He should not be here.

That was the only thing in Ace's mind at that moment. Like a broken Transponder Snail, over and over. He should be training his ass off on Goa. He should be getting lessons by Makino. He should be beaten around be Gramps. He should be hanging around with Dadan and her bandits. He should be safe.

He should not be here.

Because his little brother had never done anything wrong. He didn't deserve this kind of punishment. His little brother was the one that couldn't throw a punch. He was the crybaby that would rather be tortured then giving up a friend's secret. He was the one that would steal Ace's food right beneath his nose, and Ace would let him because he knew that his little brother needed more food than others.

He should not be here.

And he didn't look like that. His little brothers hair was short, curving around his ears. His little brother wasn't that thin. His little brother always wore his Straw hat. His little brother's eyes were full of life and naivety. But this boy's hair hung over his shoulders. He could see this boy's bones, skin stretched tight. This boy didn't have a Straw hat, only silk and makeup. This boys eyes looked dead, with only a meager glow of life in them. But it was him. It was his little brother.

HE SHOULD NOT BE HERE.

And as he looked at his little brother, crying, screaming, trying to get away from Ace, something inside of him broke. His eyes did not leave his little brothers shaking form, he simply become flames. The only one that he cared for in that moment was his brother.

He walked forwards, letting his fire run wild around him. He saw how his brother sobbing worsened, how his eyes become more and more fearful. Why was he scared? What had they done to him? Anger fueled his flames, burning the mansion down, burning the corpses and the few people that hadn't died yet. Their scream echoed around the mansion, and Ace would lie if he didn't feel happy over that.

He let his fire embrace Luffy, making sure that nothing hurt him. He needed to make sure Luffy was protected, and everyone that tried to take him away would be destroyed.

Someone was trying to come towards him, but Ace ignored them. His flames would make them go away before they could get to Luffy, before they would hurt him. It was useless to try work against his flam-

Pain erupted from the back of his head, and everything turned black.

Marco was conflicted, which was unusual. Marco was old, probably the oldest on the ship, thanks to his devil fruit, and with such a long life, he was good at making sure his thoughts didn't clash. But, it was comforting that he wasn't the only one being conflicted, the whole crew seemed to share his feelings.

Marco sighed, massaging his temples. He still wasn't sure what had happened, and he wasn't really sure he wanted to know.

He had never seen Ace react in such a way. Sure, Ace would sometimes become angry, and he had without a doubt seen that the boy had a problem with rage, after all the murder attempts on Pops, but this? This was completely different.

It all started when Ace had seen the boys. He had seen their wounds and had immediately started to walk towards them, probably wanting to see the extent of their injuries, and see if there had been anything he could have helped with. But, before he had reached them, he had stopped, became completely still. Marco hadn't seen his face, but by the reactions of Demon and Beast, it probably didn't look pleasant. Thatch had taken a few steps forwards, probably wanting to pull Ace away from the boys. Marco had stopped him, and in retrospect Marco was very grateful he had.

Ace hadn't noticed Thatch advances, only staring at the boys. No, only one of the boys. Angel.

Marco remembers that Ace had said something just before everything had gone to hell, but he hadn't heard it. It had sounded like fluffy, but he hadn't been, and still wasn't, sure. He hadn't had time to ask Ace what he had said before Angel had let out a high pitched scream. His blank face had been morphed into horror, red eyes wild with panic, his body desperate to get away. He had looked like a frightened animal, about to get slaughtered by the butcher.

And in that moment, Ace didn't exist anymore. He had turned into the demon he had always been afraid that he was.

Fire had erupted from the teen with lighting speed, burning everything in its way. Beast and Demon had been able to hide from the flames behind a fallen piece of the ceiling, and Thatch had been partly protected by standing behind Marco, even though his arm and back had been burned.

Over the fire's crackling, only Angels screams were audible. Marco had panicked, the image of the child burning alive invading his inner eye. He'd moved forwards, towards Ace. He'd been surprised by how the flames had worked against him, trying to push him away in a way that Ace flames never did.

Marco had swung, hitting his little brother in the head knocking him unconscious. The second Ace hit the floor, the flames had died down significantly, only leaving a few flames left, but Marco had not been focusing on that. His eyes had been drawn to the shivering figure on the other side of the room. Angel.

Before he knew what happened Marco had been in front of the child looking for injuries. But none had been there. The boy had been completely unharmed, not a single bit of ash on him. When he looked, he could see that where Angel had been sitting, the floor was completely unburned, while the rest of the stone floor had cracked thanks to the hot temperature. The wall Angel had been perched up against had also been completely fine. Ace's flames had created, what looked like, a barrier between Angel, and everyone else. But why?

Marco's thoughts had been interrupted by a snivel. Angel had been looking up at him with scared eyes, tears and snot running down his face. Marco had put his hands up in, what he had hoped, looked like a calming gesture.

"It's alright, yoi," he'd said gently. "Nothing is going to hurt you."

Marco had tried to take hold of the boy, to help him get up, but the boy had only flinched away to his advances.

"Listen, we need to make sure you don't have any injuries, yoi. And we can't do it here." Angel had still looked hesitant. Marco had looked into the eyes of the boy, trying to look as calm as possible. "I promise that you, or your friends, won't get hurt."

When he'd proclaimed that, Angel's stare had changed. Gone was the panic and fear, replaced by something Marco couldn't name. It had been like the boy could see everything that Marco had in his soul. It had been like being judged. Whatever Angel had found, he seemed to be happy with, because after a few seconds, which had felt like hours, the boy had slumped forwards into Marco's arms, completely unconscious.

When the boy's arm had come into contact with him, he had felt the familiar feeling of seastone, Marco remembered. Around the boy's arm was a seastone band, forged to look like a normal bracelet. The boy was a devil fruit user then. He had to make sure to get it off him later, Marco remembered thinking.

Marco didn't know why, but when Thatch had come to take the boy from him, Marco had first wanted to refuse. Some part of Marco hadn't allowed himself to let go of the boy. The only thing on his mind at that moment had been to take Angel back to the ship. Of course, he got his wits back to him, giving Thatch Angel. But still, he at first hadn't wanted that.

And there was the problem in Marco's eyes. He'd become protective over this boy. Worried over this boy. The same boy Ace had nearly killed them over. The same boy that Ace had tried to attack, but at the same time not kill. The same boy Ace had seen as a threat. After all, why else would Ace react like he had if that wasn't the case?

Marco was conflicted. He didn't know if he should side with Angel, a boy he knew nothing about, or his little brother, whom he knew everything about.*

Sabo was confused, and he didn't like it at all. He was the informed one. He was the one that knew things. He was the smart one. He had always been, and he would always be. But it was hard to be informed, when no one would tell you anything!

Sabo tightened his grip on the hand in his grip, looking down on his brothers unconscious face.

"What have you done now, idiot," he murmured, pushing Ace's bangs from his face. He had a cut on his cheek and a bruise from when Marco had knocked him out.

Sabo had been able to kinda understand what had happened, but it was like having a puzzle with about half of the puzzle pieces missing. He could see some kind of picture, but he wouldn't be 100% sure what it was.

He had understood that something had gone wrong the moment half of the crew had fallen to their knees. Pops had stood up with all the commanders preparing for battle. After all, Conquerors Haki was nothing to underestimate, but no attack had come. Everything had been quiet, no one had even dared to breathe, and that made the explosion that much more of a shock.

Fire had erupted from the noble pig's mansion, enveloping it in flames. At first Sabo had thought that maybe it had been some kind of weapon that the noble asses had been hiding, but his logical mind had shut down the ide. No noble ever had weapons. In their eyes, they were unnecessary, after all, who would ever attack a noble? Plus, the only one that could be able to create so much fire in such a short time frame was- Sabo had felt how his mind had gone numb. He saw how the rest of his family drew the same conclusion, horror in their eyes.

It had taken what felt like hours, even though it probably only been a few minutes, before the mansion's entrance had burst open.

The first one to come out had been Thatch. He had been badly burnt, his left arms skin looking like it had been melted of. Sabo shuddered. He knew how painful burns could be. His hair had been burned up to his shoulders, and the silk he had been wearing had barely been able to cover him. He had been carrying someone, but Sabo wasn't able to see who it had been. But, before he had tried to take a better look to the person in his big brother's arms, he had been distracted.

Marco, unlike Thatch, hadn't been hurt at all. As usual, he was completely unharmed, probably thanks to his devil fruit, but his clothes had nearly been burned off completely. He was, just like Thatch, carrying someone.

Ace was unconscious and pale, flames licking his skin. Seeing his brother, Sabo had jumped of the Moby Dick, and ran to him. Sabo's confusion hadn't eased when he saw the tear tracks that covered his brother's cheeks. Ace never cried.

After that, everything was a blur of movement. Doctors and nurses had helped Thatch, Ace and two other boys Sabo hadn't taken notice of. He had tried to help the best he could, but before he knew it, he was sitting on a chair by his brothers side.

Izo had told him that when Ace woke up, he would be questioned by Pops and the commanders, and afterwards they would discuss his punishment. Ace had broken one of the few rules of the Whitebeard Pirates. Never, ever, hurt anyone of your siblings. This rule was one Sabo knew Ace stood for, a rule he knew Ace would never try to break. So why, why in the four blues would he do something like this?

Sabo was confused.

The deck was quiet. No one seemed to even dare to breath. Nobody had spoken up for at least 3 minutes, only soft murmurs from their siblings could be heard. Pops sat at his throne with Sabo and the rest of the commanders, except Thatch who was still in the infirmary, and Ace, who instead of standing with Sabo as the second commanders, was kneeling in front of Pops, his face down. He had been chained with seastone, after he had gotten a panic attack and nearly burned down the whole Third infirmary, and muffled.

People that were to be questioned always got muffled so that they could save their words for the trail. Ace hadn't been happy about it. Sabo remembered that Ace had started screaming for Sabo to just listen to him. They had muffled him before Ace had been able to say whatever he had wanted to say. And now they were here.

Pops lifted his staff, hitting it one time on the Adams wood, making everyone fall silent. He dusted his pants off, before he rose to his enormous length, looking down on Ace.

"I will go straight to the point. Ace, you've hurt one of your brothers, and as you know, this is our biggest crime," Whitebeard's voice echoed around the ship. The people on the deck started to murmur once more in surprise. "But I am not evil, I will here your side of the story before I, and your siblings, will decide your punishment." Sabo could here a few people protesting in the crowd, someone even shouting that Ace should be thrown of the ship. Sabo suppressed the instinct of glaring at them.

Izo and Namur came forward, untying the cloth that had been tied around Ace's head. The second Ace got his mouth free, he coughed, probably trying to find his voice. He looked up, and for the first time Sabo was able to see his brothers face. He was taken back. Ace had dried tear streaks on his cheeks, red eyes filled with panic, scanning the commanders before his eyes stopped on Sabo.

"S-Sabo," he croaked.

"Ace, you will speak with only me, no one-", Pops didn't have time to end the sentence before he was cut off.

"S-sabo, listen to me," Ace voice was cracky, but the extreme desperation on his face screamed volumes. "He's here, L-luffy's here!"

…

...What?

What was Ace talking about? Luffy, here? Had he really gone mad?

"Ace, what are you talking about…?" Sabo asked, ignoring the feeling of horror climbing up his spine.

"HE'S HERE, SABO!", Ace screamed, Conquerors Haki exploding from him, knocking out a few of the people on the deck. Sabo didn't notice how the commanders took out their weapons and prepared for battle. Everyone except Marco, that is.

"Ace, stop speaking nonsense. He's not here, that would be impossible!"

"I'm not speaking nonsense, Sabo! I saw him. He was in the mansion. They've hurt him Sabo!," Ace was crying now, shaking, screaming, looking at Sabo with anguish. The rest of the crew were taken back by his reaction. Sabo had only seen this side of him two times. The first was when he had woken up with his injuries after the Fire, and the second time, after Luffy had nearly been gutted by that bear. Sabo was sure that if the seastone weren't holding Ace back, he would be going on a rampage. "They've branded him, Sabo!", Ace screamed.

And as Sabo looked into his brothers eyes, he saw nothing but the truth. And he remember the boy Thatch had been carrying. They had had black hair, and toned skin, their energy had been so familiar. And if he let his Haki cover the ship, he felt it once more. The energy of his little light, his little darling, so weak, flickering, but still there, in the Second infirmary. It felt like his heart had stopped, then broken into a thousand pieces.

"Wait, are you talking about Angel, yoi?" Sabo turned towards Marco, who looked just as blank as usual. "You are, aren't you?"

Sabo didn't know who Angel was, but with the feeling of dread already taking over him, he knew what the answer was.

"Who?", Pops asked the question that everyone wanted to ask.

"A boy Thatch meet when he was there. Black hair, short, skinny, scar on his cheek."

Sabo tuned out the rest. It was him. Luffy. Thatch had meet Luffy there. Thatch had meet Luffy when he had been a slave, in the new world of the grand line, why was Luffy in the new world, why had he been able to meet Thatch who was a slave, why, why, why? But Sabo knew the answer. The tragic answer.

'THEY BRANDED HIM, SABO!'

No, please not Luffy. Anyone else, but please not him. No, please no. Luffy should never have to go through something like that.

A sob forced it's way out of him, making his throat feel like it had been cut on the inside. His legs suddenly felt to weak, his knees buckling. Namur caught him before he hit the ground, holding him up, but Sabo just wanted to scream at his brother to 'let him fall', but the only sound he could make were sobs. His burn felt irritated, which probably meant that Sabo was crying. Sabo didn't notice how everyone was looking at him, at that moment the only thing going through Sabo's head was Luffy, and how Sabo had abandoned him.

Whitebeard turned his head towards his youngest son. This would be the first time the boy ever cried, well at least in such a public place.

"Sabo, my child, who is this boy," Pops asked, his booming voice surprisingly gentle. Sabo looked up from Namur's shoulder, gaze switching from Marco, to Pops, to Ace. He looked back to Pops.

"H-he's our… our," Sabo saw how Ace were shaking his head violently, but right now Sabo knew that this was the best course of action that they could take. "He's our little brother."

The deck became quiet.

Zoro was angry (worried). If dartbraw was awake, he would probably scold him. Something along the lines of, 'You need to calm the fuck down, otherwise you won't be able to think straight!', but the blonde wasn't awake, and his Captain wasn't either. Right now, Zoro was the only one that could protect them, and fury always got his blood pumping.

Zoro had always thought that if they ever escaped their hell, he wouldn't be able to hold in his joy, probably smiling a stupid Sanji/Luffy smile, but in his fantasies they wouldn't be on a pirate ship overflowing with potential enemies. But here they are.

Zoro had at first thought that Braidy had been a pain in their ass, but that he would be durable. He had been OK'ed by Luffy, and that usually meant that the person was alright. And then the Pineapple had shown up, and that thought had flown out the window. Braidy had showed them that he couldn't be trusted, and the Pineapple was in the same boat. He was too calm, too collected, too blank. So what if he knew something about his Captains Panic Mode, he couldn't be trusted.

Of course, the two of them had really showed their true intentions when he had showed up. Luffy's screams were still echoing in his mind, like a broken Transponder snail, saying the same thing over and over. Why his captain had screamed, Zoro didn't know, but he would be damned if he ever let that monster close to his Luffy again.

He tightened his grip on Luffy, ignoring the flash of pain coming from the burn on his side. His injuries didn't matter. As long as Luffy was alright, nothing else mattered.

He glanced up from Luffy, looking at Sanji. His arms and a little bit of his face were bandaged, but his hands seemed alright (thank the Gods he didn't believe in). He let out a sigh, stroking the bangs away from Sanji's face, seeing the bandage that covered the teens eye. He didn't know the extent of the injury, but it didn't seem good.

Zoro had always seen himself as the oldest, as the one that protected Luffy and Eyebrow. He was Beast, ready to destroy anything that had intentions of hurting his Nakama. Seeing Sanji hurt, even if he never would say it aloud, made him feel angry at himself. Luffy may come first, but the Curly brow did come a close second.

Zoro heard how someone sighed, and with lightning speed his eyes scanned the room, stopping at the doctor at the foot of their bed. He let out a low growl, and if glares could kill, the Doctor would be dead eight times over.

"Save it, brat," she said, giving him an unimpressed eyebrow. She gestured to the two beds Zoro and his Nakama was laying on. "Didn't I tell you to rest? This is the opposite of resting."

Zoro's growls became louder, sitting up, making sure that Luffy and Sanji are behind him. What did she think he would do? She had placed them in different beds! How was Zoro supposed to know if they were alright if he couldn't even be close to them? Plus, it had creeped him out to no end not being close to Luffy. He had only left his side as he was punished, and he hadn't really had that much of a choice if he wanted to leave or not. And yeah, sure, it had hurt like a bitch when he had moved Sanji's and Luffy's beds together, but being able to lay down with them, like he always does, was worth it.

The woman rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not going to move you again. It'll be too hard on your body, and mine," she muttered the last part under her breath. She then glared down at him, glowering, "But if you try any of this shit again the nice me is gone, got it?"

Zoro gave a single nod, glaring up at the doctor until she left, leaving the three of them alone in the infirmary. He returned to his rightful place, at the right side of his Captain, hugging him tight.

Zoro knew that the doctor had seen his mark, Luffy's and probably Sanji's as well. The stamps, marking them as the Masters. Everyone would know what they had been forced to go through, and if that didn't make him angry-

Zoro tightened his grip on Luffy.

Luffy, even though he hadn't had any injuries from the fire, had also been bandaged up. All of the bite marks and hickey were now covered with patches, as well as his arms, legs and stomach. He was dressed in a too big shirt, and Zoro would be lying if he said it was weird to see his Captain in anything else than silk. All of Luffy's makeup had also been wiped away, leaving Zoro to see, first time seeing, his Captains scar. A small smile came upon his lips, thinking about the story Luffy had told them about how he got that scar. Sometimes his Captain could be such an idiot. All of the jewelry had also been removed, even the bracelet around Luffy's wrist. Zoro can't remember the last time Luffy hadn't worn it. Now that he thought about it, Luffy had always been wearing that bracelet.

He sighed. He didn't want to think about that right now. He needed to be alert. He had to make sure that no one sneaks up on them. He had to protect, protect… protect ?…

His snores echoed in the room before his head had even hit the pillow.

The cabin was completely quiet, the only thing being audible were the two brothers breathing. They were sitting on a mattress on the floor. Of course, there was a bed, but the two brothers couldn't remember ever sleeping in one, and frankly, the floor was more comfortable. Sabo was sitting in the comforting embrace of his older brother. After the trail, Ace and Sabo had gone to their cabin, and in privacy they had let themselves brake once more. But, this time, they had had each other to draw comfort from.

A soft knock on their door brought the two brothers back to reality, both being lost in there minds. The door opened slowly, revealing their oldest sibling.

"Can I come in ,yoi?", Marco asked, a hand still on the door. Sabo knew that he would leave if they asked him too, but they wouldn't. Ace nodded his agreement.

Marco came in, sitting down on a stool by Sabo's desk.

"We've decided your punishment, Ace," he revealed after a short while of awkward silence. "Thanks to the circumstances, yoi, Pops have decided that you'll help the forth division with the kitchen until Thatch's better, and you'll start talking to Izo about anger management, yoi"

"Is, is that all?", Ace mumbled confused. He had thought that after what he did, he would be kicked off the crew.

"Pops understood why you did it, yoi. You had a panic attack, and seeing someone you love in such an position. I would have been worried if you hadn't reacted like that, yoi" Marco explained, smiling gently at the brothers, which the two returned.

After a few minutes of silence, Marco sighed. "I'm sorry, yoi," Marco once more broke the silence.

"What are you sorry for?", Ace asked, hugging Sabo a bit tighter. "We don't want pity."

Marco shook his head, understanding what Ace thought he was saying. "That's not what I'm apologizing for, yoi." Sabo was grateful that Marco didn't comment on it more than that. He didn't think Ace, or himself could take any more of it. "I shouldn't have taken up Angel-"

"His name is Luffy," Ace growled, the calm atmosphere from before being replaced with anger.

"I shouldn't have taken up Luffy during the trial, yoi. I should have saved it for later," Marco said, ignoring the hostile atmosphere from the two brothers.

'He actually seems sorry,' Sabo thought.

"Thank you, Marco," Sabo whispered, giving Marco a gently smile once more. He noticed how Ace opened his mouth to protest, and turned to glare at his brother. "Ace, don't," he warned. Ace huffed, rolling his eyes, before his glare returned to Marco.

"Why are you here? Like, why are you really?", Ace sneered. Marco gave Ace an unimpressed eyebrow, before he shook his head.

"I was about to get to that, Ace, yoi" he explained. "Alys came to my cabin, told me that if you want too, you two can go visit him, yoi. She didn't want to disturb you, so she sent me to tell you, yoi."

"Thatch?"

Marco shook his head, and Sabo's emotions clashed. A part of him was sad that he wouldn't be able to talk to Thatch yet, but another part was happy that he would be able to see Luffy, while another part of him filled of dread.

"He hasn't woken up yet, yoi. But, at least, you will be able to see how he's doing, yoi," Marco clarified, and the part of Sabo that had been happy was replaced with worry. Ace seemed to be in the same boat.

"What do you mean, he hasn't woken up yet!?", Ace fumed, panic coming back to his eyes, his hands becoming fists. "What's wrong with him?!"

"I don't know, ask Alys," Marco calmly asked, not reacting at all to Ace's anger.

Sabo stood up from the mattress, dusting off some imaginare dust from his pants.

"Let's go, shall we?"