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 94: The Mystery Ship
The next day the Moby was peacefully drifting through the open waters. They weren't quite sure where they were headed seeing as they're nearest protected territory was about a month away and they didn't think it would be a good idea to keep the children on board that long; not with the possibility of Marines finding out they'd taken down yet another facility and were harboring the children on their ship. Yonko or not, if the marines thought they could save face they would do their best to get these children away from them, even if that meant fighting them.
They could land on another island, one not under their protection, but there was no guarantee the civilians there would see these children and want to help them. The Marine propaganda over children with number tattoos on their wrist had reached the entire world by now- the hunt for them still going strong- and if the civilians found out they were harboring said children, they would most likely turn them in thinking they were dangerous.
The more Whitebeard thought on it, the more it seemed they were going to have to risk heading to their protected island. The people there would listen to him, understand that this crusade against innocent children was wrong and help them in any way they could. They may even help the children return to their homes, wherever that may be, but that would be asking too much. There were 20 children here, from all different parts of the world. Whiskey had asked them and answers varied between the blues and Paradise which was a long way from where they were in the New World.
He wanted to get the children back home, but there wasn't a feasible way to do it without risking the safety of everyone involved.
The children were doing well here on the Moby which was expected when they were under the care of their top-notch nurses. Whitebeard heard that Luffy had been quite a help in cheering the children up and making sure they got the necessary treatments. It made Whitebeard proud of his youngest son, to see him helping those in need without a second thought.
Luffy had told him many times that his dream was to be the Pirate King- it was a dream Whitebeard fully supported- and he knew one day, sooner then it seemed, his youngest would be leaving the ship. He'd only known Luffy and his brothers for a year, but he loved them just as much as he did any other child on his ship. He knew, once Luffy was released into this world, he was going to raise hell.
He laughed to himself as he took a swig from his mug- non-alcoholic per nurse's orders, but he wasn't going to let anyone know he spiked it- and hoped that Luffy caused all sorts of trouble for the damn Marines. They deserved it after everything Whitebeard had been learning about them.
He'd never been a supporter of the Marines- he was a pirate after all- but when there were pirates in this world that had better morals then the ones who called themselves the good guys, it made him question exactly what was going on in their heads. For them to be so quick to persecute children, innocent children who were victims of the marine's abuse of power, made him angrier then the time a rookie pirate had knocked their entire supply of alcohol overboard.
He took his alcohol seriously, as any pirate should.
Sighing, he wondered how he'd even gotten on this subject. Ah, yes, Luffy. He hoped Luffy threw those Marine's false sense of Justice right back in their faces.
"Pops, there's been a ship spotted!" Musings interrupted, Whitebeard looked to his son in curiosity.
"Have they been identified yet?" The Captain asked, taking another swig of his drink.
"No, Richard's been sent to get Ace. The ship itself isn't too big but they are headed right towards us." He said. Whitebeard nodded in understanding, glancing at the waters for any sign of this ship.
"Keep an eye on it. Tell everyone else to start preparing, but keep in mind that this could be nothing." He ordered, his son nodding and heading off to do as told. Whitebeard sat in silence, looking in his mug and realizing with dull amusement that it was nearly gone.
"And after I went through all the trouble of smuggling that alcohol into it." He muttered, right as a nurse walked over.
"What was that Oyaji?"
"Ah, nothing, just the musings of an old man."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"A ship? Ne, Ace, is it good or bad? Do we get to fight?" Luffy asked as he leaned over the railing where he and Ace had been told there was an incoming ship. Sabo was with Haruta, pouring over the files they'd gotten from the facility again, and Luffy and Ace had been practicing Luffy's ability to suppress others' emotions. Once they were told there was a ship Ace needed to identify though, the session had been put on hold.
"I'm not sure, its got unmarked sails and it doesn't look big enough to put up much of a fight against us. Curiel could probably take them all on single-handedly." Ace said as he examined the ship. Instead of pouting like Ace expected him to, Luffy looked over the railing in awe.
"A mystery ship!" He whispered, eyes wide at the prospect. Ace rolled his eyes at this bumping Luffy lightly.
"I don't think so Luffy. Its probably just a merchant or something, but I don't know why they would be heading our way." Ace said, confused as to why this small, unmarked ship was heading towards them. Was it just a coincidence that this unknown ship was appearing right after they'd rescued children from another facility? Hopefully, because if this happened to be doctors or marines, Ace couldn't promise to hold back all of his anger.
"I'll tell Pops." The man who'd told them about the ship said, already heading off to the Captain and leaving Ace and Luffy at the railing.
"Should I get Sabo? Maybe he wants to be here when the mystery ship gets here." Luffy suggested, knowing his brother could be as curious as him about certain things. Mystery ships were definitely one of them.
"Sure. Oi, Sabo, get your head out of those damn files and come out on the deck, Luffy's claiming mystery ship but I'm thinking it's a merchant. Come place your bets before it gets here." Ace said aloud, knowing his brother would hear. Luffy pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I was gonna get him!" He whined, confusing Ace.
"What's the difference if I did it or you did it?" He asked, wondering what had Luffy so bummed about not being able to call Sabo over.
"You didn't make it sound cool! What if Sabo wants to keep reading or whatever because you made it sound boring?" He asked, making Ace glare at him in annoyance.
"You little twerp." He said, flicking Luffy on the forehead with a hint of haki to ensure his rubber abilities didn't cancel out the pain.
"Ow! Meanie!" Luffy said, sticking his tongue out at his brother, to which Ace returned it.
"Seriously? I can't even leave you two alone for a few seconds, let alone a few hours." Sabo said as he joined them.
"He started it." Luffy accused, almost habitually.
"No way, you definitely did!" Ace said, offended at the accusation. Sabo shook his head before hitting them both on the head. With haki.
Stupid devil fruit users.
"You're both idiots. Better?" Sabo asked.
"No one mentioned idiots." Ace said through gritted teeth as he rubbed his head and glared at Sabo, all while Luffy whined, calling them both mean.
"Oh, is that so? Huh, I guess I must have misheard." Sabo said with an innocent face as he looked off in another direction.
"Liar," Luffy whined, rubbing his head. Sabo smiled, dropping the act.
"In any case, where's this mystery merchant boat, hm?" He asked, stepping closer to the railing and looking out at the water.
"Over there. It's got unmarked sails and it's relatively small. Either an enormously stupid group of rookies or bounty hunters or just a randomly passing merchant ship. That doesn't explain why they're heading our way though." Ace said, looking carefully at the ship again for any way to identify it.
"Maybe they need supplies and are hoping we'd help? Strange that they'd willingly approach a Yonko's ship though." Sabo said with a thoughtful look. The ship was still just out of his vision, only those with spy glasses or enhanced vision could see it at the moment.
Whatever was the purpose of the ship, all anyone could do was wait until it got close enough to communicate with. A lot of people were on the deck, all of them wondering just who this mystery ship belonged to and what they wanted with them. There were many possibilities, they were pirates after all, but no one could figure out what was up with the unmarked ship.
Finally, it was close enough, and a call from the small ship made everyone curious.
"Permission to board?" It was a man's voice, gruff in its tone, but there wasn't any threat to the tone, just a mere asking. Everyone turned to Whitebeard wondering what his answer would be.
"Permission granted." He allowed, just as curious as his sons to figure out who this ship belonged to and what they wanted. Many had their weapons prepared, expecting things to go south and wanting to be prepared just in case.
Soon enough, there were two people climbing onto the Moby, a man and a woman. Anyone else who was on the boat remained there, and seeing there were only two people here, they became a little less guarded.
Looks could be deceiving though, so they would never completely lower their guard.
"Who are you, yoi?" Marco asked, stepping forward to meet them. One of them, the man, was a Fishman which was curious in of itself. The woman was a hundred percent human with bright orange hair and a smile on her face despite being on Whitebeards ship.
"My name is Hack. This here is my colleague Koala. We're here on behalf of the Revolutionary Army." The Fishman, Hack said. This surprised them all, wondering what exactly the Revolutionary Army wanted with them.
"Rebotionary Army? What's that?" Luffy asked from where he stood with Ace and Sabo.
"It's Revolutionary Army, Luffy. You know, the one run by Dragon." Sabo said, as surprised as everyone else that they were here. Was it because of Luffy? Did Dragon want to take his son back after all this time? A peek at Ace told him his brother was probably having similar thoughts as he shifted closer to Luffy, fists clenched.
"Oh, you mean my dad!" Luffy said with a smile, happy to make the connection. Sabo facepalmed, but really, he should have known Luffy would let that little tidbit slip.
"Yeah, Dragon, your dad... Wait!" Thatch said, everyone turning to Luffy, more surprised about this new detail than the fact that two members of the Revolutionary Army were on the ship.
"Good going Lu." Ace muttered with a sigh, shaking his head.
"Your dad is Dragon the Revolutionary?!" Namur asked, eyes wide at the idea.
"Yup. Wait, was I not supposed to say that? Oops." Luffy said, laughing at his mistake.
"Anyways, why are you two here? If it's to take Luffy back to his dad then you're out of luck." Ace said as he glared at the two, but was quick to note that they looked as surprised about Luffy's slip up than the rest of the crew.
"D-Dragon-San had a child?" Koala stuttered out, looking at Luffy carefully.
"I didn't even know he knew-" Hack stopped talking mid-sentence, clearing his throat.
"No, uh, we're not here for Dragons... son. By the way, I believe that is information that should not leave this ship." He said, everyone agreeing with that sentiment. It would bring even more unwanted attention to Luffy then he already had.
"We're here about the children you recently rescued. We were sent to liberate the facility code 293, but it seems you all beat us to it." Hack explained, making all of them cautious once more.
"Since when does the Revolutionary Army liberate facilities?" Blamenco asked, many having the same thought. They'd never seen anything about facilities being taken down since the brothers all that time ago.
"Since last year, when those three were pegged as mentally unstable children and given bounties. I guess it makes sense now why Dragon-san suddenly had such an interest in it seeing as his son had been in a facility." Koala said, speaking the last part to herself.
"We've liberated a half a dozen facilities in the past year. They're hard to find and even harder to get any information on. They're spread out all over the world, and when you three got out and it was discovered amongst the Army as to what facilities were, it tied into our main goal." Hack explained.
"And what will you do with the children?" Whitebeard asked, having been listening silently where he sat.
"Bring them home. They've been hurt enough and I'm sure all they want is to be returned to their families." Koala said, and Luffy could feel that she was being genuine. Whitebeard and the Commanders looked to Luffy, wanting to know the verdict on whether she was lying or not, to which he nodded.
"She's telling the truth." Koala and Hack gave him curious looks when it seemed the Captain accepted Luffy's words as fact.
"Will the children be given the proper medical treatment they need?" Whitebeard asked.
"Of course. We brought doctors along with us for that very reason." Koala said.
"Facility doctors?" Ace asked suddenly, a dark look on his face as he examined the two revolutionaries.
"No, just normal doctors." Hack answered this time. Again, there was a small pause as Luffy determined whether they were lying or not.
"Truth." Luffy felt the confusion in the two, but they didn't say anything about it.
"I'm assuming you want any information we may have found as well." Whitebeard continued.
"That would be helpful, yes." Hack said. The Captain nodded, turning to Haruta.
"Could you go and gather the files you've found? I believe it would be best to give it to the Revolutionaries." He told him. Haruta nodded before heading off to gather the papers, a little bummed he hadn't been able to read over it all yet.
"Marco, could you tell the nurses to prepare to transfer the children?" Whitebeard then asked the first commander, who also nodded and headed off.
"It will take some time, so you are welcome to stay on the Moby so long as you do not cause any trouble," Whitebeard told the two Revolutionaries as everyone began dispersing, eyeing the two as they left.
"Thank you for your hospitality." Hack said as he and Koala bowed to the man. With the mystery solved, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy began chatting amongst themselves again, Luffy claiming he was right in his mystery ship assumption while Ace tried explaining that he didn't win anything because they hadn't bet anything.
"Sabo, tell him he owes me three meals! All meat!" Luffy demanded, pointing to Ace who looked aghast.
"What?! No way, not with your black hole! Besides, we never bet anything!" Ace reiterated.
"Hm, well, a deal's a deal Ace," Sabo said, hands raised as if he couldn't do anything about it. Ace gave Sabo an incredulous look while Luffy beamed.
"Hah! See, Sabo said so so now you have to!" Luffy told Ace victoriously.
"I hate you." Ace growled quietly to Sabo, making Luffy laugh.
"Uh, hey, sorry to interrupt." The three looked over at the newcomer's voice, noticing that both Koala and Hack stood there, observing them.
"What do you guys want?" Ace asked, arms crossed as he eyed the two suspiciously. He still didn't trust them, especially now that they knew who Luffy's dad was.
"We were just curious about something. Well, a few things actually." Koala said.
"You're Dragons son?" Hack questioned, raising an eyebrow skeptically. Luffy could feel that the man didn't believe him and pouted.
"What's it matter? So what if he is?" Ace asked in Luffy's defense, moving closer to the youngest again. Sabo was close to doing the same, still unsure how he felt about the two as well.
"It's just, Dragon-san is a bit... well it's hard to believe he'd have a child is all," Koala said, giving a nervous laugh.
"We don't exactly have to defend his previous statement. Whether its true or not has no importance to what's happening right now." Sabo said, trying to get everyone to stop talking about this certain subject. It would be just their luck that the wrong person overhears and Luffy's got another thing held over his head by the world government.
"But-"
"Koala, he's right. What Dragon does in his, uh, free time, is none of our business." Hack said, interrupting Koala who looked very much like she wanted to argue with Sabo. Luffy smiled to the Fishman, feeling the man's emotions change from disbelieving and skepticism into calm and knowing.
"Fine. Anyway, how did you know I wasn't lying? Earlier, I mean. And everyone just went along with it." Both Koala and Hack were curious about that, especially because it seemed to be second nature to the crew to look to the boy for confirmation.
"I felt it," Luffy said simply as if that was common knowledge.
"Felt it? Do you have a devil fruit?" Koala asked, even more confused now than before. Ace and Sabo shifted uncomfortably, wondering why Luffy was telling her about his abilities.
'What are you doing Lu?' Ace asked him through their silent language. Luffy glanced at his brother's moving fingers which caught Koala and Hacks attention. Both of them had noticed but ignored the tapping, thinking it was just the man fidgeting, but Luffy's attention to it made them think otherwise.
'Good people. Good colors.' Luffy replied, the two watching Luffy tapping now and Aces skeptical look.
'Doesn't mean you should tell them all of this.' Ace tapped back. Luffy seemed oddly confident in telling the two despite the fact that they knew nothing about them.
"Yup, the Gum Gum fruit. I'm a rubber man. That's not how I knew though." Luffy said, ignoring Aces tapping.
"Well then, how?" Hack asked. Luffy frowned.
"I just told you." He said in almost a whine, annoyed that they weren't listening. Despite his worry over the situation, Sabo laughed.
"What my little brother means to say is that, well, he has the ability to feel people's emotions, which in turn allow him to feel when someone is lying or not," Sabo said, earning a glare and a noise of disbelief from Ace.
"What? He was already trying to tell them." Sabo said with a shrug to the eldest.
"Woah woah woah, hold on there, little brother?! And what do you mean, 'has the ability to feel people's emotions'?!" Koala asked in surprise while Hack watched with a mild look of curiosity.
"Calm down, Dragons not my father, and neither is he Aces before you start yelling again. We're not blood-related, but we are brothers. And it's as I said before, he can feel your emotions. He can feel everyone's emotions, even mine." Sabo told them.
"How?" Hack asked, oddly calm about it, just curious.
"Facility." It was all Ace had to say on the subject, because why not. Luffy and Sabo had already let the cat out of the bag and it was no question to these two what the facility was and what they did.
At least, he hoped.
As much as Luffy wanted to keep talking to the two- they were interesting and the girl made funny faces- a sudden wave of fear from the infirmary made him turn, frowning. Without a word he began walking off, leaving Koala sputtering and Hack more confused than before.
"Luffy?" Ace asked with a hint of worry, having seen the look on his brother's face.
"The kids are scared," Sabo said in answer to Ace's unspoken question, also turning to follow Luffy.
"And how do you know that?!" Koala asked, getting frustrated at everything she didn't know about these three. The Revolutionary Army prided themselves on their extensive knowledge, so the fact that they knew next to nothing about these three so-called brothers made her more annoyed then she liked to admit. She was ignored though as the three brothers walked off, leaving the two Revolutionaries to follow after them.
They all walked into the infirmary together, Luffy taking the lead, and when they did they saw that many of the children looked scared; Marco and the nurses trying to calm them down.
"Rex! They said we're gonna go away! I don't want to, I wanna stay here with you guys!" Kara cried, tears in her eyes at the thought that, just after being saved, they were being taken away somewhere else again. Koala and Hack shared a confused look, Koala mouthing the name Rex to him and wondering who the child was talking to.
"They're good people Lion. They're gonna help you and take you home, back to your families." Luffy explained to her, smiling now despite the frown he'd worn only moments ago.
"B-but... what if they have bad doctors? And you and Sabo and Ace aren't there to help us?" She asked him quietly, obviously that being her biggest fear at the moment, most likely along with all the other children.
"Oi, Bear, do you have any bad doctors?" Luffy asked Koala, face serious as he looked at the Revolutionary who blinked in confusion.
"B-Bear?" Koala asked, almost speechless. She looked around, trying to figure out if Luffy was talking to her, and by Aces snickers and Sabo's exasperated sigh, he was.
"My name's Koala." She corrected, eyebrows furrowed. She couldn't figure out if she was mad he'd gotten it wrong or understanding because she hadn't really properly introduced herself to him. Actually, the only reason she knew his name was because the two others had said it.
"Bear, Koala, same thing. Do you have bad doctors? Facility doctors?" Luffy clarified, thinking better of his choice of words. Someone could easily say they didn't have bad doctors and mean it because they believed their doctors were good at what they did, whether those things were good or bad.
"No, of course not." She answered easily, trying not to fidget under Luffy's intense gaze. She remembered the earlier conversation, that Luffy could feel her emotions, feel her lies, and realized that must be what he was doing right now.
"She's not lying. They're going to help you and all the other kids." Luffy assured Kara, the girl sniffling as she looked over to Koala. Taking this as a time to introduce themselves, the two Revolutionaries stepped forward.
"Hi there. Lion-chan was it?" Hack asked, having heard Luffy call the girl that, but he'd also called Koala Bear, so there was a possibility that wasn't her real name. Regardless, the girl nodded, eyeing them cautiously.
"I'm Hack, and this is my friend Koala. We work for an organization that helps save kids like you." He explained, Luffy watching them as close as Kara was.
"We're going to get you all the help you need and make sure you all get home safely," Koala assured, smiling gently to the child. Luffy could feel Kara's fear start to fade away as she looked at Koala. Luffy smiled to her, ruffling her hair.
"Nothing to be scared about." He told her, noticing that a lot of kids were listening to them talk.
"You guys don't have to be scared. They're gonna take you home and get you guys help." Luffy told them, feeling their fear slowly dissipate like Kara's had.
"They seem to listen to him." Hack noticed, realizing that where the Whitebeards first commander and nurses were having difficulty convincing the children, Luffy had merely said a few words and calmed them all down.
"Luffy has a way with people. Besides, we know exactly what they're scared of." Sabo told him, smiling to his brother.
With the children calm and convinced, the nurses were able to prepare transferring the children. Most of them could walk as long as they had assistance, but there were a few who needed to be carried and even a couple that had to be transferred on gurneys.
Koala, Hack, Sabo, Ace, and Luffy all took it upon themselves to help, Koala helping two who needed assistance walk while the others gave piggyback rides to those who couldn't walk. It took a bit of time, but eventually all the children had been safely transferred and were resting in the revolutionaries infirmary.
"Thank you all for your help and cooperation." Hack said gratefully from where he and Koala stood on the Moby.
"As long as the children are alright, it was our pleasure," Whitebeard said with a smile. Luffy smiled as well, liking that these two seemed to genuinely want to help people.
"You two are good people. I like you." He said to them, many smiling at the words. Hack and Koala didn't understand the significance of the youngest's words, but everyone else did. Hack and Koala shared a look, having noticed that there seemed to be more meaning then it seemed behind the boy's words, and smiled back.
"We like you too Luffy. We'll tell Dragon-san you're doing alright." Koala said, remembering the fact that this was supposedly their leader's son. Maybe she should have been more respectful around him.
"Hold on, you guys have like, a super-secret base right? No one knows where it is?" Ace suddenly asked, as if he'd just had an idea. The two Revolutionaries gave him curious looks but nodded slowly.
"Yes, that happens to be the case." Hack said cautiously.
"And if you had something- say a devil fruit that needed to stay hidden and untouched- you could make that happen. Right?" Ace continued, many catching on to what he was asking.
"We could," Koala confirmed. They watched as Ace looked to Whitebeard, the man also seeming to be thinking hard about something. Luffy was frowning now, knowing what they were talking about as well and trying to ignore the dark fruit on their ship. He'd been doing relatively well in ignoring it as of late, but there was always that mass of darkness just trying to have a hold on him.
"Would you two mind if we asked a favor of you?" Whitebeard asked, piquing the two's interest.
"Depends on what the favor is," Hack said, still cautious.
"You see, we had an incident not too long ago now. As a result, we became in possession of what we have good reason to believe is a devil fruit that no one should eat." Whitebeard began explaining.
"It's bad," Luffy said, shivering minutely. Hack and Koala watched, curiosity rising as they listened. They'd only known Luffy for a short time, but they knew that due to the facility he had powers they had never worked with before, and everyone else seemed to take his powers seriously, so they probably should too. If he said it was bad, it probably was.
"You want us to keep it safe and uneaten." Hack guessed, Whitebeard nodding.
"Yes, if you can," Whitebeard said, everyone watching to see what the verdict would be. Koala and Hack shared another look before he sighed.
"We'll have to ask Dragon first." He said, to which Whitebeard nodded again.
"Of course. If you cannot do this we understand." He told them. Hack nodded, pulling out a den den and heading over to their own ship, leaving Koala alone with the Whitebeards.
"Do you know what kind of devil fruit it is?" She asked Luffy, Ace and Sabo, the closest ones to her.
"It's dark," Luffy muttered with a frown, looking over to the doors leading below deck. Koala followed his eyesight, deciding that was most likely where the fruit was being held.
"Dark? Like, its powers?" She questioned, not sure what Luffy meant.
"The fruit itself is dark is what he means. And no, before you ask, not it's color. As mentioned before, Luffy can feel people's emotions, as well as two other emotions we're not entirely sure of. Warmth and darkness. Bad people have the darkness, and this fruit, according to Luffy, has a lot of darkness." Sabo explained.
"But, wait, its a devil fruit. He can feel emotions from a devil fruit?" Koala asked. Sabo sighed, shrugging.
"We're not quite sure how it works either. We weren't exactly given a manual on our abilities." He said. Koala nodded in understanding before her eyes widened and she turned to face him.
"Wait, our abilities?! You two have them too?!" She asked incredulously, Sabo grinning slyly to her and Ace snickering.
"Yes, however, they're not the same as Luffy. We all have different abilities." Sabo told her.
"What are they? Is that how you knew the kids were scared in the infirmary?" She asked, but Sabo said nothing on that subject.
"Hack is returning." He said without turning, confusing Koala when she saw that the Fishman wasn't there.
"What do you-" Before she could finish her sentence, Hacks head popped over the railing as he climbed the rope ladder. She narrowed her eyes at the still grinning blonde, annoyed that he was purposely not telling her the information she wanted to know. Sure, it could be brushed off as knowing haki, but by the look on his face, Koala suspected it had to do with these, 'abilities' of his. Ace was still laughing, and Luffy had joined in now too, thoughts of the devil fruit gone.
"Dragon has said that he will ensure the fruit stays hidden and uneaten. He told me to tell you he is returning the favor." Hack said, not entirely sure what favor Whitebeard had done Dragon but having a few guesses as he looked over to Luffy.
"I understand. Kingdew, would you mind getting the devil fruit?" He asked, Kingdew leaving to do as told.
"What are your names, anyway? I know Luffy, but you two have yet to introduce yourselves." Koala said as they waited, talking to Ace and Sabo. The three of them were still grinning at her, but the mischief was gone from them.
"You haven't seen our wanted posters?" Ace asked in a tone of disbelief. Most everyone had and when they had the misfortune of stepping onto an unknown island they were always given looks of fear for being the 'monsters' that they were.
"I have, but when I saw them it was before they'd ever put your actual names on them. I've been a bit busy with liberating facilities to keep up with updated bounty posters." Koala admitted, knowing she should have kept up to date, regardless of her work. It was her job to have information on the world, and she was severely lacking.
She was still new to this though, even if it has been five years since she joined the Revolution.
"Well then, I'm Sabo, and these are my brothers Ace and Luffy. It's nice to officially meet you." Sabo said politely, taking off his hat and gesturing to his brothers as he introduced them. Ace gave a half-wave while Luffy beamed and waved enthusiastically to them.
"Likewise." Hack said with a nod of his head.
"Here you go." Kingdew suddenly said beside them, holding a small chest in his hands. Luffy's smile dropped as he eyed the box, stepping away from it and closer to Ace and Sabo instead.
"Thank you. We'll be sure it's hidden away." Hack assured again as he took the chest, he and Koala both noticing Luffy's reaction to it.
Finally, it was time for the Revolutionaries to leave. Devil fruit, children and information on the facility all retrieved, they readied their small ship to set sail and with a short farewell, they were gone. Luffy stayed at the railing for a while, feeling the darkness that had hovered like a cloud over the Moby slowly drift away.
Thatch was safe, they had rescued children from a facility, and the dark devil fruit was gone. Things were looking up despite the fact that with all those goods was the bad. Thatch was safe, but Teach had attacked, the facility was taken down, but that came with the knowledge that there were more facilities out there, and the devil fruit was gone, but now they had no way of keeping an eye on it.
With good comes bad, and vice versa. All Luffy could do was be grateful that everyone he loved was still safe.
More information is out! The Revolutionary Army is also working to take down facilities, and everyone knows Luffy's father is the leader himself; Dragon. This chapter, like the others in this arc so far, was a lot of fun to write.
Luffy's lie detecting ability was show cased in this chapter, and with it, the fact that the crew accepts it and even looks to him for confirmation on whether things are true or not. It's just another way of showing how accepted the brothers are on the Whitebeard's ship and how much everyone trusts them. After 90+ chapters, it's still so nice to see the brothers open up and accept others into their small family circle.
Not only that, but we've finally found a good place to keep the infamous fruit that nearly cost Thatch his life. I knew I didn't want to have it stay on the ship, and I knew I didn't want to have anyone on board eat it, so I was a little lost on what to do with it for a while. The stars aligned though, and when I planned up to Koala and Hack's visit, I had the epiphany of having them bring the fruit back to their base. After all, as Ace said, their base is super secret and if anyone could keep something hidden and safe, it would be the Revolutionaries.
Finally, Merry Christmas/ Happy Hanukkah/ Happy Kwanzaa/ Happy Holidays! I hope everyone makes some good memories to end 2019 and welcome in 2020. As always, the best gift I could ask for is you guys and your support.
I'll see you all on Friday with the next chapter!