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 64:The Bad After the Good
It was official. The Universe hates them.
It was either that, or they had extremely shitty luck, but seeing as they got out of the facility, that might not be the case.
While yesterday had been a pretty good day, great even, today was not. The brothers hadn't even slept a whole hour before they were being plagued with nightmares left and right. It seemed every time they closed their eyes, there was a new torture waiting for them. It was almost like they were back in the facility, where they were met with new hells every day.
The brothers hadn't gotten much sleep at all. At most, they might have gotten three hours, but that was debatable. All of their eyelids felt heavy and even breathing was exhausting, but they didn't want to risk falling back asleep. Sleeping meant dreaming, and dreaming meant nightmares.
It was easy for them to figure out that today was going to be one of their 'bad days' as the pirates had dubbed it, and they weren't going to be leaving their room.
Sabo could hear breakfast being made, could hear as the pirates slowly realized that the brothers weren't showing up, and then could hear Thatch heading towards their room. Normally, when the brothers had a bad day, the chef would leave them food outside their door, but that had been before the chef knew how much they ate and could carry it all in his hands.
Now, however, the chef needed to use a rolling cart to transport the many servings that the brothers were known to eat. The sound of it made Sabo flinch as memories assaulted his brain, and he briefly felt as if he was back in the dark, cold cell, huddling closer to Ace for warmth and listening as their breakfast got closer, the same slop as always.
But then he was brought back to reality, a knock on their door telling them their food was there, and then Thatch walking away without a word. The first time this had happened, the chef had stood outside their room for a while and tried to get them to respond, but once he realized it was futile, he gave up and instead only knocked once before leaving.
"I'll get it." Ace muttered quietly, exhaustion thick in his voice as he slid out of the bed and shuffled to the door, each step looking as if he was dragging a ball and chain with him. He opened the door and pulled the cart in, promptly shutting the door behind him and moving the cart to the bed where Sabo was still laying down and Luffy was curled up, eyes closed. Neither of them could tell if he was awake or not, but when the food got close enough, his eyes opened, answering their question.
Breakfast was eaten in silence, all three of them wearing frowns as they slowly picked at their food. The lack of sleep made them feel as if they weren't hungry, but they knew they should eat so they forced themselves to, even though the normally flavorful array of foods tasted dry and bland.
When it was finished, Ace returned the cart to where it had been outside their door, the plates clear of food, and then he returned to bed, laying down and closing his eyes.
For the rest of the morning, the brothers shifted through phases of sleeping, being half-awake, and being too scared to close their eyes again until exhaustion forced them to. It was a tiring cycle that they all wanted to be over, but it wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
Lunch came and passed, and Sabo could hear the crew getting ready to set sail again, their time on this island up. It was disheartening to Sabo that they didn't even have the energy to go out on the deck and watch the island drift slowly away, but there was nothing he could do about it. There was no way any of them were leaving the room, no matter how much they wanted to.
Being this tired, there was no doubt in Sabo's mind that they were at high risk for falling into panic attacks. Their minds would play tricks on them, and one wrong glance at the wrong person would make the brothers think they had just seen a doctors coat rather than a white t-shirt.
It wasn't something any of them wanted to risk, whether they had the energy to leave the room or not. Sleeping was bad enough, there was no reason to go and make being awake just as bad.
Silence reigned over the room along with a thick tension. The brothers were all very active people, so for them to be confined to their room all day was exhausting in and of itself, which didn't make any of this any easier, but what could they do about it?
Ace was attempting to sleep again, but Sabo could already hear his brother's heart rate and breathing starting to pick up, signaling that he was having a nightmare. Stretching his arm out to his side he hit the eldest on the chest, waking him with a startled gasp. Ace had only been asleep for a half-hour, but as usual, it wasn't a good sleep.
"Freakin' nightmares." Ace growled out angrily as he lay back down, a scowl on his face. Luffy lay silently on Aces other side, staring at the ceiling without any expression. His hands were resting on his chest and his fingers were moving mindlessly. When Ace spoke, his eyes flickered over to look at him, but it was brief and within seconds, he was back to staring at the ceiling.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The Commanders and Captain were all sat in the galley, talking cheerfully amongst themselves. The rest of the crew sat around them, everyone munching happily on all the different breakfast foods Thatch and his division had cooked up that day. Breakfast had only started about ten to fifteen minutes ago, so it was only a bit strange that the infamous three brothers hadn't made their way there yet.
"Has anyone seen Ace, Sabo, and Luffy?" Blenheim asked as he sat at the table, another plate of food with him.
"I haven't. Normally they're here before I am though." Haruta said, glancing to the empty spots where the brothers usually sat.
"Maybe they slept in?" Rakuyo asked, but even that was a bit far fetched. After everything they had learned about the brothers, they knew it was unlikely that they had done that. They had a tendency to get up early and be on time to meals. It was a possibility though seeing as they seemed to be getting more comfortable around them.
"That could be the case, son. Let's just wait and see." Whitebeard said with a comforting smile to the worrying Commanders. All of them had taken a liking to the brothers, so it was no surprise to the Captain that they were all quick to worry when it came to them.
As breakfast dragged on, it quickly became evident that the brothers weren't going to show up.
"Do you think it's one of their bad days?" Jiru asked. No one really knew what the brothers did on days like this, where they holed themselves up in their room and refused to leave, but it had happened a few times now.
"Most likely. If they haven't shown up by the time breakfast is over, then I'd say it's safe to assume so, yoi." Marco said, a slight frown on his face as he looked to the doors, waiting for the trio to show up.
"A bad day? But they had such a good one yesterday!" Thatch said with worry showing on his face. It was true, yesterday had been the happiest the crew had seen the brothers since they had arrived on the Moby. The Commanders and Captain had been particularly happy, as well as shocked when they had come back with candies for all of them, but they had all accepted them graciously, taking it as a sign that they were trying to open up to them more, that they were liking and trusting them more.
"That may have been the case, but we don't even know what causes these bad days. Maybe it had nothing to do with yesterday at all." Izo said with a frown.
"That's true, but then what would be the cause?" Vista asked. It was silent after that, many not knowing any answer that they could possibly give to that.
"We won't know unless we ask, but for now, let's just continue on with our day and hope that the brothers feel better tomorrow," Whitebeard said, knowing there was no changing how the brothers acted. Even though they were opening up to them, there was still a lot of work that needed to be done in terms of getting the brothers comfortable here on the crew.
It seemed the rest of the Commanders understood that as well and breakfast continued in silence. After a while, a small conversation started, but it wasn't as exuberant as it had been previously. Whitebeard sighed, looking over to the doors that Marco had looked towards earlier.
Even though the brothers had told them all about their past, there was still a lot that the pirates didn't know about them.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The rest of the day passed by slowly for the brothers, and soon they were passing out at the end of the day from exhaustion, thankfully having no more nightmares. As the next morning dawned, they woke up, still feeling a bit groggy, but much better than they had yesterday. They got out of bed, Sabo mumbling that breakfast was about to be ready, and woke themselves up enough to leave their small room and head to the galley.
All three of the brothers were still very noticeably tired, but they all resisted the urge to go back to their beds, instead forcing themselves to keep moving down the hall they knew practically by heart now, making their way to the galley.
The three walked in silence, occasionally yawning or stretching, and as they reached the galley doors, they pushed them open, all eyes turning to them. Most everyone smiled when they saw them, and some greeted them, which they replied with greetings of their own, heading to their usual spot at the Commander's table. Once there they received the same reactions, to which they responded in kind.
"Its good to see you three again! It was weird without you." Jozu said genuinely, having noticed all of yesterday that something just felt... off without the brothers.
"Good to see you too. Sorry for any worry we may have caused." Sabo said with a polite smile, a tired look still in his eye as he yawned again, trying to shake away the sleepiness that still desperately clung to him. His mind screamed at him to go get more sleep because Kami knows he didn't get enough yesterday, but he silenced that part of his brain, focusing on those in front of him rather than how tired he still was.
Beside him, Ace and Luffy weren't faring much better than he was. Luffy's head was bobbing, his eyes shutting slowly and opening slower yet, and Ace, whose eyes usually darted around to watch every movement made, was letting his eyes lazily flit around, not quite registering what he was seeing yet.
Yeah, the previous day had definitely taken a lot out of the brothers, more so than usual. Usually, they would be able to put up a front that they were just fine, that they weren't affected what-so-ever by the day before, but today they didn't have the energy to attempt that. Instead, they let the sleepiness show, the sluggishness.
They just had to hope their trust in these pirates wasn't misplaced.
The room filled soon enough, and plates were filled with the various breakfast foods being served. Everyone was in the galley now, and the brothers had been greeted by the rest of the Commanders and Whitebeard once they arrived.
Everyone was eating their food, boisterous conversations being held around them that almost hurt Sabo's ears. The blonde, like his brothers, wasn't completely awake, their minds still sluggishly trying to catch up, and though his hearing wasn't as sensitive as it could be, it was still more sensitive than it normally would be at this point. Because of that, the loud talking and laughter from the pirates were beginning to give him a headache, but he ignored it, knowing that the pirates had no clue that anything was affecting him in the first place.
He had a feeling the same thing was happening to Luffy, the youngests nose scrunching a few times every few minutes, something he usually did when his nose hurt and he didn't want to rub it in front of everyone or draw attention to it. Ace seemed to be fine, but there wasn't any harsh lighting in here that could possibly hurt the eldest's eyes. Sabo had a feeling that if they went outside, it would be a different story.
"You guys ok?" Marcos's voice snapped Sabo out of his thoughts as he turned to look at the first commander, noticing that all the Commanders eyes were on them now, even Whitebeards. Sabo forced a small smile, ignoring the growing headache even more.
"Yeah, just a bit of a rough time waking up properly. Heightened senses are causing issues, you know?" Sabo said, as nonchalantly as he could, as if it wasn't that big a deal. It wasn't, really, it was just annoying more than anything.
"Do you need anything?" Kingdew asked, not quite sure what he could do to help. All of the brothers shook their heads simultaneously.
"We'll be fine by the end of breakfast hopefully. If not we'll go relax for a bit." Sabo said, knowing there wasn't much anyone could do about it. Unless everyone talked in whispers and they removed anything with smell, they would just have to deal with it. They've done it before, they'll do it again.
"If you say so," Haruta said a bit hesitantly, and the brothers could see that he wanted to do something to help.
"Hey, that reminds me, what do you guys do all day on your bad days?" Thatch asked, and though the words sounded blunt and seemed to come from nowhere, the brothers knew that the man was curious about it, Sabo having heard him yesterday, and Luffy feeling the mans emotions.
"Lay down... try to sleep." Ace mumbled with a shrug, moving some food around mindlessly on his plate. It felt weird to talk about their bad days so casually because, for Ace and his brothers, those days were exhausting and sometimes even painful. After all, having to relieve your worst memories and watch your mind come up with horrible, twisted outcomes of those already bad memories was not a fun experience.
"Do you guys normally have trouble sleeping?" Namur asked, genuinely curious and maybe even concerned for them. The brothers were beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable from the topic of these questions but knew it was something they should at least try to explain the pirates.
"Not usually, no, but if we don't get enough sleep we aren't usually in the best of moods and its easier for our minds to play tricks on us, which would be no fun for anyone. It's easier for us to just stay in our room." Sabo answered, avoiding the fact that, 'not getting enough sleep' was actually the brothers having nonstop nightmares. They were trying to be more open, yes, but that wasn't something that any of them were ready to share just yet.
The answer seemed to appease the pirates though because they all relaxed, smiles lighting up their faces.
"I thought you guys did that because we did something. It's a relief to know that wasn't the case." Rakuyo said, the rest of the Commanders nodding. Sabo smiled at them, shaking his heads.
"No need to worry, if it were something you did I'm sure you would know," Sabo said honestly because the brothers wouldn't be able to hide the fact that something they did affected them. It had happened before, like when they heard Harutas name.
With the end of the questions came the end of the conversation. Sabo had been right in thinking that by the time they had finished breakfast they would be just fine, because as the brothers pushed away their cleared plates, their senses had returned to normal, or at least, what was normal for them, and they were leaving the galley with smiles on their faces.
Going to their usual spot on the railing, the three began relaxing, taking in all the things they had missed out on because of their years being trapped in the facility. The cool wind on their faces, the sounds of the birds flying by and the waves hitting the sides of the ship, the feeling of the warm sun beaming on their skin, the smell of the ocean. It was refreshing, freeing even, for the brothers. It was a constant reminder that they were no longer trapped, that they didn't have to wake up every day fearing the next test they would be given. They would no longer be forced to perform tests that caused them pain or other horrible symptoms.
They were free. They could wake up and leave their room if they wanted, or they could snuggle deeper under their blankets and sleep for another few hours. They could go eat a large, delicious breakfast and not worry if they would have to miss out on lunch again. They could sit on the railing and watch the waves and not worry about being dragged away so that they could be pumped full of drugs.
No one was controlling their lives anymore. Nobody but themselves.
Not every day could be a good day, but the brothers weren't going to let that hold them down.
Woo! I managed to get this up on Thursday! Life has been hectic as I predicted it would be, but I tried my hardest to get this chapter done and uploaded on time. It reached my 3,000 minimum goal, but just barely. The good news though, is that with this chapter, we've reached the end of the transition period! After this, things will be picking up again and we'll start seeing more action. This was an important chapter though, even if it was pretty short. I've mentioned the trios bad days before, but I never really went into detail as to how those bad days really went for them, so this chapter was an insight as to how they handle themselves on these days. It was also important because it showed the commanders that, even though the trio was happy one day, that could all change at the drop of a hat. Mental health is never predictable, and even if someone has a really good day, that doesn't mean it'll stay that way.
I'm excited for the chapters I have planned and I can't wait to get them written and posted. Until then, however, I will leave you all with my thanks. I never could have imagined having this much support and it truly brightens my day when I see the love you all give this story. Thank you all so so so so so so sooo much! I'll see you next Thursday!