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 86: Taking Care of Teach

"Shame."

With that last word, Teach attacked as well, snatching up the abandoned knife on the ground and charging towards Sabo and Thatch. The chef didn't have his weapons on him, but Sabo had his pipe which he was quick to grab off his back, blocking Teachs attack.

It was a flurry of attacks after that, Thatch trying to stay out of the way seeing as he didn't have weapons while Ace, Sabo, and Marco each fought against Teach. They dodged, they threw fire, they used pipes, knives, and talons, but even though Teach was outnumbered, he still managed to put up a good fight against the three.

"Give up Teach, you're only delaying the inevitable," Marco said, breathing heavily after having been knocked back a few feet while blocking another one of Teachs attacks. He was slightly amazed at Teachs strength, but then he remembered that the man had spent years pretending to be apart of their family, so why would he have shown them their true strength?

"What you call delaying, I call strategizing." Teach said with a grin. Marco and Ace were both on the other end of the kitchen, both having been knocked back by Teach, and Sabo was near the doorway, sweating and in a bit of pain from a punch that Teach had managed to land on his chest. Thatch, however, was opposite Sabo, Teach in between them, so when the bearded man turned his attention to the man, no one was close enough to stop him.

Thatch did his best to dodge the attack, cursing himself again for leaving his weapons in his room, but there was a sharp pain in his side where Teach successfully plunged the knife. As quick as the knife had entered, it was gone when Sabo reached them and kicked Teach away. The fact that Teach held onto the knife meant the weapon was no longer plugging the wound, and blood gushed out fast over Thatch's hands as he attempted covering the wound, but with no luck.

"Thatch!" Ace and Marco shouted as they ran over. Ace helped Thatch sit on the floor and dropped to his side while Marco stood, checking the chef over quickly.

"Ace, grab some towels and put pressure on that, yoi!" Marco ordered, and as much as he wanted to help the chef more, the sound of Sabo being knocked into a table broke him from those thoughts.

"Right! Sabo, toss me those towels!" Ace called to his brother who had landed right near some of the hand towels that were scattered around the room. The blonde blinked, the wind knocked out of him after that last hit, but he nodded, grabbing the cloth and tossing it towards him right as a flash of blue flew by him and into Teach, knocking the man backward much in the same way Sabo had been flung.

"Alright, here we go." Ace muttered to himself as he bundled the cloth up and pushed down on Thatch's wound, eliciting a hiss of pain that turned into a groan from the chef.

"Hang in there Thatch." Ace said a little louder for the chef to hear. Thatch, whose eyes had closed after the sharp pain of the pressure went away, looked to Ace, vision blurry.

"What d'you think I've been trying to do here?" Thatch asked with a roll of his eyes, the pain overwhelming his thoughts, making it hard to think clearly. He felt a bit woozy and hoped that there wasn't as much blood on the ground as he thought there was.

"Looks to me like you're trying to get yourself killed," Ace responded, lips twitching upwards in a smile as he attempted to keep Thatch talking, tried to keep him awake.

The sounds of the fight didn't faze the two, because they knew it was still going on, it was just a matter of who got hurt next, Teach or them.

"I think you need t' get your eyes checked. 'M obviously doin' jus' fine." Thatch said, words slurring a bit, head laying against the floor as he stared at the ceiling.

"My visions perfect thank you, better than your old man's vision, that's for sure." Ace said, making Thatch laugh, though even that was cut short as another wave of pain followed.

"Sorry." Ace said with a wince, realizing that maybe he shouldn't have made a joke that would cause Thatch even more pain.

"Oi, oi, don't go thinkin' I can't handle a little bit of pain!" Thatch said, his expression telling Ace he was offended, but his tone light and joking.

Another crash behind them clued them into the, still, ongoing fight.

"If this is a little, then what's a lot?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow, eyes looking down at his hands which were soaked with blood, the once white towel stained a dark red.

"Oh, y'know, gettin' burned alive maybe? Or maybe gettin' stabbed in the back? Cause, that's like, metaphorical, and physical pain, you know?" Thatch asked, eyebrows furrowed as he spoke, breathing coming out in pants and his eyelids drooping more and more as he spoke. Ace frowned as he saw the subtle changes in the chef, saw his friend slowly grow more and more lethargic, which was not a good sign.

"Oi, Thatch, don't fall asleep, you hear?" Ace asked, trying to keep his tone calm and even, but it came out slightly frantic.

"Whad'ya talkin' 'bout? 'M jus'... closin' 'm for a second." Thatch said with a frown, closing his eyes again, his breathing too light for Aces liking. It had been about five minutes since Thatch had been stabbed, and he was really hoping that the fight would be over soon so they could get the man some help.

Of course, that's when Thatch passed out, much paler then he had been when he had first been stabbed.

"Thatch? Oi, Thatch! Wake up! I told you not to go to sleep!" Ace said, a hint of anger in his tone even though he knew it was irrational to be angry with the bleeding man, knew that it wasn't really Thatch's fault for passing out. The amount of blood on the floor, on his hands, on the towel, was a lot more then he would have liked, and he knew enough to know Thatch needed help soon.

Which is exactly what they got.

The door opened, and suddenly the Commanders were rushing in, one after another, and at the end of them was Whiskey and two other nurses, Mary and Margarite.

The fight after that wasn't even much of a fight, to be honest. With all the commanders and Sabo against Teach, it was over within seconds, though not before Teach was able to knick a few with the wild swinging of his knife, determined to not go down without doing as much damage as possible.

While that was happening Whiskey came over and relieved Ace of his task of putting pressure on Thatch's wound, and the second his hands were off the towel, the nurses were checking Thatch's wound, checking his blood pressure, his heart rate, everything. A gurney had been brought with them, and they were quick to place the chef on it with Aces help before they were off, heading to the infirmary as quick as possible without harming Thatch further.

Everything almost went by in a blur for Ace after that, watching as Jozu put shackles on Teach and made him stand, marching him out of the kitchen and to the brig. Sabo walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, speaking to him, but he didn't hear a word of it.

Another nurse came in and said something, and then he was being guided to the infirmary by Sabo who he noticed had quite a few cuts and some bruises that were quickly forming.

When they were out on the deck there were quite a few crew members out and about. Even though it was still the middle of the night, the commotion had woken them and they'd been quick to see what was happening. Amongst them was Luffy, and when Sabo and Ace emerged from the galley, he rushed forward, tears in his eyes as he did.

"Ace! Sabo! I was so scared, cause I could feel the feelings, and I knew someone was hurt so I went and got Izo, and then I got Whiskey, and they told me it'd be alright, but I knew Teach was really strong cause you were fighting for a long time, and I think I ripped Marcos pillow- sorry Marco- but I couldn't help it, and I-"

"Luffy, yoi, it's fine, you can calm down. Everything's taken care of, we just need to go see the nurses. You know how Whiskey is about her check-ups." Marco said soothingly, smiling to the youngest as he walked over and stood beside Ace and Sabo.

"Really? You're not hurt too too bad, right?" Luffy asked. He could still feel Thatch was in pain and that was making it harder to discern how much pain his brothers were in.

"I'm a phoenix, remember? I don't hurt much at all, yoi." Marco assured, ruffling Luffy's hair.

"But what about Thatch? I can feel he's in pain still, even though Whiskey and Margarite took him." Luffy said softly.

"Like Marco said Lu, we'll all be alright. The nurses are good at what they do, remember?" Sabo asked with a smile, both trying to reassure Luffy as well as reassure himself.

"Mm..." Luffy hummed, still a little unsure.

"Come on Luffy, why don't you come with us. So you can see that we're really alright." Ace asked, wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulders and guiding him to the infirmary.

"But the medicine rooms all smelly!" Luffy whined, nose already scrunching at just the memory of the burning smells in the room.

"Do you wanna come or not?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow. Luffy was quiet a second before he pouted, walking alongside his brothers towards the infirmary.

"Thought so." Ace said a bit smugly as they walked along, a small smile on his face at the ease of their conversation. Even though Thatch was injured, even though Teach had just betrayed them, even though they were more than a little banged up, this normal conversation, the jokes that they shared amongst themselves, made everything feel like it was going to be alright.

That didn't mean they weren't worried though. There was plenty to be worried about after all, from wondering if Thatch would survive and be ok, to wondering what was going to happen with Teach now, to the devil fruit that still put Luffy off. There was a mile-long list of things they could overthink, but as they walked to the infirmary, they all didn't think about any of it. Instead they continued to joke, continued to laugh, and even though Luffy could feel everyone's underlying worry, he ignored it as well in favor of the better feelings.

Their check-in with the nurses was relatively quick. They bandaged the bleeding cuts on Sabo, checked Ace over to make sure he didn't have any internal damage from being thrown into one too many tables and looked over Marco to make sure his devil fruit had healed everything necessary. They were cleared within minutes, and after, they left, heading to Whitebeards room where the Captain still remained.

Even though there had been a commotion thanks to Teach, the nurses had kept Whitebeard confined to his room, knowing that all the Commanders would be able to handle Teach. This walk was a little more somber then their walk to the infirmary had been, because now they had to face what had happened, had to take the reality that Thatch was in the infirmary with a pretty nasty injury, and they had a traitor in their brig. No jokes were made now, no laughing was heard, and no one even spoke to each other the entire walk there.

Many of the commander's doors were still open seeing as they had been in a rush, so as they walked down the hall to the Captain's room, they could catch glimpses into everyone's rooms. Haruta's was quite a mess, clothes and papers strewn around the place. It was a harsh contrast to the room beside it, Izo's, which was pristine, not a speck out of place. Across from Izo's was Fossa's, the 15th Commanders room filled with more mechanical looking things, from oil to scrap metal.

It made the depressing walk a slight bit more entertaining to get a peek into the Commander's different lives, especially when Luffy's arm stretched into Rakuyo's room and grabbed a sock. The young teen promptly threw the sock into Vista's room, whistling as he did. Ace and Sabo couldn't help but snicker, and when Marco didn't say anything about it, Luffy laughed as well. The first commander merely shook his head and sighed.

"If those two cause any damages it's coming out of your allowance Luffy, yoi," Marco said sternly, but Luffy only laughed more in response.

Finally, they reached Whitebeards room, Marco knocking and entering without any hesitation, Whitebeard already expecting them to come.

"My sons." Whitebeard greeted, the two nurses at his bedside nodding to them as they left.

"Pops. We've captured Teach and are currently holding him in the brig." Marco said as they all walked in fully now.

"Injuries?" Whitebeard asked, already noticing the bandages on Sabo.

"Mostly minor. Thatch was stabbed though, yoi. The nurses are currently working on him." Marco said with a frown, though his voice didn't waver from its stoic, calm tone. Luffy could feel the man's contradicting feelings though, the anger towards Teach, the worry for Thatch, and the need to remain calm, all battling inside him.

"How did you know Teach was going to act?" Whitebeard asked, turning to look at the brothers now.

"We couldn't really fall asleep so when Teachs darkness got worse Luffy noticed right away. Sabo and I went to check on him since he was heading towards Thatch and we sent Luffy to get Marco just in case." Ace explained. Whitebeard sat back in his bed, taking in Aces words, eyes closed.

"We'll have a meeting in the morning to discuss everything properly. We can figure out what to do with Teach then as well. For now, have some guards set up to watch Teach and make sure he doesn't escape," Whitebeard said to Marco, the commander nodding.

"And you three go and try to get some rest." Whitebeard continued, turning to look at the brothers with his usual warm smile.

"Can we sleep here?" Luffy asked, voice small as he spoke. As much as he wanted to sleep, as much as they all wanted to sleep, they hadn't been able to before. Luffy especially couldn't, not when all the darkness was still onboard, but when he was near Whitebeard, it was bearable. It was easier near the Captain, the man's warmth combated the darkness enough that he could almost feel relaxed.

"Of course my son," Whitebeard said, shifting and making space for the brothers who eagerly climbed onto the giant bed. It took only a mere minute for the exhaustion to take over all of them, Luffy the first to fall asleep, followed quickly by Sabo and then finally Ace. Marco smiled along with Whitebeard, both remembering when the brothers had first arrived on the Moby and would have never allowed them to get this close.

Even after all of this, everything would be alright.

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

When morning came, all of the Commanders and Whitebeard headed straight to the conference room while Sabo and Luffy headed to the galley for breakfast. It was a little lonely at the table seeing as it would only be Sabo and Luffy, so the two sat with some others from the second division instead. It wasn't the first time that the commanders and Captain were all in a meeting during a meal, so they were used to finding somewhere else to sit. It helped that, during their year on the Moby, they'd made quite a few new friends, especially amongst the second division.

Of course, everyone wanted to know about what happened last night, and word got around that Teach had betrayed them, but the two brothers didn't say anything about it, changing the subject to something much more light-hearted.

Thankfully, no one pushed too hard on it after that, all of them understanding that Whitebeard would bring it up eventually and they would find out that way. The conversation moved on to when they thought they would reach the next island, to the chores that everyone had to do, and then to the weather, everyone wondering how long the nice weather would last.

Sabo used the noise in the galley to tune out the talking he could vaguely hear coming from the meeting that the commanders and Whitebeard were having, and Luffy used the warmth from Sabo and the happiness coming from a few people to battle the worry and concern radiating off of many of the pirates, especially those from Thatch's division. There was also the darkness coming from both the fruit and Teach, but there were so many other strong emotions around him that Luffy was able to fight away the dark feelings.

After breakfast finished, the commander's meeting was finally over and they were all heading back onto the deck again. This gained most everyone's attention, everyone wanting to know what the news was, and they got their answer when Whitebeard addressed them all, the commanders standing at his side as he did.

He recapped last night's events for everyone, telling them all about how they had been wary of Teach for a while now and how last night he had betrayed them. The crew knew about the brother's enhanced abilities, so it came to no surprise to them when Whitebeard mentioned Luffy felt the darkness in the man which is what set off last night's events. The verdict on what was to happen to Teach was still to be determined seeing as it was still in the air on whether Thatch would recover from his wound or not, but the nurses said that there was a good chance he would.

Teach was to be kept in the brig until Thatch was awake, or Kami forbid, dead, and when one of the two occurred, they would decide what was going to happen to the man.

When Whitebeard finished speaking everyone dispersed once more, the commanders and Whitebeard heading to the galley to eat, while the rest of the crew went about their original business, whether that be doing chores, switching out for watch, or relaxing.

Sabo and Luffy met up with Ace, the three of them heading to the galley with the rest of the commanders, and started talking to him about everything they'd talked about during breakfast.

It was almost like normal. Almost like Thatch wasn't fighting for his life in the infirmary. Almost like Teach wasn't only a couple dozen feet away from a fruit he, for whatever reason, was drawn to.

If they were able to forget about all of that, it was almost a normal day.

Teach has been captured, but Thatch has been injured as well. Writing this chapter was actually a little difficult for me because I had so many different ideas on what could end up happening, from Thatch getting hurt to not getting hurt at all, to Teach getting caught to Teach escaping. With future events in mind, I decided that this would be the best course of action to take and so, Thatch is hurt and Teach is captured.

Next chapter, which will be posted Friday as usual, will have Thatch's fate in it. Also, I don't think I mentioned it before, but I like the idea that all the nurses working for Whitebeard are all named after alcohol. Whiskey is obvious, but there's also Margarite named after Margarita and another named Shirley for Shirley Temple. It's just a small thing, but it amuses me.

Finally, I don't think I can ever thank you guys enough for 1,000 reviews, even if I said it 1,000 times. This double upload is just a little something to try and show you guys how much it means to me that you would take the time out of your days to right a review, good or bad, on this story. Thank you all!

I'll see you all on Friday with the next chapter!