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 74: A Dip in the Water
"Ne, Sabo, how do you spell waiting?" Luffy asked, face scrunched in thought, pen in hand as he stared at his journal. Sabo, who sat on the bed with his own journal, didn't even look up from his writing.
"Sound it out Lu. What do you think?" He asked.
"Mm... Way... W... A... waid... D?" Luffy asked, looking over to the blonde who shook his head.
"No, it sounds like a D sound, but it's not. Theres also a letter before that, a silent one that helps the A make the long A sound." Sabo explained, still writing as he did.
"Oh... W-A... I?" Luffy guessed, and Sabo nodded to that.
"W-A-I-T" Another nod.
"I-N-G?"
"Good job Lu, that's right," Sabo said, pausing his writing to smile at the smallest. Luffy beamed back before turning back to his journal and scribbling the word down. Ace, who was also writing, smiled to himself at Luffy's enthusiasm. They'd all had nightmares that night so they were writing them down with different endings. Occasionally he or Luffy had trouble with a word and would ask Sabo for clarification, but other then that, it was quiet in the room.
Eventually, one by one, they finished their writing and decided they would head to breakfast. Sabo listened to those inside the galley chat happily amongst each other, plates and silverware clinking alongside their words.
When the three reached the galley they were quick to head to the commanders' table, Thatch placing their food in front of them.
"Just in time!" Thatch said with a smile as he put the plates down, smiling to them.
"Seems so," Sabo replied with a smile. Luffy grinned to the chef as well, thanking him before chowing down, Ace doing the same beside him.
The creeping of darkness made Luffy pause momentarily, gaining more than a few curious looks, but Luffy ignored it, allowing Whitebeards warmth to overpower the sickening feelings as he ate.
"Teach is back," Luffy said simply, the commanders all stopping in their conversations to listen.
"He is? I don't think he even sent word he was nearby." Jozu said with a frown. Ever since the brothers warned them about the man they'd been picking up on more and more red flags from the bearded man.
"'Course he didn't." Ace muttered darkly, earning an elbow from Sabo. After all, the Commanders still might be holding out hope that Teach wasn't a bad guy, so insulting him in front of them would do them no good except possibly make the Commanders mad.
"He's almost at the Moby. A couple minutes." Luffy said calmly, happy he was closeby Whitebeard.
"Thank you for the information son," Whitebeard said, nodding to Luffy who smiled back before returning to eating, though at a significantly slower pace. Now that the brothers knew Teach would be here, they didn't want to finish too soon in case they were the only ones out on deck. They didn't want to give Teach the chance to be alone with them no matter what.
Eventually, they finished at the same time Fossa and Kingdew did, all of them heading out to the deck after they sent their plates back to the kitchen. The Commanders had all picked up on the fact that the brothers would wait for one of them to go with them to the deck whenever Teach was there, and they didn't mind having them tag along with them. It gave them a chance to better get to know them.
The group headed out to the deck, and rather than going off somewhere in the belly of the Moby, Kingdew, and Fossa decided to stay out on deck with the brothers, all of them heading towards the railing the trio usually sat on and sitting there, talking with each other.
They sat and talked like this until more and more people filled the deck. At that point Kingdew and Fossa both had to go do work for their division, saying their goodbyes to the brothers. They sat there quietly for a moment before Sabo remembered this morning.
"Why don't I go get some books I picked up on the last island. I can help you two with your writing and spelling." Sabo said. Ace and Luffy looked at each other before shrugging.
"Sure." They said. Sabo nodded and headed off, telling them not to cause any trouble in the few minutes he'd be gone. As the two waited they watched the clouds, one of their favorite pastimes. They were interrupted when Thatch came over though.
"Hey you two, where's Sabo?" The pompadoured man asked, sitting beside Ace.
"He went to go get some books." Ace said nodding toward the door that led to their room.
"Books? What for?" Thatch asked, curious. It wasn't that he thought the brothers reading was weird, it was something he felt Sabo would actually do to pass time, but he hadn't seen them reading since they'd been here. He hadn't even known they could read. After all, they'd practically grown up in the facility.
"He's gonna help us with our spelling! Sabo's a good teacher, he taught us how to read and write." Luffy said with a smile. Thatch smiled back.
"Oh yeah? I bet he is, he seems pretty smart." Thatch said honestly. The brothers did use the word 'Smart' for Sabo's name in their silent language after all.
"He is! He's read a lot of books so he knows a lot of different things. He knew that this one plant was bad one time just by looking at it." Luffy said, remembering back to that memory.
"To be fair, a lot of people know to stay away from poison ivy, Lu," Sabo said as he returned, books, paper, and pens in hand. He handed his brothers some paper and pens before sitting with them.
"Yeah, but I didn't! Besides, you know a lot of other stuff too." Luffy said as he took his pen and paper.
"Alright, I get it. Here, hold it like this." Sabo said, adjusting the way Luffy was holding the pen.
"Pens are harder to hold then chalk," Luffy mumbled as he adjusted his hold. Ace watched out of the corner of his eye how Sabo adjusted Luffys hold and did the same himself, finding it did feel better than how he had been holding it before. Thatch watched the whole thing with a smile.
"Its because they're bigger and have more weight. Our chalk was small and light." Sabo said, sitting back once he was satisfied with how his brother was holding the pen.
"So you taught them everything from scratch then?" Thatch asked, watching as the blonde opened one of the books.
"That's right. From the alphabet to grammar and punctuation." He said with a smile, remembering how much of a struggle it was.
"Impressive, yoi," Marco said as he joined the group, sitting with them as well.
"It wasn't too bad. There wasn't much else to do so it was easy to get these two to focus," Sabo said with a shrug, finding the page he wanted.
"Remember to sound it out. Pronunciation." Sabo said to Ace and Luffy. The two nodded, their tongues immediately sticking out in concentration as they focused on figuring out how to spell the word.
"How did you learn to read and write? You go to school?" Thatch asked curiously, wondering how only one of the brothers seemed to know.
"Ah, sort of. I kind of uh, used to be a noble. I didn't agree with their way of thinking through and ran away. That's how I met Ace, and then Luffy eventually showed up." Sabo said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. The two commanders were surprised momentarily.
"A noble, huh? Guess the top hat makes sense then." Thatch said with a smile. Sabo chuckled a bit at that.
"Didn't agree with their thinking, but I didn't exactly mind the fashion. Although, some of it can be a bit... eccentric." Sabo said, thinking back to some of the crazier styles he'd seen.
"You've got that right. One time I saw this woman wearing this huge dress, like, huge. It took up the whole path!" Thatch said, spreading his arms out in an attempt to show just how big the dress was.
"Almost Lu, that's actually a C, not an S. Same for you Ace. Next word is accommodate." Sabo said, turning his attention momentarily to his brothers.
"They've got some pretty good handwriting." Marco admired, watching as Ace and Luffy wrote neatly along the paper.
"It wasn't always like that. Aces sucked, and Luffy's was like chicken scratch when they first started. I wasted too much chalk drawing lines for them to write inside." Sabo said with a sigh.
"Hey, it's not our fault, that floor was all bumpy!" Ace said indignantly.
"Yeah!" Luffy piped in, but more as if he was only doing it to do it.
"Ace, bumps don't make you cross your t's across the whole word," Sabo said, making the eldest huff.
"Well, Luffy kept nudging me and made my hand slip." He said.
"Yeah!" Luffy said making them all look at him. He blinked before grinning and returning to his word.
"Sure. Anyways, you just needed another C here Ace, and the same for you Luffy, except theres two m's, too." Sabo said, correcting their words again before continuing on.
"Next word is Wednesday," Sabo said, the two beginning to write once more.
"What made you want to do this again?" Thatch asked, not having seen them do this before.
"Whiskeys having us do some writing, and these two use me as their personal dictionary every time they can't spell something so I thought it'd be a good idea to brush up their skills and help them with a few more words. Its been a while since we've written anything." Sabo said, trying to remember how long ago it was that they had any lessons.
"Oh! Can we play hangman later?" Luffy asked with a smile.
"Sure. You wanna play too Ace?" Sabo asked. The eldest nodded, not looking up from his writing.
"Count me in! It's been a long time since I've played that! Ne, Marco, you in?" Thatch asked, nudging the Commander. Marco rolled his eyes.
"You can't include yourself, Thatch. Maybe they didn't want you to join," Marco said, making Thatch gasp.
"What? No way, everyone loves playing games with me!" Thatch said dramatically. Marco shook his head and Sabo smiled.
"You two are free to join. The more the merrier." Sabo said as he corrected Ace and Luffy's spelling.
"See, they don't mind!" Thatch said, pointing to them.
"The next word is onomatopoeia," Sabo said with a grin. Ace flashed him a glare at the word.
"Jerk." He said simply, racking his brain in an attempt to remember how to spell the word.
"Ono-what-oh-mia?" Luffy asked in confusion, Thatch looking equally confused.
"On-oh-mon-oh-pee-ah." Sabo corrected, over-enunciating the word.
"What's that mean?" Thatch asked, making Aces head shoot up, eyes wide.
"See! It's not a word, I told you!" He said, pointing to Thatch as he did, only making the poor chef even more confused. Sabo and Marco both smiled, holding back laughter.
"Just because everyone doesn't know the definition doesn't mean its not a word Ace. It's a word that describes other words that sound like noises. For example buzz, or sizzle." Sabo explained, the chef listening with interest.
"Huh, I didn't know that was a word." Thatch said, Ace still muttering about Sabo making things up. Sabo made the corrections before telling them the next word, anonymous.
Sabo continued to give them new words, all while talking with Thatch and Marco, before they eventually moved on to hangman, a few of the other commanders joining in as well. It was a good time overall, but eventually, lunch was beginning and they all headed into the galley, Sabo making a quick stop with his brothers to drop off their books, paper, and pens.
Lunch was peaceful despite Teach being present. The trio ate and did their best to ignore the man, which was easier said than done when they could practically feel his slimy stare on their backs the entire meal. It made them eager to finish, but they didn't dare finish faster than any of the commanders.
Finally, though, they were leaving with Haruta and Izo. They spent some time with the two, teaching them some more taps that they hadn't gotten down yet, but eventually, they parted ways too. At this point Luffy wanted to go look at the figurehead, claiming he hadn't really had a good chance to do so yet, so the three of them headed to the upper deck.
"Remember Luffy, the figurehead is probably wet and slippery, so no climbing on it, got it?" Sabo said, grabbing Luffy's shoulder and stopping him from doing just that. Luffy pouted.
"But it's so big and cool!" He whined, gesturing to it and giving him a puppy-eyed look. Ace snickered behind Luffy and Sabo frowned.
"No Luffy. Knowing you, you'd fall in," Sabo said firmly, only making Luffy pout even more.
"Meanie," Luffy muttered but did as told and didn't attempt climbing on it.
"Knowing Luffy he'd manage to fall in whether it was slippery or not." Ace said as he looked at the figurehead.
"Which is exactly why he's not going to be climbing on it at all." Sabo reiterated.
"Look at it though, it's even got a face!" Luffy said, Sabo and Ace both turning to look where Luffy was leaning over the railing to get a better look at the figurehead. Sabo's eyes widened at how far over the railing Luffy was hanging and moved to pull him back.
"Luffy, no hanging over the railing either!" Sabo chastised as he rushed over.
"But Sabo look, its got teeth too!" Luffy said, pointing at said teeth and looking at the blonde. Ace was laughing where he stood, unbothered by Luffy's antics.
"Yes, I saw when we were on islands Luffy, not by dangling over raili-" Sabo was cut off when Luffy's feet went from barely touching the deck to not being on the deck at all. Luffy's face, which had been wearing a bright smile, suddenly turned into a shocked one, and Sabo rushed even faster forward in an attempt to catch his brother before he fell over the railing completely. Ace, who had been laughing, immediately stopped and ran forward to help.
Sabo just barely missed grabbing Luffy's shirt, but Ace managed to grab one of Luffy's outstretched hands. However, he lost his footing and Luffy's extra weight put him off balance, which in turn made him tip over the railing as well.
"Damnit!" Ace cursed as he and Luffy were both falling off the boat and into the water. Luffy tried his best to stretch his arm back towards the railing, but then he was in the water and his arm was going limp.
There was a splash as both Luffy and Ace fell in, sinking quickly as they both fought the instinct of their devil fruits telling them they couldn't swim. After a few seconds, Ace was able to overpower that instinct and started kicking his feet in an attempt to swim to the surface. He had let go of Luffy's hand in the time he had been momentarily paralyzed, but he could see his brother swimming upwards as well a few feet away.
They both reached the surface at the same time, gasping for air and coughing a bit.
"Damnit Luffy, stop proving Sabo right all the time!" Ace shouted to his brother. There was no time for Luffy to respond as they both noticed a wave heading their way. They both took in gulps of air just in time for the wave to swallow them once again. Now underwater, it was hard for the two to figure out which way was up, but eventually, they were able to figure out which way to swim, both reaching the surface again.
"Sorry, but look, the figurehead is so cool!" Luffy said as he looked at the Mobys figurehead, having a much better view in the water. Ace sighed but was once again stopped from responding as another wave came and swallowed them.
Eventually, they were reaching the surface again, heaving in as much air as possible.
"You still good, Lu?" Ace asked in between breaths, starting to feel the effects the ocean was trying to have on him.
"Mhm..." Luffy hummed, and Ace could see the sluggish way his eyes closed, his own not much better.
"Just hang in there, I'm sure they're almost here." Ace said in an attempt to keep the youngest calm, getting a bit worried himself. He didn't know how long they'd been in the water, but he guessed by how draining the ocean was becoming that it had at least been three minutes. Another minute or two and they would start sinking like rocks.
He tried not to think about that.
He focused instead on the fact that the ocean was freezing and his teeth were beginning to chatter. Luffy's lips were starting to look a bit blue too.
Another wave took them under.
He wished the doctors had made them attempt swimming too because at least they would be able to get to the Moby themselves instead of staying there stranded. It took effort to just tread water, much less swim somewhere.
Suddenly Namur was in front of him, shocking him slightly.
"You alright?" He asked, and Ace could only manage a nod, still breathing heavily.
"Just hang on, I'll get you back to the Moby. Sabo's got Luffy." Namur said, and Ace turned to see his brother's blonde mop of hair helping Luffy onto his back, already heading back toward the Moby as well. Ace nodded again and held on around the fishman's neck, allowing him to take him back to the Moby.
A rope ladder was sent down for them and Ace continued hanging on as Namur carried him up, feeling his energy slowly returning as he did. Finally, they were on the deck, a crowd of people there watching them, and Ace let go of Namur, wiping the hair from his face.
"Freaking hate water." He muttered, trying to ignore the familiar feeling that reminded him of tests at the facility.
"Then stop falling in it," Sabo responded as he climbed over the railing, Luffy climbing off his back and shaking the water from his head like a dog.
"It's not my fault, Luffy pulled me in." Ace said with a scowl.
"Yeah yeah, come on, we need to change. Thank you for the help Namur." Sabo said to the Fishman who waved off the thanks.
"It was no problem. I don't mind the occasional swim." He said with a smile.
Sabo smiled and nodded before dragging his brothers off, lecturing Luffy about listening to him and being more careful.
Not as peaceful as the others, but still not as action-ey as it could have been. Soon, I promise! Action is coming!
In regards to comments about the pacing, you're all completely right that this stories pacing is slower than a sloth that's been hit with a tranquilizer. Thank you for reading this far into this story though, it means the world! And now I know for the future of this story and for any future stories I may write! I already had this chapter, as well as the next three planned out so the pacing for them will still be relatively slow, but rest assured that after that, we're putting that sleepy sloth on a train and chugging away!
Thank you all for your reviews and support! It helps me grow as a writer and makes me happy to know people care enough to leave reviews or other forms of support! Without you guys, I would probably have no motivation to do any of the fun things I enjoy, which mostly include writing.
See you all Monday!