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 96: The Passing of Time
Staring up at the stars in the night sky, Sabo couldn't help but feel calm. Even with all of the thoughts running through his mind, all the worries and anxieties, the fear; even with all of that, he still had the stars to keep him calm, keep him grounded.
It was the middle of the night, and he knew he should be sleeping- he would regret this in the morning- but his mind was too busy to let him sleep. It frustrated him to the point that he had to go and sit on the Moby's deck for fear of waking Luffy up with his strong emotions, or even worse, causing the youngest to have a nightmare because he was unknowingly and subconsciously influenced by the blonde's fear and anxiety.
After everything with the second facility, the memories, the doctors, the sounds, and worst of all, finding out Haru was still around, Sabo couldn't stop the voice in the back of his head telling him that at any minute he would turn around and the horrible 'doctor' would be standing there, ready to take him to another one of his tests.
He took a deep breath and tried to push that image from his mind, refocusing back on the stars.
The Revolutionaries had come and taken both the children and the devil fruit that they'd all been worried about- which was a plus- but with them, they also took all of the information they had on the facility.
Well, almost all of it. Sabo wasn't going to let Haru's file go, not even if it meant angering the army Luffy's dad was in charge of. He had Marco keep the file in his room, worried that if he kept it in his own Ace or Luffy would find it. Of course, it was only a matter of time until they stumbled upon it, no matter how well he hid it, and then they would know Haru was back too. He knew that he should tell them about the doctor, tell them that he was back, but he couldn't bring himself to. It would cause them so much pain, so much unnecessary fear, that he wanted to avoid telling them at all costs.
If they found out about Haru from someone else and realize he hadn't told them, that would be just as bad though. What if they managed to find the file? Or Marco gives and tells them himself? Or, worse of all, they see Haru in person?
He took in another shaky breath, trying to ease the shaking in his hands by running his fingers through his hair. It didn't work.
Like he had been before, he would ignore it and hope he never had to worry about it. What were the chances that they ran into Haru? Marco was a good man, he wouldn't tell Luffy and Ace without at least consulting him first. And he could hide one measly file from his brothers, how hard could that be?
Sure, he'd agreed to tell his brothers eventually, but why couldn't eventually be decades from now? When none of this mattered anymore? Preferably when Haru was long dead.
One last sigh and Sabo decided that he should at least go and give sleeping another attempt. It hadn't come easy in the past few weeks, but maybe his luck would turn around.
Getting up, he waved goodnight to the passing patrol and headed back towards his shared room. He, not for the first time, envied Aces night vision as he hugged the wall in an attempt to not lose his way in the dark hall, but soon he was opening their door, knowing it was there's only from the sounds of his snoring brothers inside.
Well, brother was more like it.
"Where were you?" Ace asked, and Sabo could tell he'd probably only just woke up, his words all said with a slight slur and his voice groggy.
"Outside. I couldn't sleep." Sabo replied truthfully, stumbling to the bed without too much difficulty.
"Mm. Nightmares?" Ace asked, laying back down from the sounds of it. Sabo took his boots off before getting into the bed and laying down as well.
"No, thinking too much." He answered, staring blindly towards the ceiling.
"You're good at that." Ace said with a yawn, rolling over in the bed. The blanket was pulled a little as Ace tugged it, and Sabo tugged back, not willing to lose any more of the warm cover then he'd already had.
"I'm taking that as a compliment," Sabo grumbled as he rolled onto his side as well.
"You shouldn't."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Months went by and Sabo was able to mostly push Haru from his mind. On some days he was even lucky enough not to think about the man at all.
At the beginning of the year the crew had held a New Year party while Ace, Sabo, and Luffy, along with the Commanders celebrated Ace's birthday, and on Sabo's birthday, the 20th of March, there was another similar get together. Ace and Sabo didn't want big parties or a bunch of presents, heck, Ace didn't even want to celebrate at all, so just the small get together was more than enough for them.
When it came to May 5th, however, it became a bit... crazy.
Luffy, the youngest of all the crew members, had a birthday on May the 5th, Children's Day, and of course, Luffy was not opposed to parties one bit. Thatch took it upon himself to bake the celebratory cake, big enough that Luffy was able to have plenty and there would still be enough for the rest of the crew, and some of the crew members would get the teen some small gifts. Not everyone did, which was understandable because if every single person on the crew bought Luffy a present it would be overkill and there would be no more space for the brothers in their room, but there were still quite a few who did.
With as many crew members as there was on the Moby, it was inevitable that there would be overlapping birthdays, as well as birthdays nearly every week in the year, so it wasn't a surprise that there were two other crew mates with their birthdays on the same day. However, they weren't opposed to letting Luffy be the center of attention for the day. They got their own specialized cupcakes from Thatch like everyone always got on their birthdays, and they got congratulations as well as a few gifts from their closer friends and crew mates, but for the most part, the attention was on Luffy.
Of course, the youngest adored the attention. He loved being the center of everyone's affection, he loved food, and he loved the gifts everyone would give him.
He'd never really celebrated his birthday before. Back on his home island- before he met Ace and Sabo- he remembered the few birthdays he had in the village where Makino would bake him a cake and give him a present, usually new clothes or shoes, and that would be that. It was small, it was quiet, and honestly, a little lonely. As much as he loved Makino and appreciated those birthdays with her, he could remember being lonely over the fact that it was just the two of them. His Grandpa was rarely around, much less for his birthday, and none of the other village kids ever wanted to play with him, which meant he'd had no friends.
It was lonely, but he still loved the memory of Makino cheering him up.
After he'd met Ace and Sabo, they'd only had the chance to celebrate his and Sabo's birthday before they'd been taken, and they'd done it the same way they did every day; hunted, sparred, and stole money for their pirate fund. Once they'd been taken, they hadn't really been able to celebrate, and they hadn't even been able to keep track of days to figure out if it was even their birth month. They would still tell each other happy birthday when they felt enough time had passed for it to be that time again, but they couldn't know for sure whether they'd even done it in the right season.
Now, though? He had all these people surrounding him, he knew for sure it was his birthday, and he could actually enjoy the day for what it was. It was a fantastic feeling, and he enjoyed every second of it.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Nineteen. Ace and Sabo were both nineteen now. Luffy was already sixteen.
It was the day after Luffy's party, and Ace couldn't quite believe how much time had passed since they had gotten out of the facility.
Leaning against the arm of Whitebeards chair, he watched Luffy catapult himself, mop in hand, to the upper deck so he could swab it, Sabo running after him and yelling at him not to rocket himself when he's mopping the deck.
Ace couldn't help but smile as he watched them. Even though Sabo seemed angry, he was smiling soon enough, and Luffy had been laughing the entire time. It was a stark contrast to only a few years ago when they were dirty, cold, hungry, in pain, tired, scared-
Focusing on the clouds, Ace stopped that train of thought, knowing it would do him no good to think about those things right now. He and his brothers had done a pretty good job at managing their memories of the facility with Whiskey's help. It was easier to stop themselves from getting sucked into the memories; the emotions.
Watching a cloud slowly change its shape, Ace let his mind wander onto other things.
In just the short, yet long, amount of time they'd been with the Whitebeards, so much had happened. The brothers were getting help, Ace was a commander, and Luffy was only a year away from setting sail and pursuing his own dream of becoming the Pirate King. He had loudly exclaimed it during his party yesterday when someone asked what his dream was. Unlike when they were kids, Luffy hadn't shouted his dream to everyone he met, so many didn't even know about his goal to become the King, but after yesterday, they did. He'd gone around, all smiley, and announced to anyone who would listen that he was going to leave at seventeen and become the Pirate King. He'd even told Whitebeard that that meant he would come back and fight him, to which everyone, including Whitebeard, laughed.
Ace and Sabo had watched with nostalgic smiles, realizing for the first time that they'd sorely missed Luffy telling anyone and everyone his dreams, even if they did tell him how annoying it was.
Watching his youngest brother as he hit Sabo with his mop, soaking the blonde, another fond smile crossed Ace's face.
If anyone could become the Pirate King, he knew it would be his little brother.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Two whole years the brothers had been out of the facility, and in that time, Garp had yet to visit. It wasn't surprising, after all, he'd barely visited the brothers when they were on an island, and now that they were on a well-known pirate ship? It made it even more difficult for the man to visit, which the brothers had no qualms with.
Honestly, they'd forgotten the man had even promised he would visit, and that was their first mistake.
Their second was being out in the open when he did arrive.
"Where are my shitty grandsons?!" The three hadn't even had a chance to go and hide before their terrifying grandfather laid his eyes on them.
"There you three are! Do you see these bounties?! You three are notorious criminals!" The three were barely even listening, the blood pounding in their ears as they watched with wide eyes as Garp held up their posters and marched their way.
The spell was broken quickly though, and the first thing they did was run.
The crowd parted, not wanting to get mowed down, and they watched as Luffy's arms stretched and he climbed into the rigging, Ace, and Sabo yelling about how unfair it was until Garp grabbed a barrel and threw it at the Monkey, knocking his balance off and causing him to fall back to the deck where the chance commenced.
"And don't think I forgot about all the damage you caused to that port Ace! I got an earful for that one!"
"Good! Maybe if they nag you enough you'll finally drop dead you old geezer!"
"Is that any way to speak to your grandfather?!"
The crew could only watch or run as the four ran around the deck. Occasionally Garp would throw things to slow the brothers, but for the most part, it was running, shoving, and jumping.
It wasn't until Garp finally caught the three that things calmed down. After he'd punched all of them over the head and lectured them, they were able to have a quiet conversation amongst themselves that no one dared to interrupt. Even though the brothers looked hurt and sore, they still talked to their grandfather and told him about the different things they'd done, one of those things being rescuing another facility. Luffy could feel how proud the man was of them, and he didn't lecture them like he had whenever they told him about their other adventures. He'd merely laughed, said a quiet, 'Good.' and they'd moved on from the topic.
They didn't tell him anything about the Whitebeards, such as Teachs betrayal, or anything like that, because they knew their grandfather- like Luffy- would sometimes blurt things out without thinking, and that could cause them trouble. If it was important enough, like Ace and Luffy's parents, or the brothers' facility gained abilities, they could count on him to keep his mouth shut, but with pirate information? Better safe than sorry.
Garp only stayed until after lunch, and then he was off, telling them to stay out of trouble and to train harder. It wasn't as bittersweet a farewell as it had been when they'd first gotten out of the facility, it was more akin to the old days, where Garp would show up in the jungle for a bit and then leave without too many words.
Maybe they'd be better hidden next time he visited.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Ace was off on a mission, alone, and Luffy couldn't help but worry. He sat on the railing like he always did whenever Ace went on missions, and he watched his brothers wave closely. On either side of Aces wave was Sabo and Marcos, all three bright and opaque like Luffy hoped they'd always be.
He could feel amusement from those walking around the deck, many finding it funny how much Luffy worried at times like these. Luffy didn't mind, he knew it was a bit much, but he couldn't help it. Even though he knew Ace was strong, whenever the eldest went away he couldn't help but worry that his brother would get in trouble and he and Sabo wouldn't be there to help him. Whiskey told him it was because of how they'd grown up, how Ace, Sabo, and Luffy had never left each others sides, and if they had it was never for a good reason. In the facility, if a brother was alone in the testing room, that meant bad news, and Whiskey told him that was why he was worried over Ace now, because, even though they were out of the facility, Ace being gone was associated with the eldest getting hurt.
The two of them were still working on getting him over this, because not only was it unhealthy for Luffy to need someone to keep tabs on him lest he start skipping meals unknowingly, it was also necessary if he was going to leave the Whitebeards one day. If he wanted to become the Pirate King, he couldn't sit at the railing of his own ship for days on end and watch the three waves in front of him at all times.
He knew he had to stop this, but he couldn't help but do it every time.
"Come on Luffy, just for a half-hour, and then you can come back." Whiskey urged quietly beside him. He frowned, gripping the railing tightly in his fists.
"But what if he gets hurt?" Luffy asked, eyes not moving from the bright red wave.
"Ace is strong Luffy, and even if he does get hurt he has his fast healing remember? And if worst comes to worst, he knows that basic first aid that Whiskey taught us all." Sabo said from his other side. Whiskey had told him it would help if Luffy could at least keep one brother in view during the time he wasn't watching the wave, to make it a little easier on him, and Sabo wanted Luffy to get help so he agreed without hesitation.
"I can come right back? After a half-hour?" Luffy asked after a minute of silent thinking.
"Yes. We're going to go eat in the galley and talk to the others, and then when you're done, you can come right back here." Whiskey assured. It took another minute for Luffy to think it over before he was hesitantly getting off the railing, eyes darting to the red wave as he did. Even though he could see the wave no matter where he was, it was easier for him to concentrate on it when he had no distractions, like when he was just watching the ocean. Going in the galley, eating, talking, he wouldn't be able to pay much attention to the wave, and that was the goal of this whole exercise.
"Good job, Lu. Hey, I heard Thatch made lots of meat today, and some of those rolls that you like." Sabo said, nudging Luffy gently with his elbow, a small smile on his face.
"Mm." Luffy hummed noncommittally, letting the wave slowly fade away as he paid more attention to walking and talking to Whiskey and Sabo.
"And did you hear that he was even thinking about making dessert today?" Whiskey asked, smiling as well. Luffy looked at her, eyes widening.
"Really?!" He asked, suddenly invested in the conversation.
"Oh yeah, I heard he was going to be making some of that chocolate ice cream again," Sabo confirmed with a nod. Luffy had stars in his eyes as he left the twos side, running into the galley and straight to Thatch. Sabo and Whiskey smiled.
"Well, its a start. Every mealtime we should get him to go to the galley himself rather than bring him food to the railing. If he absolutely refuses, or Aces wave gets dimmer, we might have to make exceptions, but otherwise, we can't let him continue letting himself waste away over there." Whiskey said. Sabo nodded at her side, listening carefully so he could help in the future.
"We should try and get him to take baths too, but I'm not worried about that just yet. Maybe the next time Ace takes a mission. For now, meals are our goal." She finished.
"I think we can manage that." Sabo agreed.
Welcome back everyone! This chapter was a lot of little snippets of the brothers' lives on the Moby. The next few chapters will be like this as well so that I can show you all a lot of different things within one chapter. From action, to heavy thoughts, to funny moments, the scenes will vary but they will all have important meanings to them.
In this chapter for example, there was Sabo's worry over Haru -something that hasn't been mentioned in much detail-, Luffy's birthday, Garp, and Ace being gone on a mission and Luffy's reaction to it. That last one was the most important I think, because it shows that, despite how much the brothers have grown and moved passed their trauma, there are still some lingering fears and anxieties. They're working passed them though so that they can live as normal a life as possible.
In other news, 2019 is coming to an end this week. I hope everyone had a good year that will continue on into 2020. I wish you all a Happy New Year, and as always, I'll see you all on Friday in what will be the new year of 2020!