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 87: The Trial

After two whole days of worrying for Thatch's safety, two days of having a devil fruit that practically bleeds darkness on board, and two days of having Teach locked up tight, Thatch finally woke up.

It happened right after lunch was over, Whiskey coming out and telling Whitebeard and the nearby commanders what had happened. Luffy could feel the relief coming from every one of them, which in turn relieved him, and Sabo could hear Thatch talking to a nurse in the infirmary, solidifying for him that the chef was truly ok.

Whitebeard and Marco were the only two allowed to see him right away, and seeing as the matter of Teach needed to be resolved, that was exactly what they talked to the chef about.

Thatch told them that he remembered having to set out some things for breakfast the following day, so he had been in the kitchen doing that when Teach had walked in. Apparently, Teach had been asking him what he was going to do with the devil fruit he'd found, and after Thatch told him he didn't think he wanted to eat it, that was when Ace and Sabo had entered, knocking Teach to the ground and starting the fight.

It only confirmed the Captain and first mates suspicions that Teach was after the fruit, but they still didn't know why. They didn't understand why the man had gone through all of the trouble of pretending to be apart of the Whitebeards just to get a single fruit and throw all those years of hard work away. Of course, there was the possibility that Teach only wanted the safety that came with being apart of the crew, as well as the ability to search larger areas if he really was solely going after this singular fruit.

Whitebeard informed Thatch that they had captured Teach and that he had been the only one badly injured, which relieved the chef. They also told him they had yet to determine what they should do with Teach seeing as Thatch had been asleep the entire time, and now that the chef was awake they would have to figure that out.

When they finished talking, Whiskey came over, telling them all that Thatch should stay in the infirmary for at least another week to let him heal and to make sure there weren't any complications with his wound, and after a bit of whining from the chef and some stern words from Whiskey, Thatch conceded to the restrictions, settling back into his bed and trying to get comfortable for the time he would be stuck there.

Whitebeard and Marco left after that, wishing Thatch well as they did.

"Go and get Teach. Warn Luffy first though, so he can prepare himself for the stronger emotions." Whitebeard told Marco, the man nodding and heading off at a faster pace than the Captain so he could do as told.

Whitebeard walked at a more leisurely pace, sighing once he was alone. He had known thanks to the brothers that Teach was going to betray them, but betrayal wasn't easy to deal with regardless of how much time in advance you knew about it. Betrayal was betrayal all the same. Thanks to Teach he had a son wounded in the infirmary, three more sons who were still healing from their traumatic experiences from the facility who now had to worry about Teach, and a whole crew full of sons who were all still in shock that they had been betrayed in the first place.

It was a lot to deal with, but Whitebeard had been dealt worse hands before. He knew they would pull through this. His family was strong, he believed in them, and once this was all over they would come out stronger than ever.

Walking out on deck, the atmosphere was light and happy as the news that Thatch was awake spread. Everyone had been worried for the commander naturally, they were family after all, so when one person heard he was alright, another heard almost immediately, the news spreading like a wildfire until everyone knew.

The captain chuckled to himself as he made his way to his chair, pride filling him at the vitality of his children.

When he made it to the chair and sat down, his youngest son, Luffy, came right over. Already knowing what the boy wanted, Whitebeard leaned down and opened his hand for the boy to climb on, moving him to his shoulder like he'd done before.

He knew it must be hard on the youngest to have to handle all of the feelings on board right now, and if being near him helped him handle it better, the Captain would do what he could. He didn't want Luffy to have to suffer unnecessarily if he could help it.

A slight tremor ran through Luffy's body, but before Whitebeard could look to see if he was alright, Marco reappeared on deck, the two who had been in charge of watching Teach behind him, along with the man himself. The traitor.

Luffy clung to Whitebeard's coat, and the Captain tried his best to send the boy some warmth. It was something the Captain had been trying to do for a while now, and with help from the three brothers, he was getting better at it. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't, but it seemed it worked this time because Luffy's grip relaxed a bit, the boy calming down ever so slightly.

All of the commanders besides Marco stood by Whitebeards chair, Ace included, while the rest of the crew watched from the deck rather than standing in the amphitheater-like zone where Teach was being led. Sabo also stood beside Whitebeard's chair, ready in case Luffy needed him.

It was silent as everyone watched the traitor be marched in front of Whitebeard. No one said a word, not even a whisper, all watching in anticipation.

Luffy could feel the waves of hatred, anger, distrust, flowing off of his surrounding ship brothers. He could feel the darkness, the frustration, the anger, the hint of fear coming from Teach. He could feel the warmth, the pride, the anger coming from Whitebeard. Lastly, he could feel the fruit, which was still locked away, radiating darkness.

It was so many different, yet similar emotions all trying to make their way into him, but he tried to keep them out. Tried focusing on anything but the overwhelming emotions.

Finally, Teach was in front of Whitebeard, the two who had brought him out forcing him to kneel on the ground and remaining close by him. Marco stayed near Teach as well, remaining there with the other two in case Teach tried to do anything.

"Marshall D. Teach." Whitebeards voice boomed loudly, the only noise on the silent deck.

"You have betrayed one of your own. Do you have a reason for doing so?" Whitebeard asked, frown on his face now as he spoke. Teach sneered at the giant, but answered regardless.

"Commander Thatch had something I wanted. No hard feelings really." Teach replied, smirking to the Captain now. Many frowned at his answer, and a few nearly started throwing insults at the man, but Whitebeard stopped them when he raised his hand, signaling them not to speak. He knew his children weren't happy with Teach, no one was, but he wanted to keep some semblance of order. If one person started yelling at Teach, then everyone else would follow, and that would do nothing but cause a riot.

"I think Thatch begs to differ," Whitebeard responded evenly, despite the anger he could feel rising.

"You know, I've got a question," Teach said before Whitebeard could say anything more. Before anyone could tell Teach he didn't have a right to ask questions, he continued, eyes narrowing in on Sabo and then Ace.

"How is it you two knew to come to the kitchen, hm? Midnight snack?" Teach asked with another grin. Ace felt a familiar fury start to take hold as he locked eyes with the bearded traitor, and Sabo felt similar feelings, but neither answered, no matter how much they wanted to.

"Zehahaha, I knew you two were something special. Truly a shame your talents were wasted here. Especially that little one. I bet you were behind all of it, weren't you Luffy?" Teach asked, attention turning to the youngest who sat on Whitebeard's shoulder. The boy had been sitting silently so far, calm, but now that Teachs attention was on him he started shifting, trembling ever so slightly once more as he felt the darkness in Teach rise.

"Enough. Teach, you attacked your crew mates for no reason other than your own personal gain. So far you've said nothing in your own defense, given no explanation as to why besides greed." Whitebeard said, voice once again booming loudly over the otherwise silent deck. Teach frowned now, looking at Whitebeard with a glare, and Luffy could feel Teachs anger rise, but also the fear the man had.

"I don't need to explain myself to a dying old man like you. As I said before, Thatch had something I wanted, what other reason do you want besides that? This was all just a means to an end. Did you think I actually liked being here? Being apart of your pretend family? I don't particularly enjoy playing house, and when I finally saw my opportunity to leave, I took it." Teach declared, making everyone watching glare at the man.

"Whatever the case is, betrayal will never be tolerated," Whitebeard responded, still looking deceptively calm, even with the slight frown he wore. Luffy felt the giant shift and took it as his cue to get off the man's shoulder, jumping off and landing beside Sabo.

"Marshall D. Teach, for your act of betrayal you must accept the consequences," Whitebeard said as he stood up out of his chair, bisento in hand. Luffy could feel the fear spike in Teach and shifted closer to Sabo, though didn't take his eyes off the man.

It happened quick, Whitebeard raising his weapon, before swinging it down and slicing Teachs head clean off. Silence reigned on the ship for a moment longer, some still glaring at the decapitated body of Teach in disdain.

Luffy watched as Teachs body fell to the ground with almost a mesmerizing look. He had been around death before, back in the facility, but whenever one of the other children died, their emotions would slowly fade away, like when someone fell asleep. Teach's, however, were cut off so abruptly it was almost disorienting for Luffy. The darkness Teach had been emitting was there one second, and then gone the next, leaving only the darkness from the devil fruit still on board.

"You ok Luffy?" Sabo asked from beside him, dragging Luffy's attention away from the body. The youngest blinked, ridding himself of his musings, and nodded.

"Mm. Teach's darkness is gone." He said with a relieved breath, Sabo giving him a gentle smile.

"That's good. Is the devil fruit still giving off darkness?" The blonde asked. Luffy nodded again.

"It's not too bad now that there isn't any darkness coming from Teach," Luffy answered honestly. Now that Teachs darkness was gone, the darkness from the devil fruit was much more manageable.

"Well that's good too, we wouldn't want it to be difficult for you until we can find out what to do with the fruit." Rakuyos voice drew both the brothers' attention over to the commander heading their way. Ace and Haruta were making their way over as well, and a splash in the ocean beside them clued them in to the fact that the two who had escorted Teach out on deck had just dumped his body overboard.

"Thatch doesn't want it?" Sabo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nah, apparently he told Oyaji that he even told Teach he wasn't planning on eating it and the bastard was still going to attack him." Ace responded now, having heard from Marco earlier.

"Bastard. Good riddance." Haruta mumbled arms crossed over his chest as he said this, a scowl on his face. They all nodded their agreement to the words, remaining silent for a moment.

"Do we have any idea what we're doing with the fruit then?" Sabo asked. Luffy wanted to go do something else, bored from the conversation, but he was curious about what was going to happen with the dark fruit, so he remained at Sabo's side, listening closely to everyone's words as they spoke.

"No, we don't like the possibility of one of our enemies getting the fruit, and if its radiating darkness like Luffy says it is we also don't want a random civilian getting it either, so we cant sell it or give it away. We could possibly give it to one of our allies, but even that isn't such a good idea in case this fruit really is bad news. Our next option is to sink it in the sea, but who knows how long it'll take until someone manages to stumble upon it." Rakuyo said, ending his words with a shrug.

"So basically we're keeping it until further notice." Ace said, summing it all up, Haruta and Rakuyo nodding. Now that Luffy knew the plan, he let his attention drift away. Sabo continued talking to the three, but Luffy didn't want to stay anymore, so he looked for something to do.

The other commanders were all gone by now, Luffy wondering if they had work to do. Whitebeard was gone too, but when he felt for the warmth Luffy could tell it was coming from the infirmary, so the Captain was probably visiting Thatch.

That was an idea.

The nurses hadn't wanted to let anyone but Whitebeard and Marco into the infirmary to visit Thatch earlier, but what about now?

Luffy looked back over to Ace and Sabo and took note of the fact that they were both still talking with Rakuyo and Haruta, so he walked away, off towards the infirmary. Over the year they were with the Whitebeards the brothers had branched out more, and no longer was it a strange sight to see one of them walking without the other two around.

When Luffy reached the infirmary, he poked his head in hesitantly. Even though he and his brothers had gotten used to the nurses on board the Moby, it didn't mean they wanted to intentionally anger them. Besides, the infirmary still burned his nose, and if it weren't for the fact that Luffy was still worried about Thatch, he would have avoided this place like he always does.

That wasn't the case though, and Thatch was hurt, so he wanted to see if he was getting better. If that meant he had to deal with the burning smells of alcohol and disinfectant, he would.

He spotted Whitebeard easily, the giant sitting beside a bed that was undoubtedly Thatch's. He also spotted Whiskey at the bed as well, and all the other nurses inside were milling around as usual, though none of them had taken notice of Luffy yet.

Pushing open the door more, Luffy slipped inside fully now before he softly made his way over to the same bed Whiskey and Whitebeard were at. He couldn't see Thatch yet, Whiskey was blocking him, so Luffy didn't know what to expect when he did see him. When he had waited outside the galley with the rest of the crew the night Teach attacked, Luffy had caught a glimpse of Thatch when the nurses carried him out, but it had been dark and Luffy had been distracted with the feelings of pain, darkness, and worry coming from everyone surrounding him.

When he got closer and finally saw the chef, he was already looking much better then Luffy remembered and expected. He looked a little too pale and maybe a little tired, but other than that, you wouldn't be able to tell that there was anything wrong with the chef.

Luffy smiled brightly, opening his mouth in preparation to yell out the man's name, but closed it last second. The nurses were always strict on how loud you could be when you were in the infirmary, they didn't want you disturbing patients trying to rest, and Luffy was already in danger of getting yelled at for entering without permission, so he decided not to make it worse for himself and remained quiet as he continued walking over to Thatch.

Whitebeard was the first to notice him, and when he did he smiled gently to him, the warmth radiating like a heater and drawing Luffy in.

"Couldn't wait?" Whitebeard asked with a light chuckle that got Whiskey and Thatch's attention, the two turning to look at Luffy.

"Luffy! Buddy, how are you?" Thatch asked with a smile. Luffy felt the happiness coming from the chef and felt himself smile as he reached Thatch's bed, standing beside Whitebeard who lifted him onto his lap.

"I'm good. Are you alright Thatch? Cause I could feel all the emotions and stuff and they were really scary, and you were in a lot of pain." Luffy said, smile falling at the memory of all the pain he'd felt coming from the chef that night.

"Of course, I'm all good thanks to our wonderful nurses here on the Moby! A little poke like this won't take me down, and you know I can't lie to you." Thatch said to Luffy, winking at the end and making the youngest laugh quietly to himself. It was true though, Thatch's emotions were still light and happy, and even though there was a bit of pain and discomfort lingering, it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been before.

"That's all well and good, but what are you doing here Luffy? Only Pops and Marco are allowed for now, you know that." Whiskey said sternly, causing Luffy to pout and look away from the nurse.

"But it was boring out on deck! Ace and Sabo are just talking to Ruta and Rakuyo, and I wanted to make sure Thatch was ok." Luffy said with a slight whine to his voice as he did. Whiskey continued frowning at Luffy, but when Whitebeard laughed she turned her frown to him instead.

"Its alright Whiskey, Luffy was just worried. Besides, you were just about to allow more visitors, correct?" Whitebeard asked the nurse. Whiskey huffed, hugging her clipboard to her chest.

"That may be the case Pops, but Luffy didn't know that. If we just allow people to come in whenever even if we say not to then it'll get out of control. However, I'll let it slide just this once, and that's only because you were the one to find out Thatch was in trouble in the first place." Whiskey said, ending with another sigh. Luffy beamed to the nurse, nodding happily to her as he did.

"Well, as I was saying before, you're healing well, and now that your bandages have been changed you should be good to have visitors for a bit. I'll wait a few minutes before telling the others so you three can talk." Whiskey said, getting nods from Thatch and smiles from Whitebeard and Luffy.

"Thanks, Whiskey!" They all said in unison, though Thatch and Luffy spoke with much more enthusiasm then Whitebeard did.

"Oh, and Luffy, make sure you tell your brothers that your sessions been rescheduled to tomorrow seeing as we've all been too busy to have it earlier." Whiskey said before walking away.

"Shishishi, thanks Pops!" Luffy said, turning to look up at Whitebeard who laughed, ruffling Luffy's hair.

"It was no problem son, but next time, try to listen to Whiskey. We all know how she can get." The captain said, getting shudders from both Thatch and Luffy.

"Yeah, its best you don't anger her Lu." Thatch said from his bed. Luffy nodded in understanding, but his smile never left his face. Even though Whiskey could get a little scary when she was angry, it was never like the doctors at the facility, and just knowing that Whiskey could be a lot meaner made it easier to deal with the idea of her usual wrath.

"So Luffy, why don't you tell me about all the fun I undoubtedly missed, hm? Whenever I'm not around it seems you and your brothers always get into some crazy mess!" Thatch said with a grin, settling into the bed. Luffy laughed.

"But you were there this time Thatch!" Luffy said with a smile. Thatch blinked, slow realization appearing on his face before he smiled as well.

"Huh, I guess I finally got my wish then. I was finally caught up in the trio's crazy adventures!" Thatch said with a wide grin.

Whitebeard and Luffy laughed, but they were cut short when the infirmary door busted open, Commanders flooding in.

"Oi, Thatch, you finally awake?!"

"Ace, are you trying to have Whiskey kick us out already?!"

"You may as well save your breath Ruta, its useless when it comes to Ace."

"But Izo, I don't want to be punished because of his loud mouth!"

"Whose got a loud mouth?!"

Thatch sighed while Whitebeard and Luffy laughed quietly.

"So much for giving us time to talk peacefully."

Hello everyone and Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving for those of us who live in the US. For those of you who don't, happy Friday! I hope everyone had a good day yesterday, whether you celebrated Thanksgiving or not. I will admit, I partied a little too hard yesterday, so if you see more mistakes than usual, let's blame it on that.

So, Teach has been given due punishment for his crimes. The trial wasn't much of a trial honestly. It was more akin to an execution seeing as everyone knew Teach was guilty of betrayal. Either way, the results were the same and Teach has been taken care of permanently. I saw a review earlier about how Teach was very confident in himself even when he was outnumbered in the fight with Thatch- Thank you for the review Imperatia- and I wanted to address that here really quick.

Even though Teach was outnumbered, he was confident he could take them because, admittedly, he's rather smart and he isn't exactly a push over either. He was much stronger than they were expecting him to be which gave him a sort of 'Element of Surprise', and his plan was originally to hurt each of them enough that they couldn't stop him from escaping, starting with Thatch. What he wasn't counting on was Luffy getting the rest of the Commanders to come and apprehend him. Because of that, at the end of the fight I write that he was swinging his knife wildly in an attempt to hurt anyone he could. This is because he realized he was about to be captured and was becoming frantic. At the trial, Luffy could feel his fear, though small in the beginning, because Teach knew what was coming and couldn't get away from it. He tried to hide it by acting confident in himself, but it didn't matter in the end.

Now, Teach is gone and the Yami-Yami no mi is still on board the Moby, a fruit that exudes darkness.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I wish I could upload daily so you all could see what I have planned sooner, but that would take far too much of my time. Curse you adulthood for making me go to work!

Thank you all for the support on my story! I'll see you all Monday!