In this chapter, a lot happens. It's a VERY long one, too. Like, crazy long. The next chapter will be a flashback to the brothers' past and the birth of little Luffy. It's intense but not too graphic, really. I'm officially done with my Fall 2019 semester! One more class next semester and I'm graduated! Anyways, enjoy~
Ace and Luffy walked down the tall hallways and to the deck. They were going to go look at the stars from the crowsnest, which was much higher than their own. Sabo was returning the silverware to the kitchen before joining his brothers. The two passed a few vampires on their way, Luffy greeting them very friendly.
Everyone's eyes seemed to light up when they came across Luffy. Ace understood why, even if Luffy didn't give off some mystery feeling. He was adorable and had the brightest smile on his face, even if Ace could tell it was a bit dimmed after his bad dream and sad/confusing conversation with Ace.
"Hang on tight, okay?" Ace asked as he crouched for Luffy hold onto his neck and wrap his legs around Ace's middle before he began to climb up the rope to the crowsnest. Marco was out, sitting on the yardarm across from the mast that the brothers were climbing.
Once the two were up, Luffy waved to the pirate with a smile. Ace thought the knowing look on Marco was uncomfortable. Ace turned his back on Marco so he didn't see him and that look. The first mate soon flew off, making Ace sigh in relief. Marco made him uncomfortable. Maybe it was the constant bored look he wore. Like he felt nothing about his surroundings until he wanted to make an impression on someone, like smiling at Luffy.
Sabo climbed up not long after the oldest and youngest brothers were settled. Luffy was situated laying across Ace's stomach as they laid flat and looked at the stars. Ace noticed Sabo was carrying a thick book, and asked what it was. Luffy looked to the side to see what Ace had asked about.
"It's a book full of fairy tales," Sabo said with a smile. "Thatch gave it to me. Told me which stories were kid friendly. Do you want me to read some to you, Lu?" Luffy nodded his head with a smile. He could hear people below them and walking around the deck, but once Sabo started to read about princesses, magic, and adventures, he was able to tune out everything.
Luffy enjoyed the stories very much. They continued the story between his meals, which were beef stew and baked potatoes. It was Sunday, so Luffy got his cup of "juice". The pirates were amazed that the vampire boy could live off a cup of blood a week. Honestly, some of the vampires were jealous he could go so long without it. He slurped it down like it was water, nothing special. Like it wasn't overwhelmingly tasty like it was for regular vampires.
The only thing that was similar to normal vampires was that his red eyes grew brighter while he drank, but that was it. After his dinner, more stew he requested, he went to bed with Ace and Sabo. After a few hours of sleep, Sabo would wake and go talk to the pirates and ask when they thought the next island would be seen and what kind of island it was.
Then, Luffy dreamt, and the whole ship was thrown into chaos.
-x-
Marco was on watch, like he often was, and was patrolling the deck when he blinked, and the entire environment changed. The sea was no longer there, and instead of it reaching the horizon, reflecting the night sky, it was a grassy plane, with unicorns grazing on the grass.
The deck under him changed from wood into cobble stone. He looked around in confused panic, seeing the Moby Dick shift into a large castle. The crowsnest changes into a tower with a tall spire. The vampire was shocked, and wondered if he had passed out or was hallucinating. Instead of walking and risking falling into the water, if this was an illusion, he flew.
He flew towards the entrance of the castle, which had been the door into the ship. Even the inside of the ship was different. The walls and floor were stone, but luckily, no windows to burn the vampires inside. He heard screaming and shouting in panic and confusion around him.
"Everyone stay calm!" Marco shouted once he reached what had been the galley, that was now a large mess hall with old kitchen appliances. Thatch's food was no longer what he'd been cooking, but candy and sweets, and large chunks of freshly cooked meat that the cooks hadn't made.
"Marco, what the hell is going on?" Thatch asked in bewilderment. Everything felt so real, and he could touch the new food and candies. "Is this some sort of illusion? Cause I can touch everything!"
"I have no idea. I'm gonna go find pops. Try and calm everyone down," Marco instructed, as pirates were filing in, freaking out and utterly confused. Marco ran past them and down the halls, his haki thankfully still working so he could find his way to the captain's room. The interior felt bigger as it took him longer than usual to find the bedroom.
Whitebeard was just coming out of the room, looking at everything and touching the lamps on the sides of the walls that hadn't been there before, but were now the source of the light in the hall. "Pops! What the hell is this?" Marco asked, hoping Whitebeard could explain it.
Then, they heard a female voice, that sounded like Jojo, but higher pitched. "Help! Prince Luffy!" The sound echoed around the castle, like the voice was coming from everywhere.
"I'll save you!" the four year old's voice called, coming from what they assumed was outside. The captain and first mate looked horrified. Was Luffy outside? In the sun?! They both ran down the stone hallways, and made it outside. There was Luffy, wearing a cape, running around the deck, completely fine. Whitebeard was in the doorway, out of the direct sunlight. Marco was fine in the sun.
"Luffy! What are you doing out here?! It's not safe!" Marco called. But Luffy didn't seem to notice them at all before a unicorn appeared in front of him, and he jumped on top gracefully, and seemed to ignore all of the pirates who were still outside where the deck had been. "Luffy! Wait!" Marco shouted, but Luffy was off, and his steed was racing up stone steps that had suddenly appeared.
Whitebeard seemed to suddenly understand, and Marco asked what he thought this was. "I'm betting this is Luffy's dream. His brothers were reading him fairy tales, weren't they?" Whitebeard asked, an uncharacteristic amazed grin on his face.
"If that's true, then this should be over soon. Dreams only last from twenty to thirty minutes." Marco looked up to see dragons flying above the castle that had been a ship fifteen minutes ago. "This can't be a dream. It's too real," Marco muttered. The grassy plane still reached as far as they could see, with no water visible at all. Like the ocean didn't exist anymore.
Everyone heard the damsel in distress shout "thank you"s to Luffy, who had apparently saved her. The dream fizzled out a few moments later and everything returned to normal. The creatures roaming the sky and grass disappeared and the sea returned. There was no castle anymore, only the ship. The deck was back to being wood.
Pirates stopped freaking out, and were now just confused. It seemed none of them came to the realization that it had all been Luffy's dream. "That was incredible," Whitebeard said, though it had also been very dangerous. Someone could have attacked the ship while it was changed. They didn't know if anyone else besides them saw the dream, or how far it stretched.
Marco turned and walked back into the ship, heading for the room Ace, Sabo and Luffy were in. He quietly opened the door, to see all three still sleeping peacefully. They hadn't woken up from it, like many vampires had, who were confused in the hallway. Whitebeard didn't tell anyone else his conclusion. He didn't know how they would react.
"Calm down, sons. It has ended," the captain assured calmly. He didn't assure them that it wouldn't happen again, as Luffy would probably have more dreams. Hopefully they were short. When he reached the Spades' room, he found Marco staring inside in bewilderment, something he rarely conveyed.
When the captain looked into the open doorway, he saw that the bedroom was no longer how it used to look. Instead, food was piled in every corner, giant tubs of soup, huge chunks of meat and piles of blood candies. Luffy, who was sleeping on the bed with his brothers, was also in the corner with his brothers, chowing down on the food in front of them. None of the dream brothers noticed the two men in the doorway.
The scene lasted for maybe a minute before fading. The two waited for a little while, peeking through the crack in the doorway so light wouldn't get in and wake the brothers. Luffy had very random dreams, but none were as big as the long one that took over the entire ship. Luckily, all of the dreams were pleasant, multiple ones having to do with food.
After fifteen minutes of no more dreams, the pirates quietly closed the bedroom door. "If he could do that with a dream, unintentionally, how powerful do you think he could be if he mastered that power? It took over all of my senses. Could you see through it?" Marco asked as they walked down the halls and to the galley, where most of the pirates were, confused and sharing conspiracies.
"He would indeed be very powerful. It even fooled me. Though, my haki could tell me where everyone was," the captain replied. Marco agreed, as he could still use his haki as well. He felt bad for those who didn't have good observation haki. Did they think they were suddenly teleported to some imaginary world? Because Marco was pretty sure unicorns don't exist.
But, at least the boy seemed to enjoy his dream. Sure has a good and descriptive imagination, even changing the inside of Whitebeard's bedroom. It was incredible and shocking. Though, there was no one like Luffy in the world, so what could they expect to happen? They couldn't.
"Do you think Ace and Sabo know about it?"
"No, I don't. It hasn't happened yet and they've been here a couple of days. Maybe this has never happened before. They didn't even wake up from any of the noise. Luffy and the princess he saved in his dream's voice echoed everywhere. How could they not hear it?" Both vampires wanted to know more.
Though, if this now would happen regularly, what would they do? What if Luffy had a nightmare that affected the entire ship? When they entered the galley, everyone turned to the captain, hoping for some answers. The two leaders would only tell some of the commanders the news.
-x-
It was around lunch time when Sabo came out of the room, yawning widely. He was confused when many of the pirates he passed looked uneasy and confused. The hot topic apparently, that he could hear, was some devil fruit attacked the ship. At least, that's the most common one he heard.
None of the brother's heard it, so Sabo tracked down Aggie 68, who was in the infirmary. He seemed to be getting along very well with the nurses. He was surprised to find him with Deuce and Saber. They were all talking while Aggie cleaned the room. The nurses were watching with a pleased look. Really, all of the people on the Spade crew were neat freaks.
Well, besides Luffy, who throws his clothes around his room, with toys scattered all over the floor. But, that was expected from a four year old. "Hey guys, mind explaining what happened and everybody is talking about?"
Deuce looked uneasy with Sabo, before leading him to the far corner, far from the nurses. Sabo was concerned now. "The entire ship turned into a fairy tale castle. With unicorns and a princess. A princess Luffy was going to 'save'. Literally, the appearance of the ship changed, the ocean disappeared, and apparently it was all of Luffy's favorite foods that appeared in the kitchen.
"We think that Luffy was responsible for it," Deuce said quietly. Sabo looked absolutely bewildered. "Some of the pirates said they saw Luffy riding a unicorn with a cape on."
Sabo's jaw dropped. "Are people upset?" he asked in a hush. Deuce replied that they were more uneasy and confused than angry or upset. "I didn't wake up from that, and Luffy would have had to climb over us to go outside. And in the day light? Luffy would be in pain," Sabo said, thumb on his chin in thought.
"Do you think it was a projection of a dream?" Deuce and Saber both nodded. "How long did it last?"
"Maybe around twenty minutes. I think that Whitebeard and Marco figured it out. After the illusions faded, they went to our room. But, they didn't seem angry, and Whitebeard was even smiling. I don't think they'll hurt Lu for it," Deuce explained. Sabo was worried. What would happen if that happened again, but it was a nightmare? Was Luffy developing abnormal abilities for a vampire? Was it because of what he was?
But, wouldn't only being part vampire make him weaker than full vampires? Marco had a devil fruit, and Sabo or Ace hadn't heard of any of the other pirate vampires having some sort of ability.
"Wait, did they peek in our room?" Sabo asked with a frown. Yes, Ace and Sabo like watching Luffy and the other sleep, but they were family. It was weird if someone other than family watched.
"Probably. They followed a hunch, and most likely found proof," Saber added. He didn't like when Sabo was mad. When he was mad, he was worse than Ace on his cranky days.
Sabo pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "So, basically, you're telling me it's not a big deal?" Saber shrugged and said it depends on how long they watched, really. Sabo was still frowning when he left the room with Deuce and Saber.
The three were going to Luffy and Ace. Saber was going to stay in the room to supervise Luffy, while Ace would talk with Deuce and Sabo about fixing this. Sabo slowly opened the door that, thankfully, wasn't creaky. Not that Luffy was a light sleeper most days.
Sabo approached Ace and gently pat him. Ace swatted at Sabo's hand sleepily before Sabo harshly whispered his name. Ace woke up instantly after that, and saw Sabo gesture to come with him. It worried Ace. Usually, the other brother wouldn't bother him sleeping with Lu. Sleeping with Luffy seemed to keep him asleep longer than if they slept by themselves.
When Saber sat on the bed across from the one pushed together, Sabo left the room and gently closed the door behind him and Ace, while Deuce was waiting in the hall.
"What's wrong?" Ace asked in concern.
"Did you wake up at all before now?" When Ace shook his head, Sabo explained what had happened, with Deuce giving the details about the real-life-dream and the pirates' reactions. Ace was speechless. Luffy enveloped the entire ship into one of his dreams? And the dream matched the story Luffy had enjoyed the most that was read to him the night before.
The three were conversing in the hall quietly, probably looking extremely suspicious with how they kept checking each side of the hall. Izo came into view and walked to them quickly. Luckily, he didn't seem angry or hostile, though the three sailors automatically placed themselves right in front of the door holding the beloved Luffy. Was he in trouble for something he hadn't meant or known to do?
"Relax, boys," Izo said. Ace bristled at being called a "boy". He was a captain, damnit! "I'm just here to talk about what happened. You two were asleep, right? Thought so. Neither of you noticed the room around you warping into Luffy's dreams?" Ace and Sabo looked confused. "Clearly not."
"...Are people angry with Luffy?" Sabo asked darkly, for once seeming dangerous to the commander. Izo quickly told him that no one was mad, and only a handful of the commanders, those who were awake, knew. "How do you know they won't tell everyone else?" Sabo challenged.
Izo chuckled. "You won't find any rumors or private information being leaked by a commander, darling. We're leaders here, we can't be untrustworthy. I'm just curious, and like knowing things before everyone else," the man said honestly, with no shame and a mischievous smile. "So, has it ever happened before?"
Sabo shook his head and answered, "Not that we've ever seen. None of the crew has noticed anything like this happening either." Izo looked surprised. Was it strange to go from it never happening to fooling everyone's five sesnes on the ship into being in a fairy tale setting?
The commander looked at the closed door of the bedroom where Luffy was sleeping, and was asked, "Did anyone get hurt?" Thankfully, Izo said no one had gotten hurt, though it threw off most of the crew. No one knew what had happened and probably wouldn't find out for Luffy's sake. He didn't know what had happened, so the little vampire would be confused as to why everyone was staring at him or talking about something he didn't remember happening.
"Though everyone is curious about what happened, no one will be out for blood if they find out," Izo said, lowering his voice even more than he had been the whole conversation. Sabo and Ace felt relieved at this, and Deuce gave a small sigh, also relieved. "Don't worry about Luffy's safety, really. No one will do anything to hurt any of you. Besides, I'm sure most of us are enjoying being around a child, especially the vampires. It's been a long time since any of us came into contact with a child, let alone one as young as Luffy," Izo explained in a pleasant voice.
Ace frowned. "Don't Grand Line sailors usually look down on bringing children to this sea?" Why would they be happy about having a four year old on a dangerous pirate ship? Surely, some must see Lu as a burden.
Izo nodded, and said, "For most, yes. But you clearly have special circumstances. Besides, there are hundreds of pirates on this ship, more than capable to make sure Luffy, and you two, aren't in danger." Ace seemed offended by his words, though Izo meant it in a kind way.
"We can take care of ourselves perfectly fine," the teen snapped. Izo brought a hand up in a "stop" motion, and patiently said, "I meant, don't you want to stay safe and focused on Luffy, on a ship full of strangers? Would you really want to leave him and go fight off any enemies that attack the ship?"
Ace's anger deflated, knowing Izo had a point. "Everyone can tell easily that Luffy is very important to you and they won't 'bother' him without one of you being present, not that you'll probably ever leave him alone. Well, Thatch may be the exception, since he can't stop gushing about how cute Luffy is," Izo said with humor.
"Thank you, commander," Sabo replied politely. "It is ingrained in us to keep Luffy attended with one of us at all times."
Izo then looked a bit sad. "I can tell you are more uncomfortable with humans being around him than vampires, and that you are both uncomfortable with vampires besides Luffy. I assume it has something to do with how you both grew up, but you can trust the humans, too. It's not like there is anywhere anyone can steal him away out on the sea, with over a thousand people being around to witness something," the commander said. "No need to worry, I promise."
Neither of the brothers or Deuce said anything, and any further speaking didn't happen as there were high pitched squeals and shouts coming from the Spades' bedroom. There were thumps on the door and Ace spun around and opened the door in panic at something happening with Luffy when he wasn't there. Even if Luffy was laughing.
When the door opened, a pile of excited, purple puppies came barreling out of the room, running around the humans' feet. Ace and Sabo looked bewildered as the puppies, which didn't look like any sort of dog breed they'd ever seen, but were clearly puppies, ran passed their feet and down the hall in both directions.
"Puppies!" Luffy shrieked from the bed, laughing hysterically. Sabo and Ace were the ones most dumbfounded, since they hadn't been awake like everyone else had been with Luffy's dream taking over the ship.
Ace carefully stepped through the stream of never ending puppies as he went to Luffy's bed. "Ace look!" Luffy shouted with a toothy grin as the puppies finally stopped coming. Saber looked helpless in the corner. There was nothing he could have done to stop it, so Sabo gave him a smile.
The puppies seemed to be causing a ruckus around the ship as there were shouts of surprise and curse words as the little purple animals explored the hallways. "Did you see, Ace? Did you see the puppies?" Luffy gushed, fully awake now, even though it was still day time.
Though Ace and Sabo were a bit nervous, hoping Luffy wouldn't get in trouble if his creations make a mess, they calmly sat on the bed next to him. "We did see. It was very interesting," Ace replied. It was an unspoken agreement that they wouldn't make Luffy feel bad about it. Like he'd done something very wrong. They were just puppies, not some nightmare monster his child brain conjured up in the moment.
"Am I magic?" Luffy asked in awe.
Sabo shrugged, but had a smile. "Like Ace is fire?" Sabo calmly said, "No, Ace got his fire power from eating a certain fruit. We don't know where you got your magic." When Luffy exclaimed he wanted to make more, Sabo replied, "Why don't we go and collect all of the puppies first?"
Ace knew Sabo didn't want Luffy to create more unknown creatures at the moment, so gathering the puppies was a good distraction for the boy. "We can even make it a contest with our friends," Ace added. He looked pointedly to Saber, and Deuce. "We can go get Zeno and Sparky and Jojo, too."
"Yeah! I'll find the most puppies!" Luffy cheered, throwing off the blanket and dropping off of the double bed. It was still day time, but rapidly growing darker as night approached. The day had passed quickly, surprisingly, even though they were on a stranger's ship with people they didn't know.
"Let's make some teams," Sabo offered. There was no way he or Ace would let Luffy roam the ship unaccompanied.
Luffy's impatience was tangible in the room as quick groups were made, and the other three Spades. Leaving out Aggie 68, would be fetched after Luffy already went exploring. Luffy clung onto Ace to hunt with him, so the two brothers went off in search of puppies, down the direction the puppies had herded through.
When they passed anyone, Luffy would sagely asked if they'd seen any purple puppies. The boy left out the fact that he was responsible for them, and got directions to places that most of the pirates were avoiding.
Ace had collected a blanket from the bedroom and picked up tired and sleepy puppies from the floor and put them in the blanket like a sac. They felt between solid and not, a strange feeling Ace had never felt before. It was incredible.
The two came across some people who were collecting puppies as well, seeming a bit frustrated and confused, and there was a very large bin in the halwlay, full of yipping puppies. Luffy pouted that someone else was winning the competition, but Ace assured him there had been a lot more puppies, so they would still be able to find more.
It was when the two made it to a sort of intersection in one of the main hallways that they were separated. Luffy, with his much better senses than Ace, heard some puppies down one hall, while Ace looked away for just a minute as Lu sped down another hall, following the scratching noises and little whines.
Luffy didn't notice Ace wasn't following, distracted by his hunt for the pups, until Ace was far from him, and Luffy couldn't remember which way he came from. He could sniff out Ace easily, but was distracted again by more sounds of puppies after finding the first targeted ones, and making a pouch out of his shirt to carry the little animals he created. He was laughing and chasing another puppy while those in his shirt squirmed to get out when he ran into Marco.
"Luffy?" Marco asked in shock at seeing the boy without one of his brother's chaperoning. Marco had heard about the mysterious dogs throughout the ship and had speculated Luffy had made them. "Where are your brothers?" he asked patiently, crouching down to the four year old's height.
Luffy seemed to only just notice that he was alone, and his eyes widened. "I lost Ace!" he exclaimed, though he didn't seem too upset as he struggled to keep the puppies in his shirt.
Marco gave him a warm smile, something he rarely wore, and said, "Why don't we go find him? I'm sure he's worried." Luffy nodded, and Marco offered to help hold the puppies after taking off his shirt to use as a sac to help with the tiny child as he struggled to keep the puppies. "Did you make them?" Marco questioned and gestured to the dogs.
"Yeah! We are going on a hunt for them!" Luffy said, right before the puppies all popped away, completely gone. Marco assumed that Luffy's creations must have a time limit. The boy didn't like this, and started crying. Marco crouched down to the crying boy again and kindly said, "Hey, Luffy, it's okay. I'm sure you can make more some time. You made them, right?" Luffy nodded, eyes puffy and wet. "They just had to go away and couldn't stay for forever."
Marco went out on a limb and slowly picked the child vampire up. "Let's go find Ace, huh?" Luffy nodded, still sniffling with a slightly runny nose. When Luffy was still upset, Marco offered to race him as a distraction. Somehow, the boy had gotten quite far away from Ace. Well, he might be heading the wrong way. Marco was easily about to find him by following the scent. Ace had a strange scent, which the vampires assumed was due to his devil fruit.
Devil fruit users smelled distinct, though not necessarily bad.
When Luffy happily agreed to race, Marco set him down and both started running, though Marco stayed a step behind. Luffy was faster than a human child, but nowhere near as fast as a full vampire. When they turned down a hall, Luffy zoomed up to his frantic big brother and jumped onto his back, startling the teen. "Ace!" Luffy shouted in his ear. Ace turned him around and hugged him tightly.
"Luffy, where were you?" Ace demanded, though just kind enough to not make Luffy upset or think Ace was mad at him. "I was worried."
Luffy frowned. "I'm sorry. I heard puppies… but they're gone now…" Luffy mumbled. Ace rubbed his back to stop the tears and turned to see Marco standing there with a smile. "Marco found me and we raced when the puppies went gone!"
"Really? Who won?" Ace asked with a smile. Luffy exclaimed that he won proudly. Ace turned to Marco with a grin and thanked the vampire for bringing Lu back. When Marco grinned back and said it was no problem, he couldn't help but notice the flush that spread across Ace's face with a sudden frown. Marco, of course, didn't say anything about it.
"Are you guys going to come to the galley for Luffy's breakfast?" Marco asked politely, as the sun had set by then. "The puppies are gone," the vampire added. When he saw Ace's face harden, he put up a hand and assured the teen that he was sure that Luffy wouldn't be in trouble and that everyone but the commanders don't know about what caused the incident earlier. Or, who caused it.
"Did you like my puppies?" Luffy asked with a smile. Marco had forgotten over the hundreds of years how clueless young children were. The three were walking down the halls to find Sabo and then go to the galley for food. Luffy was looking at Marco like he was the coolest person ever (besides his brothers).
Marco smiled down at him and replied, "They were a very nice shade of purple."
"Purple is my favorite color," Luffy explained. "And blue. I like blue, too," the boy added. Ace was walking next to Luffy, holding his hand while the three followed Luffy's directions to Sabo's scent, as he wanted to show Marco how "cool" he was.
When they reached Sabo, who was paired with Jojo, they were on their way to the galley. Luffy released Ace's hand and hurried to Sabo. "How many puppies did you catch, Sabo? I only got a couple."
Sabo gripped under Luffy's armpits and tossed him up, catching him in his arms and tickling his stomach mercilessly, earning squeals and giggles. "We caught six before they disappeared. I guess me and Jojo win so far."
Luffy pouted slightly. "It's only 'cause I didn't have anything to put them in!" Luffy exclaimed. "Next time, I'll catch more." No one told him not to do it again. Marco didn't mention anything either. Luffy's puppies had been harmless, though he thought that Ace and Sabo should get on top of this quickly. Try to train Luffy to not come up with anything dangerous or bad. So far, the boy seemed like a very chipper and happy child, but even he must have bad dreams sometimes.
When the five reached the galley, some people were talking about the weird things that had happened that day, but Luffy was too distracted by the yummy smell of food to supply everyone with the information that he'd made the puppies, which he was quite proud of. But, his scattered mind quickly jumped from the leftover happiness from the puppies to the delicious food he was now running to.
Ace ran after Luffy, while Sabo continued to walk with Marco and Jojo before the vampire headed off in the direction to the commander's table, where Izo was telling Whitebeard about what had happened, with a quiet voice that only a vampire could hear close up.
Marco had noticed that Ace was much more clingy to Luffy than Sabo was. Luffy clung to both of them, but Ace seemed to always be touching him in some way. Holding hands, or in his arms. Always the one to follow closer.
"Thatch!" Luffy cheered as he gracefully climbed onto the stool he'd sat at for the last couple of nights. "Can I have breakfast?"
The pirates had caught on to Luffy's schedule words, so the word breakfast for their dinner didn't throw the chef off. The crew had also easily corrected their wording from "blood" to "juice" when in close proximity to Luffy, which wasn't often for anyone, really, but the Spades and a few of the Whitebeard commanders.
Thatch set out a huge meal in front of Luffy, complete with freshly baked bread, soup, orange juice, a dish of meat and some vegetables. Luffy's jaw dropped at all of it and dug into the food. Ace matched the pace, Sabo eating in a more normal way, with Jojo asking Thatch questions about the soup.
The other two groups of puppy-catchers arrived, and sat at the bar as well. Everyone was served the same food, though Luffy got each plate in larger quantity since he seemed to eat the most out of all of them, usually going for thirds or even fourths while Ace had mostly stayed at thirds.
"So, who won the puppy search?" Deuce asked. The winners were Sparky and Zeno, who had caught twelve puppies that had accidentally trapped themselves in the nearest bathroom to the Spades' current room. It turned out Luffy scored the lowest. He and Ace could have collected more if Luffy hadn't wandered off, but oh well.
After Luffy's breakfast, the boy was still hyper and wanted to play games. Saber went to bed after the meal, Aggie 68, who was still holed up in the infirmary learning as much as he could about vampires and their health information, wasn't seen for dinner and Ace assumed he went to eat after he was done with whatever he was doing.
Considering the nine of them were constantly together on their smaller ship, it was different that they were each perfectly fine being separated for awhile. Maybe they each just wanted to talk to some new people. Well, those besides Ace and Sabo. They seemed to be the most anti-social of the members of the small crew. While Zeno and Sparky were hanging out with people who had similar weapons for most of the day, and Aggie was with the medical professionals, Jojo spent time in the kitchen, and Saber was with the navigators learning more about the Grand Line, Ace and Sabo stuck together or with Luffy all day/night.
Deuce spent his time divided with dedicating it to his friends/captains and exploring the ship, but he was still more adventurous than the brothers were. It was clear to everyone on the ship. Sabo was perfectly polite most of the time, but Ace was clearly the most anti-social of the nine. He spent most of his time dedicated to Luffy, and when he wasn't, he was never far from Luffy for long.
He was also very clearly the most uncomfortable around strangers. Many hoped that, in however long they would be on the ship with them, Ace would open up. It was slightly sad seeing someone so young and clearly a good person to be so uncomfortable and withdrawn around anyone he wasn't extremely familiar with. Especially when his crew was so easy to get to know.
The seven of the Spades, excluding Aggie 68 and Saber, played children's games with Luffy out on the deck. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the deck well enough to play duck, duck, goose. It was one of Luffy's favorite games, and he rarely got to play it since, at home, it was usually only him and his brother(s) when he was awake at night.
Now, the others were working hard to spend time with Luffy, and the co-captains could only assume it was this way as they didn't need to do their usual duties to protect the ship during the day. Here, the Whitebeards were used to working both day and night, which made it possible for the members of the small crew to spend more time together.
None of the Whitebeard pirates made any indication they thought that playing duck, duck, goose with a four year old was ridiculous, which the Spades were glad of. No one really bothered them until Haruta came out and asked if Luffy wanted to play freeze tag with some of the crew. Luffy had accepted before Ace or Sabo could decline, and they didn't tell Luffy no, that they didn't trust him not being right by their sides on a big ship because of the guilt they felt. Luffy never got to play games with other people, so they caved and participated with Lu.
The human Spades were thankful that the vampires playing kept the game even and didn't use their much faster speeds. Everyone knew the game was for Luffy, so they kept their speed slow enough for Lu, and therefore the humans.
By the time Luffy was sleepy, he was so tired he had to be carried everywhere. He almost fell asleep at the bar as he ate his dinner, and right after he was finished, Ace scooped him up and brought him to bed. No one was surprised to not see Ace the rest of the day.
The others in the crew ended up sleeping at the same time as Luffy and his brothers. They were all now starting to adopt the same sleep schedule, and Ace and Sabo were glad they weren't upset over it. They both had an idea why, confident that they were enjoying their little vacation from the responsibilities of maintaining the ship and crew.
At around eleven AM, Sabo woke up and left a note for Ace, saying he was going to go talk to Whitebeard about Luffy. He quietly left the room full of sleeping men and Jojo and left to look for the captain, who he knew wasn't going to sleep for the day. Sabo was worried about whether or not Izo and Marco were just being nice and not wanting the brothers to freak out if the crew actually was unhappy with Luffy and his newfound ability.
On his way to the galley, which he'd memorized the route easily, he ran into a couple of the minor pirates in the crew, and asked for directions to the captain. No one asked him why, which he was glad of. It would be frustrating to have 1600 nosy pirates. Sabo was lead to the area of the ship that had most of the recreation rooms. He passed the winery, which he glanced inside if and saw bottles upon bottles of bloodwine. It sounded disgusting, honestly. Sabo wasn't fond of alcohol, and definitely not blood.
Sabo was lead to the door of a large room that had Sabo's jaw drop. It was a massive library. A bunch of plushy chairs were scattered around the circular room that had two stories. Sabo wondered why on earth he hadn't been told about this room. He loved books, he would have been taking Luffy there every night and searching for good books to read.
His attention returned to the task at hand and he walked up to Whitebeard, who was sitting at one of the tables with Marco and a couple of the commanders that the brother's hadn't gotten to know. All were humans besides Marco and the captain. When Marco looked up from his hand, he looked surprised to see Sabo there.
"What's up, Sabo?" Marco asked, pausing the game of poker.
"I wanted to talk to Whitebeard about Luffy," Sabo said vaguely. He didn't know if all of the commanders knew or just Izo and Marco. Apparently, not all of them knew as they were all asked to leave but Marco, who had been one of the first to realize what had happened with the whole dream fiasco.
"What would you like to ask?" Whitebeard asked once Sabo was sat down. He was glad none of the other commanders seemed upset with being sent out. He got zero nasty glares or irritated looks. Sabo had to wonder, again, what kind of pirates these ones were.
Sabo sighed and asked, "Are we still welcome on this ship for the present even while Luffy can't control his new powers?" He waited nervously even though Marco visibly relaxed at the question, like he'd been worrying Sabo would ask about something else.
"You are all still welcome. A few harmless imaginary puppies and a dream are not crimes or worth punishing in the first place. Besides, it keeps things lively, though we would recommend you and Ace try and get on it quickly and start trying to train Luffy," Whitebeard explained lightly. Sabo relaxed and thanked him for being understanding.
"Gurarara, no problem," Whitebeard rumbled. "I remember what a mess it was when Marco first got his powers. Set everything on fire with eternal flames," the captain laughed. Marco seemed like he would have blushed if he could. "Luffy could be very powerful, and we think that guiding him on this ship, while you and your crew don't have to focus on protecting so much or running the ship, would be a great opportunity."
Sabo had to agree, and even though they were on a ship full of strangers, Sabo felt at ease knowing he wasn't one of the strongest in a tiny crew on a small and non-intimidating ship. "Thank you. We'll do what we can to make sure Luffy doesn't accidentally create something bad."
Marco watched Sabo closely for a second, and the teen knew he was going to ask something, so he didn't get up to leave. "Sabo, why is Ace so afraid of vampires and hostile towards humans? You don't need to answer if you don't want to," the vampire added quickly. He clearly didn't want to make Sabo uncomfortable. But, Sabo replied with the truth. Not going into detail, but the truth nonetheless.
"We were raised on a very anti-vampire island. Then, the only full vampire we ever met had ruined everything and caused the death of our mom and almost Luffy. I assume you can know why Ace doesn't like humans around Luffy," Sabo said.
"Because Luffy is a vampire and you were raised in a vampire-hating community," Marco supplied, receiving a nod from Sabo. "That makes a lot of sense now. But, you don't have to worry about any of us, human or vampire, hurting Luffy in any way," the phoenix said emphatically. He didn't want the Spades to be uneasy around them, or even fear them. Even if Ace or Sabo did turn out to be little assholes, they wouldn't ever hurt Luffy.
Marco was sure they wouldn't do anything, as no one had suspected the Spades of anything foul or wrong, and even if they did, it wasn't as if the sailors would be murdered. Even if Sabo and Ace were strong, they were most definitely not as strong as the commanders were. All of the pirates could wipe the floor with them.
Well, actually, if Luffy wanted to, he would probably be the one who could take any of them down. But, he was far from mastering his newfound and very promising ability. Sabo didn't agree with Marco's words, but thanked him for them.
"You are all still strangers. It's natural that we'd feel not completely safe around you. After all, now I know who you are and that your crew is one of the strongest out there," Sabo reasoned. "And it's natural for us to see things as 'us and them'. It's always been like that, and probably will stay that way for awhile. Though, we are all eternally grateful for your helping us," the teen said with a bow.
Marco frowned, wanting to be honest with the kid. "Your ship is in a much tighter bind than previously thought," Marco confessed. "Some of our shipwright brothers checked it out. It will need very professional work done on it. And there's one island in particular that would be best to have it fixed at. A place called 'Water 7'. That's actually where the Moby Dick was built many decades ago.
"It will take a couple months at least to get there," Marco said honestly. Sabo looked shocked and horrified. Luffy and Ace were not going to like that. Luffy missed home, and Ace missed the safe space, where no one would or could hurt them there.
Whitebeard and his first mate watched Sabo's array of expressions pass before calm took over. "Thank you for being honest with me. Is there no way we can go back on the ship while you tow it?" Luffy wanted to go home, so they could at least sometimes hang out there, right?
But Marco sadly shook his head. Whitebeard said, "It would be unsafe to be there overnight while it is towed. But, you are very welcome here until the ship is repaired or replaced." Sabo felt his heart crack when he heard the word "replace". Luffy would be devastated if they had to replace the ship for a new one. It was the only home the boy remembered. He didn't remember a thing about their old home before they fled their island and took to the sea. And, it was Ace and Sabo's first safe space that was their own.
The ship didn't have bad memories, only good ones and getting rid of it would be heartbreaking for all of them, but especially Lu. The two vampires across form Sabo could empathize with him and what he must be feeling about possibly not being able to have his home ship repaired. If the Moby Dick was terminal, it would be like losing a part of themselves. It had been their home for decades, and even if the Spades' ship was relatively young compared to the Moby, it was still a home and safe space.
Knowing what little they knew about the brothers' past, that ship was their first haven for safety for Luffy. They said nothing and didn't interrupt Sabo's thoughts.
The two were surprised when Sabo brought his attention outward again and asked, "Why are you letting us stay? I don't get it," Sabo said honestly.
Marco knew Whitebeard wasn't going to be completely honest and make Sabo uncomfortable, so the big vampire said, "I like to help good people in a world where so many are bad. All of your crew is quite likable and easy to get along with. Plus, Luffy is here and I'm sure you've been told that most, especially the vampires on the crew, are enjoying the company of a little one. Even if we don't get to interact with him much, it's still nice to have such a bright star on our ship, for any length of time." What he had said was a truth, but not the total truth.
The captain and Marco had spoken about this earlier that day, Marco wondering why Whitebeard was so okay with letting them stay for a long period of time. He shouldn't have been surprised by the man's answer. It was natural for him to want to recruit new sons when he found somebody he liked. Plus, it wasn't just the three brothers that Whitebeard liked, it was his whole crew. Like Whitebeard felt he did, Ace and Sabo had good eyes for people.
They had managed to collect a very reliable and trustworthy group of people in just two years. Thatch seemed to have a crush on Jojo from the start, Aggie 68 was supposedly a very experienced doctor, and the others were all loyal and charming as well.
Sabo frowned, surprising Whitebeard and Marco. Whitebeard had said something nice. "With all due respect," Sabo began, "I'm very good at sensing lies." Marco and Whitebeard were both surprised with Sabo's expression. He looked suspicious and hostile.
"It wasn't a lie. I left out some things to not make you uncomfortable," Whitebeard replied truthfully. Lying anymore would just make it worse. "So far, we really like you and your crew. You would all make good additions to our family." Sabo did look uncomfortable with this. Whitebeard and his sons were used to adopting people quickly, but the Sabo and his brother clearly had trust issues. It would be impossible to just have them join by asking once. The Whitebeards would need to prove they were trustworthy and good people.
It was true that the Spades all got to spend more time together on this ship, where they could all have the same sleep schedule if they wished, and Ace and Sabo could both stay with Luffy while others were responsible for the ship. But, they still were basically strangers. Well, most of them. The only ones Ace agreed that were more trustworthy were Thatch, Marco and maybe Izo. Even though they didn't trust the pirates to be alone with Luffy, they trusted those three to not betray the Spades.
The small crew had barely interacted with many of the ship's occupants, since there were hundreds of them. Ace and Sabo wondered how on earth everyone remembered each others names on a ship so damn big with such a massive crew.
Sabo didn't know how to reply to Whitebeard's honest words, so he awkwardly excused himself from the room and walked back to the Spades' sleeping quarters. A few of the crew members were asleep, snoring quietly while Luffy and Ace slept together, Luffy curled up against Ace's stomach, dwarfed by the tall teen with his tiny body, curled up in a little ball the size of a dog.
"Family, huh?" Sabo whispered quietly before laying down on the other side of Lu. He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.