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 67: Targeted Attack
Already, the brothers' morning was a much nicer experience than yesterdays had been.
That wasn't to say it went without a hitch though.
Even though the three were already off to a better start, it was ruined when Luffy quickly began to notice the heavy, omnipresent feeling that hung in the air, cluing him into the fact that someone with darkness was nearby. This, of course, unnerved him and he told his brothers quickly, the two of them stiffening while Sabo strained his hearing for any telltale signs that a certain person was onboard.
Within seconds, they had their answer when Sabo let out a sigh, frown on his face.
"Teach is back. We should be able to avoid him if we stay closer to the right half of the galley on the way to the table." Sabo informed, Ace nodding while Luffy shivered under the pressure of the horrible feeling.
The three sat in their shared room for a few moments longer, gathering themselves before they had to go into the same room with a man they wanted to avoid. When they were ready, they left the room, walking slowly to the galley, Luffy holding onto his brothers' hands as tight as ever as they walked.
When they were finally at the galley they steeled themselves before entering, and once they did they made a beeline for their table, tunnel vision showing them only their destination and nothing else. They made it without incident, but that didn't mean their hearts weren't pounding from the adrenaline pumping through them.
Ace could practically feel Teach's gaze on them and tried as best he could to ignore it, deciding to focus more on the spider on the wall making its way to a web on the ceiling. Sabo had his hearing trained on everything Teach was letting spill from his mouth while also doing his best to pay attention to what was happening around them. Luffy was taking deep, calming breaths, allowing the Captains warmth to push away the creepy, sickening, darkness.
Food was placed in front of them, and it didn't go unnoticed by the Commanders that the brothers had noticed Teach's return. They had seen the three take the slightly longer way to the table, furthest away from the man, and they could see Ace, who normally watched the entire room, focusing solely on the wall in front of him, not daring to turn his head. All three of them were stiff as boards, though Luffy seemed to be relaxing a bit now that he was sat at the table.
"Good morning," Izo said in an attempt to calm the brothers, though wasn't sure how successful it would be. It seemed to work marginally because Sabo seemed to snap out of it, turning to the commander with a small smile and a nod.
"Good morning Izo." He said, picking up his fork and beginning to eat, a frown replacing the smile quickly.
"He's listening," Luffy said suddenly, both surprising and confusing Izo and the rest of the Commanders, as well as Whitebeard.
"Listening?" Marco asked curiously from where he sat. Luffy nodded, Ace watching the youngest out of the corner of his eye carefully as he began eating quickly, but not so quick that the three could possibly be stuck with Teach out on deck alone.
"Mm. To Teach. Listening for bad things." Luffy said, having noticed that the commanders and captain were worried about them and decided it would be best to explain things to them.
"And Ace isn't looking cause he'll just get mad and then he might end up giving Teach bad looks and make him mad, so he's trying not to look. And I'm letting in warm feelings so I don't have to feel the darkness." Luffy said as he ate, letting in some more warmth at the mention of the darkness.
"That makes sense, yoi." Marco finally said after a second of silence from everyone else as they processed the boy's words. After that, conversation slowly resumed as normal. The brothers continued eating at a pace that ensured they wouldn't finish before at least one other commander did so they would have someone to be out on deck with. It turned out that commander was Izo, and within a few minutes, the four of them were heading to the deck together, Sabo making easy conversation with the man as they made their way out so as to keep Teach from getting any ideas.
It still unnerved the brothers that Teach had been attempting to talk to them the last time he was on the Moby, and they wanted to avoid that at all costs this time.
"So we're already going to be at another island tomorrow?" Sabo asked in confusion. It had only been a few days since they had been to the last one after all.
"That's right. I'm pretty sure there's a legend about this island and the last that once said they were connected a long time ago. The two made up an island so large, it took you over a month to walk from one end to the other." Izo said as they walked out onto the deck.
"Really?" Luffy asked in amazement, trying to imagine just how big the island would have to be.
"Supposedly, yes. Whether that's true or not, who knows, but it does mean that the two islands are extremely close together and travel between them is short." The commander said.
"That's nice at least," Sabo said, to which Izo nodded.
"It is. After all, the crew can get a bit antsy with how short our visits are to some islands, so the fact that we can make two visits within one week definitely helps out there." As Izo finished speaking he sat down on the deck, leaning against the railing and pulling out some fabric he had found in his room from a bag at his side and some sewing needles. The brothers had nothing else to do at the moment so they sat down beside him, Sabo deciding to continue his conversation with the man while Ace and Luffy had a more silent conversation amongst themselves.
"So do you do most of the mending for everyone on this ship?" The blonde asked, watching as the commander began patching up a hole in some pants.
"That's right. There are a few in my division who wanted to help out as well so I taught them the basics and they help from time to time, but for bigger or more intricate tears, I normally handle it myself. I also embroider Pops' mark onto clothing whenever anyone wants it." Sabo watched in fascination as Izo spoke.
"You made all of our clothes when we first got here right? That's pretty impressive. Are you self-taught?" Sabo asked curiously.
"Mostly, yes. I knew someone when I was younger that taught me the bare basics, but after that, I just taught myself how to do it." Izo replied easily, not hesitating once as he stitched the fabric to the pants.
"That must have been pretty difficult." The blonde said. Sabo had had to learn how to mend clothes back when the brothers lived in the forest. They didn't have a lot of clothes back then after all. He had learned from a book, so he could only imagine how difficult it would be to learn everything else without help.
"It wasn't too bad. I did have some difficulties when I learned how to embroider, but other then that, it was pretty easy for me to figure out on my own." The geisha man said. Sabo nodded, enjoying learning more about the people they were now on a crew with.
All the while, he was having to tune out the conversation-turned-argument between his brothers beside him.
Of course, it had started off innocent enough, but as they got more comfortable here on the ship, Ace was also reverting back to his teasing self and seemed to enjoy riling Luffy up just as much as he used to.
'Yeah, but fire could burn down that whole ship faster then your rubber could take down everyone on it.' Ace retorted with a smirk.
'Nuh-uh! I could use my gum gum whip and knock everyone off faster then your fire could burn!' Luffy replied with a pout.
'But my fire would make them jump overboard. Mission accomplished.' Ace said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest.
'Rubbers still better!' Ace snorted at that.
'Yeah right, fires way cooler.' Luffy glared at Aces response.
'No way! Rubber!'
'Fire.'
'Rubber!'
'Fire!'
"Would you two stop already? I'm trying to have an actual conversation over here. I don't need to listen to you two argue." Sabo said sternly, eyes narrowed at his two brothers. The blondes words surprised Izo who looked up from his mending to look at Ace and Luffy, who Sabo was clearly addressing now. The commander had noticed the twos tapping, but seeing as he had no clue what was being said, he paid it no mind. Obviously, it was something that Sabo had been paying attention to, and apparently it was an argument.
"But Sabo, tell him, rubbers way cooler!" Luffy whined, turning to look at the blonde who was frowning at the two now.
"Nope. Fires still better. More effective." Ace retorted, arms still crossed.
"Seriously? How long is this going to be an argument between you two? It's been so many years, I think I've lost track." Sabo said, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Only because Ace is a meanie," Luffy said stubbornly, mimicking Ace by crossing his arms, pouting.
"More like you're too stubborn to see that fires cooler than rubber." Ace continued taunting, knowing it would just rile the youngest up again.
"See! Meanie!" Luffy said, pointing to the eldest who merely laughed in response.
"You know, if you two would just-" Sabo stopped mid-sentence, a look of confusion on his face that quickly morphed into concern and slight fear.
"Sabo?" Ace asked, tensing at his brothers' sudden change of mood. Luffy tensing as well, both because of his own worry, but also because he could feel Sabo's emotions.
"Sabo, what's wrong?" Ace asked again, Izo watching with concern now as well, mending forgotten on the deck.
"Ssh, I need to listen," Sabo said, and it didn't sit well with the brothers that Sabo was obviously hearing something distressing and the only person they could think to be the cause was Teach.
As this was happening, more and more of the crew were starting to exit from the galley, all having loud boisterous conversations amongst themselves.
"11062, 11085, and 10097... most important... close by... intel" He couldn't hear the words clearly, both from a mixture of the loud noise coming from the crew and because whoever he was listening to was far away.
"Could you tell everyone to be quiet for a moment? Please?" Sabo asked Izo, nearly forgetting his manners with how stressed he suddenly felt. It didn't sit well with him that there was someone close by that was talking about them and he had no clue why. He barely saw Izo nod and get up before he closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the muffled words.
"No chances... retrieve all... dangerous kids." Sabo tried making sense of the words he could hear, tried filling in the blanks, but it was difficult. He could hear the crew around him quieting down, could hear Ace and Luffy shifting nervously beside him, but forced himself to forget about all that for a moment and focus solely on the voice speaking.
'Someone talking about us.' Sabo tapped to his brothers, too focused on listening to talk. Whoever had been talking before was quiet now, another voice speaking instead, but Sabo couldn't make out a single thing they said.
'Us, or our numbers?' Ace questioned because if someone was talking about them, by their names, it would be bad news. Sure, it was already bad that someone was talking about them, but if it was by their numbers it meant they hadn't figured out who they were yet.
'Numbers. Look over the railing. Can you see anything?' Sabo asked Ace, the teen practically jumping up, nerves scrambled as he looked out at the ocean, searching for anything that could have a person on it. His lips thinned as he quickly spotted the marine ship off in the horizon. They looked like they were heading straight for them, but it would still be a good few hours before they would reach the Moby Dick.
'Marines.' Ace responded, causing Sabo to tense further, his eyes still closed in concentration.
"What's happening, yoi?" Ace heard Marco ask the question, though it was said quietly, probably because Izo had urged the crew to stay quiet. The first commander was kneeling beside Luffy who was watching his brothers carefully, doing his best to ignore the darkness rolling from Teach who stood somewhere in the crowd of curious people.
"Sabo hears someone talking about us. Ace sees marine ship. Being quiet so Sabo can concentrate. The voices are far away and hard for him to hear." Luffy whispered back, fingers fidgeting with the ends of his shorts. Marco frowned, looking at Aces back and deciding the Marine ship was most likely somewhere in the direction he was looking. Sabo's eyes were still closed, a look of deep concentration on his face, and even a bit of frustration.
"Strong even without devil fruits... made sure of it... wanted strong marines after all" The voice was a little clearer now, Sabo able to hear more of the conversation than before, but it only made him more confused. These marines clearly knew about the testing, and they seemed to know more about their powers then the news had released, but the last bit confused him.
Wanted strong marines? What the heck did that mean?
Of course, Sabo had some theories, but who knew what was right.
"If they're that strong can we win? It seems... no chance... monsters." This was the second voice now, the one that hadn't even been distinguishable before.
"You think we... plan B... don't worry about them... after this... won't be an issue anymore." The more the voices spoke, the worse Sabo felt. What did any of this mean? It didn't sound good for him or his brothers though, he knew that much.
"But they're wanted alive... can't kill them..." Sabo's blood ran cold at the words. All those years they'd spent in the hell that was the facility, they knew there was a high risk that something would go wrong and one of them would die. It had happened multiple times even! But the fact that they were now out of that place and he could hear someone saying he was going to kill them so confidently, it made Sabo even more worried than when he was in the facility.
"Screw what the higher-ups say... my life or theirs, I choose theirs... claim it was an accident... won't know a thing if we use this!" So there was something this man had that would kill them? Was it a weapon? An injection? Devil fruit? Sabo wished he could see the people talking, could see what the man was talking about.
"I- I guess..." The second man's voice was full of uncertainty, but the first man just laughed.
"Don't worry, leave it all to me!" The conversation died off after that, but to be sure, Sabo continued listening for another minute. When there was no more conversation about them Sabo opened his eyes, a deep frown on his face.
"What's the matter, son?" Whitebeard asked. Sabo was shocked out of his current worries at Whitebeards words because even though they were apart of the crew now, he hadn't really expected Whitebeard to call him by the affectionate term he used with everyone else.
After shaking himself from that thought and remembering there were more pressing matters to be concerned over, his frown reappeared.
"Marines who know about us. I couldn't make much sense of all of it, but what I did hear wasn't good." Sabo said, and he could see the confusion on the crews' faces besides the commanders and Captain. After all, they knew nothing about the brothers... enhancements.
"Looks like they're a few hours away still." Ace informed, still glaring disdainfully towards where the ship was, only causing further confusion.
"Why don't we go discuss this in the meeting hall, yoi?" Marco suggested before everyone could start asking questions at once. Sabo nodded, standing up off the ground along with Luffy and Marco. The commanders all began addressing their own divisions, telling them that they would inform them what was happening after the meeting which the crew seemed to understand. Sabo also heard Marco telling those who were going on watch to keep an eye out for the marine ship. Meanwhile, Whitebeard and the brothers headed straight to the meeting hall, the brothers finding comfort in the giant man walking with them even though there were marines threatening their lives only hours away.
The walk was quiet, but that was fine with all of them. Luffy was still trying to get over the sudden intense feelings that had come from Ace and Sabo, as well as the fact that he had felt Teachs darkness. All of it was a bad combination for the boy, so he allowed himself to take in more of Whitebeards warmth in hopes that it would help calm him down faster.
When they reached the meeting hall they took their seats, waiting for the rest of the commanders to join them. Within a few minutes, everyone was there, ready to listen.
"What did you hear, son?" Whitebeard asked Sabo, getting straight to the point. The blonde sighed, sitting up a bit straighter in his chair as he tried thinking of the best way to explain the chopped sentences he had gotten.
"I couldn't make out much, they were still too far away, but they definitely know about us. I don't think they know who we are exactly, but they do seem to know we're on the crew, or at least on this ship." Sabo began, already earning confused looks.
"How? You haven't been here all that long and you were only just joining in on fights." Curiel said.
"I don't know. I heard the word intel, but I don't know if that has anything to do with how they found out or not. I didn't hear the context of it. They called us dangerous kids, which isn't really a surprise, but it almost sounded like they were saying they couldn't get all of the dangerous kids? Or they didn't have a chance at getting us all? I'm not exactly sure, but they were talking about no chances, retrieving all, and dangerous kids." Sabo said, still having trouble plugging in missing words.
"After that, they said that we were strong even without our devil fruits, which is true, but the man spoke as if he knew about what powers we had even though it wasn't in the news. I guess it makes sense because he's a marine though. He also knew about the testing, and he said something about, 'wanted strong marines after all' which didn't make any sense at all." Sabo continued.
"Maybe they wanted backup?" Haruta guessed, but Sabo shook his head.
"No, I don't think that was it. The way he said it, it was a matter-of-fact kind of speaking, or even proud almost. It didn't make any sense. The guy he was talking to wasn't as confident and was concerned they couldn't win against us, but the first guy was confident they would have no trouble. He said something about a,'Plan B' and, 'They wouldn't be a problem anymore after this.'" Sabo said, Ace and Luffy stiffening at the unsettling words.
"The second guy was worried because we're wanted alive, but the first guy didn't care about what the, 'higher-ups' said and was choosing our lives over his. He said they could claim it was an accident and it wouldn't matter as long as they used... something. I don't what this thing is, but it doesn't sound good for us if the man's confident tone was anything to go on." This raised some more concern within the group at all the unknowns they were being faced with as well as their lack of information.
"The conversation stopped after that so I didn't hear anything else, but-" A shrill noise stopped Sabo from speaking. A hiss left his mouth as he covered his ears with his hands, the loud noise muffling anything being said around him.
"Sabo?!" Luffy asked in fear, but Sabo couldn't hear it, he could only see Luffy's lips moving and the concern on his face.
"Sabo, what's wrong?!" Ace asked in concern. They could see that it was obviously something to do with his ears, but they couldn't hear anything, so what was the problem?
"There-" Sabo stopped himself again, realizing he couldn't even hear himself speaking. He didn't want to scream over the noise that the others didn't seem to hear, so he started tapping instead, wincing as the noise continued, not stopping or wavering at all. It was a long, consistent noise that seemed to be all around him, as well as inside his head all at once.
'Loud noise, probably too high pitched for you guys to hear, won't stop, can't hear anything.' Sabo tapped, Ace and Luffy reading the words easily.
"There's a loud noise that he thinks is too high pitched for us to hear. He can't hear anything." Ace relayed for those who couldn't understand.
"Does he know where it's coming from?" Thatch asked worry etched clearly on his face. Luffy asked the blonde the question and Sabo shook his head, tapping a reply.
"He doesn't, it sounds like its everywhere. His guess is it's probably coming from the marine ship." Ace relayed.
"Fossa, can you go tell navigation to head towards the marine ship? We need to stop whatever this noise is and seeing as they're already heading our way we may as well meet them." Whitebeard said, Fossa nodding and standing, leaving the room to do as told.
"You three should head back to your room while we take care of this," Whitebeard said, and Luffy could feel the concern still radiating throughout the room, almost masking the warmth that came from the giant. He turned and looked at Ace, and he could feel the turmoil in his brother, could see that he was fighting himself from exclaiming that he wanted to fight too, but even Luffy knew it would be bad if they did. They wanted to stay hidden from the marines, and if they fought, they could find out who they were and use whatever weapon they had on them.
"Alright." Ace said begrudgingly, telling Sabo the plan. Sabo nodded, still holding his ears and trying to ignore the pounding headache that was present thanks to the shrill ringing in his ears.
He just wanted the noise gone.
"I'll walk with you." Izo offered, standing with the brothers. The rest of the commanders stood as well, getting ready to head back out to the deck and make preparations for a battle. Luffy and Ace helped Sabo stand, the sound disorienting the blonde, making him sway a bit, but he righted himself quickly and walked out with them.
The walk through the hall was quick, the commanders chatting behind them, Izo making small talk with Luffy, trying to keep him calm, and Ace helping Sabo whenever he swayed.
They had only taken a couple of steps out onto the deck when chaos ensued.
"Pops! The marine ship is closing in!" Someone said as they ran up, panic on their face, most of the crew at the railing where the marine ship was much closer then it had been when they left.
"How's that possible?! It's only been twenty minutes!" Jiru exclaimed as they saw the ship only minutes away now. It was moving at a fast pace which didn't make sense due to the ships size.
"We're not sure. We were just about to come inform you, but it suddenly sped up to insane speeds and got closer while you were gone." The crewmate said. Whitebeard frowned, eyeing the ship.
"Izo, get the brothers to their room," Whitebeard said, Sabo still fighting the loud ringing that no one else could hear.
"On it Oyaji," Izo said, ushering the brothers along while everyone scrambled for weapons. In the middle of the panic, Ace saw something fly through the sky from the marine ship, landing in the middle of the deck. He didn't have time to warn anyone of what it might be when a loud bang went off.
Sabo was pretty sure he was going to be deaf after this.
Along with the bang was a bright flash of white that blinded everyone who didn't shield their eyes in time, but Ace, who had been looking right at the explosive, was suddenly overcome with intense pain in his eyes, everything going white and then black.
Everyone's ears were ringing and a few couldn't see, but within minutes the effects wore off and everyone could now hear hissing coming from the explosive, a red gas coming from it.
"Goddamnit!" Ace hissed, Izo looking at the teen to find him rubbing furiously at his eyes.
"You alright Ace?" Izo asked in concern.
"I can't see a damn thing and my eyes hurt like hell!" Ace hissed out angrily because this was feeling all too familiar to him, like tests Haru would perform just for the fun of it.
"It burns!" Luffy whined, his voice slightly muffled. Izo looked and saw the teen covering his nose, eyes filled with tears.
"You alright Luffy?" Ace asked in concern, smelling something.
"My head hurts and my nose hurts cause of the really bad smelly stuff!" Luffy said. The commanders and Whitebeard, who were still close by, frowned, realizing that all of this seemed geared towards the brothers, incapacitating them through their enhanced senses.
"Izo, take them to Whiskey instead. Everyone else, prepare for a fight yoi!" Marco called, everyone cheering in agreement and raising the weapons they had in the air. Izo quickly ushered the brothers back the way they had come, back towards the infirmary. Luffy held on tightly to Aces hand with his free hand, the other pinching his nose tightly, his eyes still watering. He guided his blind brother while watching Sabo carefully in case he became unsteady again. Izo walked close at Sabo's side, ready to catch him if needed, the blonde seeming to be extremely disoriented due to all of the sudden assaults on his eyes and ears.
A fight began to sound as they went inside the Moby, but Izo ignored it, more focused on getting the brothers the help they needed. They reached Whiskey quickly, the nurses all having heard the explosion and fighting sounds, already prepping the infirmary for any injured they would have.
"Whiskey, the brothers need help!" Izo called, the nurse spinning at once at the words. One look at the group and she was rushing towards them, calling out orders to the other nurses.
"What happened?" She asked hurriedly, she and Izo guiding them to beds.
"It seemed like a flash bang went off out there and blinded Ace. It also started releasing some gas that Luffy says feels like its burning his nose and Sabo's been hearing a loud ringing in his ears for a few minutes now that none of us can hear. He thinks its probably too high a pitch for us to hear." Izo informed quickly so the nurse could help faster.
"Alright, Izo, go wet a rag and give it to Luffy to smell through. We don't know what's in that gas and its the best we've got to keep anything harmful from hurting him further. Ace I need you to open your eyes for me ok?" Whiskey said, Izo rushing off to do as told while Ace let himself get examined. He could hear the sounds of battle still happening but tried to ignore it. It was kind of easy when he had the fact that he was blind to pay attention to.
"How have you been communicating with Sabo?" Whiskey asked, not knowing about the brothers' silent language.
"We use taps. Learned it a long time ago." Ace said as Izo rushed backhanding Luffy a wet cloth. Whiskey nodded.
"Breathe through the cloth for me Luffy. Also, can you ask Sabo to move his hands for me? I want to make sure there's no damage in his ears." Whiskey asked Luffy who nodded, getting Sabo's attention and placing the cloth to his nose. Sabo looked at Luffy and the youngest placed his hand on Sabo's leg so the blonde would be able to feel the taps and read them easier.
'Whiskey wants to look at your ears to see if they're hurt. Have to move hands.' Luffy tapped Sabo nodding and moving the hands gingerly from his ears, wincing as the slight muffle was removed and the sound grew louder.
"I'll be as quick as I can." Whiskey said, though the words fell on deaf ears. She did the check-up quickly as promised before nodding.
"It doesn't look like damage is being done but we won't know for sure until the noise is stopped. Shirley, can you get me some patches to cover his ears with? We need to muffle the noise as much as possible." Whiskey called to a nurse who nodded, running off to get the items from a cabinet.
"Do we know where the noise is coming from?" Whiskey asked as Shirley brought the patches over.
"We think it's from the marine ship, but Sabo cant tell, it sounds like its everywhere." Ace said, still annoyed at his lack of sight. Once Whiskey taped the patched over Sabo's ears she turned to Ace.
"In that case, we just have to hope Oyaji stops them quickly. It looks like your eyes will be fine and you should hopefully regain your sight within a few minutes. It doesn't look like there's been any permanent damage but we'll know for sure once you get your vision back. It might be blurry for a bit and you might not be able to see far distances as clearly as usual, but that should all just be a side effect that goes away within a day or two of you regaining your eyesight." Whiskey said, jotting down some notes.
"That being said, however, it seems that because you have enhanced vision the flash bang had a more intense effect on you than on anyone else. Normally people regain their eyesight within a couple of minutes in the daylight, but it's already been nearly ten and you still can't see, correct?" Whiskey asked, Ace nodding.
"Not even light." He muttered in annoyance, looking around blindly.
"Again, it might not mean anything, but we don't know for sure. We'll have to monitor it and watch for any changes. Do you have any headaches? Nausea?" Whiskey asked.
"The flash hurt my eyes and they still sting a bit, and my heads pounding." Ace said, Whiskey writing that down in her notes. Luffy was relaying all of the information to Sabo who was worried about Ace, especially since he couldn't hear anything to know what was going on. He could see Aces eyes moving around wildly, but he didn't know that was because his brother couldn't see until Luffy had told him. He could see Luffy breathing through a now damp cloth, but he didn't know that the gas he had seen earlier was something that made Luffys sensitive nose burn.
He could see it all happening right in front of him, but he had no clue what was really happening.
"If anything gets any worse or new symptoms start showing up, tell me immediately. What about you Luffy? Headache? Nausea?" Whiskey asked.
"My head hurts," Luffy said, his voice coming out muffled and a bit nasally from the cloth.
"Then the same thing goes for you. Anything new or if anything gets worse, tell us." Luffy nodded at the nurses' words, finding a bit of comfort in the fact that the wet cloth dulled the burn a bit. There wasn't anything anyone could do now but wait and hope the Whitebeards defeated the marines quickly.
The noises of the battle roared on for at least another fifteen minutes. In that time, Luffy found that the smell slowly dissipated until it was just a minor sting, allowing him to remove the cloth and breathe freely. Ace was now able to see spots of light in his vision, though nothing substantial yet, and Sabo was still stuck with a ringing.
"Hey, I can see stuff again." Ace said after a few more minutes eyes roaming around the room, though still a bit unfocused.
"Is it blurry?" Whiskey asked, having stayed nearby in case the brothers needed her. The other nurses were running in and out, sometimes with a crewmember who had gotten injured.
"Yeah, I can't make anything out but I can see shapes." Ace said, squinting in an attempt at getting a clearer image, but it didn't help. Beside him, Sabo's brows furrowed.
'I think the noise is gone, or at least its quieter now. My ears might just be ringing though." Sabo said, the noise he had been hearing much quieter now then it had been before. Luffy told Whiskey this and she nodded.
"Do you want me to remove the patches or do you think we should wait just in case?" She asked, feeling it was better if Sabo decided himself. He was the one who could hear the noises after all. Luffy relayed the nurses' words to Sabo and then Sabo's words to Whiskey.
"He says you can take them off, the noise is getting quieter again," Luffy said.
"It sounds like the battles over too," Izo noted, realizing that the deck was growing quiet. Whiskey took off Sabo's patches and the blonde sat, assessing the noise for a minute.
"The noise is gone, but my ears are still ringing a bit. I can hear stuff again but it sounds muffled." Sabo said, his voice a little louder then he intended due to the fact that he couldn't hear normally yet. Whiskey took that as a good sign and started checking the blonde's ears again, looking for any sign that the loud noise had permanently damaged his ears.
"Everything looks alright, but as I said with Ace, your hearing might not be the same as it was at first. It'll probably sound muffled for a while. I don't know how long it will take with your enhanced hearing, but it should sound clearer eventually. Hopefully by the end of the day at the latest." Whiskey said, Sabo nodding in understanding.
"Ace, can you follow this light?" Whiskey asked, holding a tiny flashlight in front of Aces eyes and moving it side to side. Ace did as told, and it seemed Whiskey liked whatever she saw because she smiled a bit.
"It looks like you're in the clear as well, Ace. Everythings looking good and your eyesight should come back just fine. However, if anything weird happens, tell me." Whiskey said, the eldest nodding. Just as the nurse finished examining Aces eyes, the infirmary door opened, not for the first time, but instead of a nurse coming in with an injured crewmember, it was Haruta.
"Hey guys, I came to tell you the fights over," Haruta said as he walked over to the bed they were all sitting at.
"How'd it go?" Izo asked curiously, hands hidden inside his kimono.
"They weren't all that difficult to take down. The ship had some weird propeller on it which explains how they got here so fast, but other than that there wasn't anything we couldn't handle." Haruta said with a shrug, the only sign that he'd been in a fight being the sprouting bruise that was starting to show on his hand.
"Did you find out how they knew the brothers were here?" Izo asked, everyone wanting to know the answer to that question.
"We didn't get much. Once the marine Captain realized that they weren't going to win against us he tried to run, but Jozu got to him first. We didn't get much out of him, but he did spill that the marines know the Whitebeards were on the island when the facility got destroyed and they know that the brothers had help in getting the children out so they just went after us because they're assuming we have the children. Apparently, we were the only outside ship to both arrive and leave within the time frame that the children disappeared from the island." Haruta explained, everyone taking in his words silently.
"But they don't know who we are?" Sabo asked for clarification. Haruta shrugged.
"We don't think so. The marine never called you three by name, but he did use your numbers when he tried to get us to hand you over. If they do know your names they don't know what you look like because they kept fighting as if you were somewhere on deck. I swear, marines aren't always the brightest." Haruta said with a sigh and a shake of his head. It amazed him sometimes how blinded the marines could get when they thought they were fighting for 'justice'.
"I guess they realized no one was reacting to their flash bang like they expected, and once they realized that they all tried running away," Haruta finished.
"It's a good thing we got you here when we did or else they definitely would have known who you were," Izo said, the brothers nodding their agreement. It was relieving to know that their identities were still safe for now, but how much longer would that last? The marines were determined to both find and recapture them, so it was only a matter of time until they were found out.
"So how are you three holding up? It looks like you've got your hearing back Sabo." Haruta said, realizing Sabo had been responding, though his voice was a bit louder then he expected it to be for how quiet the infirmary was at the moment.
"We're all good. The sound stopped a few minutes ago but my ears are still ringing and everything's muffled. Ace's eyesight is slowly coming back and he can only see blurry shapes right now and Luffy's able to breathe without his nose bothering him too much now." Sabo explained.
"We figured out that the noise was coming from a tiny machine that they had. We destroyed it and got rid of the flashbang too." Haruta said.
"Well, you three should be ok to leave. Obviously Ace is going to need some help getting around until his vision returns completely, but other than that you're all set." Whiskey said. The brothers thanked her as she left to go help with everyone else who had come in injured from the fight.
"You wanna go lay down?" Sabo asked Ace since he couldn't see anything.
"Yeah, sure." Ace said with a bit of a frustrated sigh, eyes glancing around the room again, but it was still just a blur to him. Sabo nodded, standing up and smiling to Whiskey.
"Thank you for the help Whiskey." He said as Luffy and Ace stood as well, Sabo steadying their impaired brother.
"Its no problem. Remember, any issues, come right back." Whiskey said, the brothers all nodding and saying goodbye. Izo and Haruta left with the brothers, the two of them speaking amongst themselves.
They were out on deck within a few seconds, everyone still cleaning up after the battle. The commanders were going around and helping those who needed it and instructing others on what to do. Whitebeard sat in his chair, overseeing it all, and when he spotted them he gave them a smile and a nod, which Sabo returned seeing as Ace couldn't see it and Luffy was more focused on the smell that still semi lingered out on the deck. Izo and Haruta left them with their own goodbyes as they headed to Whitebeard while the brothers continued heading to their room. No one stopped them, though a few did call out that they were glad they were ok, and the brothers continued on without being impeded.
When they reached their room they all went in, Sabo guiding Ace to his bed and helped him sit down. They all let out a collective sigh of exhaustion and relief.
"Is there going to be a day where we can just relax?" Sabo asked as he moved to lay down on the bed, closing his eyes.
"Relaxing would be boring. At least we're having adventures!" Luffy said, looking on the bright side of things like he always used to. Sabo and Ace smiled at that.
"Yeah, what are you Sabo, an old man? Can't handle a little adventure?" Ace teased, looking where he knew the blondes general direction was.
"I think you and I have a much different definition of the words 'A little adventure' Ace. I'd rather have the adventure without all the stress involved with it." Sabo said, knowing that was probably never going to happen. Stress seemed to be something that would follow the brothers as long as they breathed.
"But that's the fun part!" Luffy said with a bright smile, Ace nodding in agreement while Sabo rolled his eyes.
"Of course it is. Now both of you shush, I want to get at least a little rest before lunch." Sabo said, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the dull ring that he still heard. Ace and Luffy both frowned but decided rest would probably be for the best, the two of them laying down as well.
"Fine, but only because I can't do anything else right now." Ace said, referring to his lack of sight.
Sabo scoffed but didn't respond, the three of them drifting off to sleep quickly.
Holy cow, I think this was my longest chapter yet! It took me forever to get this written and even longer to edit. I tried my hardest to get all the mistakes I could, but I'm sure I missed something. If you notice any mistakes feel free to tell me and I'll do my best to fix them!
Here's the action that I promised. Marines are starting to target the brothers specifically now using their senses because, even though the public doesn't know about their powers, the Marines do. Luckily, the brothers were able to get to the infirmary before they were found out to be the ones the Marines were looking for.
I have to go for now, but I thank all of you for being so amazing! All the love and support keeps me going on my toughest days and I'm glad that my story can bring some of you joy as well in return. I'll see you all again next Thursday!