted.

"Do you see anything over there?" Sabo asked, pointing off in a seemingly random direction. The brothers were sitting close enough to Whitebeard and the few Commanders next to him that they heard the conversation, and they watched with interest as Ace stood up, leaning on the railing as he looked in the direction his brother pointed to.

"Ah, yeah, there's a ship over there." Ace said, easily picking out the ship out of the vast blue sea. The Commanders raised their eyebrows at that, Marco coming over.

"Do you see what kind of ship it is, yoi?" Marco asked, curious. Ace was silent for a second, scanning the sails for any indication on who could be commanding the ship.

"Mm, looks pretty plain... oh, I think its a pirate ship. Its got a jolly roger." Ace said, noticing the black flag with the skull on it.

"Can you see what it looks like?" Haruta asked. He and Izo, along with Blenheim and Rakuyo stood beside Whitebeard, listening closely.

"Its a skull with roses for eyes and vines around the skull instead of crossbones." Ace described.

"Is it heading towards us?" Blenheim asked, looking out at the ocean and trying to see what Ace was seeing. Of course, he saw nothing, not even a speck.

"Yup." Ace answered easily.

"How many people?" Sabo asked, curious himself.

"100... maybe 125 actually. Not counting however many are inside." Ace said, leaning away from the rail and looking to Marco who nodded, taking in the information. The first mate turned to Whitebeard who grinned.

"We'll see if they want a fight. For now, warn everyone that there's an unknown pirate ship heading our way." Whitebeard said. Marco nodded at the order and began shouting orders to the crew that had been oblivious to what was happening. The brothers watched as the Commanders came out on deck just in case, even Thatch who had been in the middle of cooking lunch.

"How did you know there were pirates?" Thatch asked, squinting as he tried making out the tiny dot that was now visible to them.

"I heard them so I asked Ace if there was anything over there. Pirates are particularly loud you know." Sabo said, still listening to the crew that was off in the distance.

"You could see that far away?" Fossa asked, amazed. Ace nodded, doing his best to not say 'I told you so.'

"Well yeah, we did tell you that." He opted for, shrugging as if it was no big deal, and technically, it wasn't I told you so, it was we told you so.

"Can you hear what they're saying right now?" Izo asked Sabo.

"Yeah, they were a bit too far away before but they're getting clearer the closer they get. I think they're getting themselves riled up." Sabo said, hearing one of the rival pirates talking in a loud, motivating voice, the crew cheering in response.

"Sounds like a fight to me," Jozu said with a grin.

"We'll only attack if they do so first," Whitebeard said though he was still smiling.

"Ne, can we fight too then?" Luffy asked, turning to look at the Captain with a grin. All three of the brothers were still itching to fight, and even though they were outed about they're powers, Ace and Luffy still hadn't had reason to use them yet, meaning they were still aching to.

"We don't know how well you three can fight, so if you stay near Marco it should be fine," Whitebeard said, not wanting the brothers to get hurt if it could be helped.

"Yosh! Did you hear that Ace? Sabo? We get to fight too!" Luffy cheered happily, the crew watching the youngest with an amused expression. Those who weren't Commanders didn't know that they could fight, so they were a little confused but trusted their Oyaji.

"We did, Lu. Hopefully, they're better fighters than that idiot Decken was." Ace grumbled.

"You're still hung up on that? Geez, talk about holding grudges." Sabo teased, rolling his eyes. Ace glared at him, pouting as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You and Luffy at least got to fight more than one idiot who talked too much." Ace retorted, though it wasn't much of a comeback. Sabo and Luffy laughed at that before noticing that the ship was growing ever so slowly closer.

Last-minute preparations were made now that others could clearly see the jolly roger. A few went around, making sure everyone who needed them had weapons, while those in the crow's nest made their way down. The crew chatted amongst themselves for a while until the ship was finally close enough to communicate with.

It was apparent rather quickly that this was an enemy ship.

Weapons were drawn on the rival pirate ship, all of them looking ready to jump onto the Moby despite the fact that their ship was significantly smaller than it.

"Whitebeard, we're here to take your head once and for all!" They assumed it was the Captain that shouted the words, but it was unclear as someone placed planks down and they were soon being boarded, the enemy pirates quickly making their way over.

From then on, the fight began.

As promised, the brothers were allowed to fight, and when the first person tried to attack them, that's what they did. They made sure that Marco was close by before attacking, and once they did, they fell back into the easy rhythm they'd always had when fighting with each other.

Ace easily dodged a swipe from a sword, even though it wouldn't have harmed him, and used his momentum to swing his leg out and kick the man in the side, sending him flying over to the railing. Beside him, Luffy used a mans body as a springboard, pushing off the man's shoulders and using his newfound height to swing his fist into another rival prates face. Sabo easily knocked the man Luffy had used as a springboard to the floor, sweeping his legs out from under him.

The fight was a much-needed warm-up for the brothers, one they hadn't had in a long time. Even though they did a lot of fighting in the facility, none of it was enjoyable. It was all forced upon them, and it was always against people who couldn't even defend themselves.

Now, though, it was something that they could lose themselves in. These rival pirates had attacked them first, this was something they should have known was going to happen, and these people were those who could defend themselves, though they were doing so rather poorly. This was a fight that the brothers had been waiting for.

"Higan!" Ace's call of his attack was heard amongst his brothers as Ace squatted a bit, turning his fingers into guns and shooting fire bullets out at their opponents. Without missing a beat, Luffy ran towards those who survived the initial attack, jumping into the air once more and throwing his fists back.

"Gum Gum no Gatling!" Rapidly, Luffy's fists attacked all those who had still been standing, sending them crashing into the railing, or even into the sea.

Sabo watched his brothers' backs, easily blocking and returning punches with quick succession. It was quite obvious to both parties that the Whitebeard Pirates were the victors of this fight far before it was even over. After punching a few more pirates, the brothers watched as the rivals evacuated the Moby, returning to their ship with their tails between their legs and sailing off as the Whitebeards cheered in victory.

Luffy grinned widely, teeth showing as he stretched his arms in the air.

"That felt good!" Luffy exclaimed happily, letting his arms stretch slightly longer than a normal humans arms stretch.

"No kidding, I feel like I haven't used my fire in ages!" Ace agreed, watching his fire dance across his fingertips. The crew members who didn't know about the brothers' abilities watched in both shock and amazement as they showed off both their fighting abilities as well as their devil fruits.

"You guys are pretty good fighters!" Vista complimented from where he stood, not too far off. Sabo smiled at him.

"Thank you, as we said, we've had a lot of practice," Sabo said, ignoring the twinge of guilt as he remembered just who they had practiced against.

"You can definitely hold your own, that's for sure," Curiel said, the others nodding their agreement. Luffy continued beaming at the praise, basking in the feelings that came from the Commanders. A few more words of praise were said, along with a few questions about their abilities, before the lunch bell rang and the crew began making their way inside to eat.

As they all made their way inside there was the distinct sound of someone slipping and falling onto the floor with a loud thud, the chatter quieting down as everyone turned to see what had happened.

The brothers, who were at the back of the crowd, easily saw that on one of the stairs leading down from the top deck, Marco had tripped on something, and he looked to be fuming about it. Everyone watched as the first Commander glared at something on the ground before looking to the galley doors that the crowd was half in and half out of.

"Thatch, I swear, this is not happening again! Come get your damn fishing poles off these stairs or so help me you will not have hair by dinner!" Everyone watched in shocked amusement as the pompadoured chef came bursting through the crowd, a panicked look on his face as he began screaming apologies.

"Sorry, sorry! It's just, there was lunch to make, and then the pirate attack, and then Haruta was telling me this weird story about frogs, and then lunch was ready, and-"

"Thatch, I could really care less about that, just pick your damn poles up and put them away, yoi."

Everyone began laughing, the brothers included, after finding out what had happened, all of them returning to their previous task of getting food. Off in the distance, Sabo could hear Haruta cursing softly to himself, and few Commanders pouting as well, no doubt having tried to get the bet of making Thatch forget his poles up and running again. After all, it had gone on a pretty long while the last time they did it, but then Marco began to catch onto them and they had to end the bet prematurely.

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy all smiled to themselves as they made their way to their normal seats. Thatch, who had quickly returned his fishing poles to their proper place, was rushing back into the galley, running into the kitchen and returning with food that he quickly served the brothers and Whitebeard with a smile.

The trio watched everything with a fondness in their eyes, all of them thinking the exact same thing. Even though it had been slow going, even though they hadn't trusted these pirates at all for a long while, they knew things were changing. Change could be scary, and it had been, it still was, but they were determined to see this change through to the end, and so far their expectations had been exceeded greatly.

They had thought that they would have a much more difficult time here with the Whitebeard Pirates, but they were constantly being proved wrong. With the way things were going now, the brothers would be comfortable with this crew in no time.

They thought it would be tough for them on this crew, but if this was how every day on the Moby Dick would be, then they would get by just fine.

Welcome back everyone! As I promised last week, this chapter had a bit more action than we've seen lately. The brothers had their first real fight against pirates and the crew learned of the brothers' devil fruits. They don't know about their other abilities yet, but its a start.

I know its felt like filler chapters for a couple of weeks now, but as much as I want to jump right into the next big thing, I don't want there to be no transitions between each action packed chapter. If I threw one thing after another at you guys, it wouldn't feel right, so again, sorry that it may be a little boring, but the filler is necessary and helps in the long run, I promise!

Thank you to everyone who has continued supporting me and this story, I love you all!