2 Years And 3 Months Ago

Goa Kingdom

"Oh, come on Luffy. It's not that bad! You still got me and Mayor," Makino giggled at the somber 13 year old, only receiving a hmph from the boy.

He'd been like this the whole day. Makino had tried giving him some juice to lighten up his mood, but in vain. Luffy sighed once more, stroking a hand over his Straw Hat that was placed beside him on the counter.

The boy had been like this ever since his two big brothers had started on their journey 4 months ago. It was to be expected, of course. Luffy and his big brothers had always been close ever since they were young, the three nearly inseparable. It must be weird to adjust, and it had only been two months since their departure, so she could let it slide. Mayor, however, had other plans.

He huffed at the gloomy teen, before he hit his walking stick on Luffy's leg, earning a yelp from the boy.

"What was that for Mayor!", he yelped, hugging his leg, blowing on it.

"Your gloomy atmosphere is scaring away customers, and I don't think miss Makino would be grateful for that," Mayor explained. "So snap out of it, boy!"

Luffy simply sighed once more, and Makino, sensing that the boy was going back to his depressed state, acted quickly.

"What would your brothers think if they saw you. If you continue like this, you'll never be able to beat them," Makino hid her small smile behind her hand as she saw Luffy jolt, sitting up straighter. A look of realization lightened up his face.

"You're right! I need to go train, now!", Luffy exclaimed, before he noticed the glass of juice he'd barely drinked from. "After I'm done with this."

But, just as Luffy had taken hold of the glass, the doors to the bar slammed open, revealing a small white dog, or at least, a dog that had once been white, but was now covered in red blood.

"Pochi!", Luffy gasped, jumping off of his seat, before crouching down beside the dog.

The dog was panting, and had a few cuts that were bleeding heavily. The dog had something in his mouth, which he spat out into Luffy's hands. It was a yellow scarf, splattered with blood.

"This-this is Magras," Luffy stammered, looking at it in horror. The whole bar was in outrage, everyone frightened by the bloody dog, but Makino heard him.

"Something must have happened," Makino fretted, walking towards the dog, catching the small animal just as he collapsed.

"I need to go and see what's going on!", Luffy exclaimed, before picking himself up, starting to run towards the door. "I'll be back soon, Makino-san, Mayor-san!", he yelled over his shoulder, before he exited the bar, and started to sprint into the forest. He ignored the cries after him.

"Luffy!", Makino yelled. "You forgot your hat!"

Luffy ran through the forest, feeling the small burn in his legs and chest. Wow, Makino was right, he was weaker! He was running towards the Bandit Den, and it had never felt further away. What had happened? Why was Pochi bloody? He didn't want to think about it.

A scream broke him away from his thoughts, and suddenly he couldn't feel the burn in his legs and chest anymore. He jumped over a boulder, ducking under a fallen tree, pushing himself to go faster, faster, faster. He didn't even notice that the whole forest seemed destroyed, with trees that had been cut down, and bushes that had been torn apart and walked on.

Luffy took a sharp turn, jumping over another fallen tree, before he entered the small clearing around the den. He stopped in his tracks.

The whole clearing was filled with bodies, bleeding bodies, the bleeding bodies of bandits. A shocked sob escaped Luffy, before he ran forwards, starting to shake one of the bandits. He wasn't breathing. Luffy, left him, crouching down beside another. And another, another, another. Why weren't they breathing!

Tears were running down his cheeks, as he desperately tried to find someone, anyone, that was breathing. He crouched down beside Magra's body, and with shaking hands checked the man's chest. Was he breathi-

"L-Luf-fy…," Magra breathed, and the relief that Luffy felt at that moment could rival with the force of a storm in the new world.

"Shh, Magra. Everything's okay," Luffy sniffed, trying to stop his crying as he tried to stop the bleeding of the wound on Magras side. But, before he could do anything, Magra took hold of his arm.

"L-Luffy, ya… ya need t-to go… now," he stuttered, panic evident in his eyes.

"What are you talking about, you're dying!"

"I-if you don't leave, they… they'll find y-ya," Magra stuttered, tears starting to run down his cheeks.

"I can't just leave you!", Luffy screamed, sobs once again starting to rack his body.

"I-it's fi-fine… This, this is enough…," Magra smiled up at Luffy from his tears, tightening his grip on Luffy's arm. "Just… just tell Dadan… and Ace… Sabo… goodbye from… me?"

Luffy could see how the light escaped the man's eyes, and even though he didn't want to except it, he knew that there was nothing he could do.

"Yes, I-I will, Magra," Luffy sobbed, hugging the man that had, his whole childhood, treated his wounds and kissed his boo boo's, in a tight hug. "I-I don't l-like bandits, but, but you guys are alright, okay?" Luffy whispered to the man.

But, Magra didn't answer.

The only thing that could be heard in the clearing was the sobs of a small teenage boy, even when men in white uniforms entered the clearing and walked towards the young child.

It became completely quiet as one of them knocked the child out with a hard kick to the back of his head.

"My God, is he dead? He's dead, isn't he. What am I going to do! Please wake up, please, please, pleas-"

Luffy grumbled, cutting the voice off. His head was hurting a lot, and his mouth felt incredibly dry. He was also cold, probably from the cold, hard floor that he was laying on. He opened his eyes, and was met by a badly lit cell and a young boy. The boy was crying.

"Where-", Luffy started to cough, interrupting his own sentence. His throat was too dry for him to speak, it seemed.

The other boy's eyes widened behind his cracked glasses, and he stuttered something Luffy hadn't been able to catch, before he turned around and retrieved a pouch. He opened it, before he gave it to the still coughing Luffy, letting him drink from it. After a few sips, Luffy's throat seemed satisfied. The other boy took the pouch from him, putting it back from where he'd taken it.

"Are, are you f-feeling b-better n-now?", the boy stuttered worriedly. Luffy nodded, giving the younger boy a small smile.

"Thank you…"

"C-Coby! I-I'm Coby, n-nice meeting you…?"

"The name's Luffy," Luffy greeted, trying not to laugh at the stuttering boy. He seemed very young, maybe 11 years old, and Makino had taught him to be nice to the younger kids.

Luffy looked away from the scared boy, looking around the small cell. He stood up, ignoring Coby's worried protests, and walked to one of the bars. He took hold of it, about to bend it open, when suddenly his whole body felt completely drained. He fell to the floor, gasping for breath. It had felt like falling into the sea.

"What the-?"

"Luffy! Are you alright! Oh, please don't die!", Coby begged, checking Luffy for any injuries. Luffy ignored him.

He once more looked around, only now looking outside of the cell. They were in a room with at least twenty other cells, all filled with people. Luffy had expected them to be glaring in their direction, but no one did. Everyone was sitting stock still, and looked like they were dead. Some probably were.

"Coby, where are we?", he asked, turning around, gazing at the other boy, cutting the other off.

"You, you don't know…?", Coby stammered, knew fear entering his expression. Luffy shook his head. "We… we're on a-" Coby broke down crying before he could finish the sentence.

"Eh, Coby. I don't understand what you're saying," Luffy muttered.

"... We're on a slave ship," Coby's whisper was forced out through his sobs. Luffy flinched back, his eyes widening.

"What are you talking about! That's impossible! I was just home and-"

And, and what? It was blank. He couldn't remember. The last thing he remembered was sitting in Makino's bar sulking, and after that everything was, was just, blank. He tried to remember, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing. It was like a part of his memory was gone. Was this what Sabo had had when they were young?

"I-I'm s-sorry, I-I just can't s-stop crying," Coby sobbed, cutting Luffy off from his thoughts. The boy was shaking with sobs, snot running down his nose, tears clouding his glasses.

Luffy raised his hand, before hitting Coby hard in the head, breaking the boy from his crying.

"W-why did you do that!", He exclaimed.

"'Cause I felt like it," Luffy shrugged. "Plus, it stopped your crying, so, two stones in one bird."

"It's t-two birds in one stone, L-Luffy-san."

"Same thing," Luffy grinned at the pink haired boy, earning a shocked expression from the boy.

"How can you do that?", Coby mumbled. Luffy cocked his head to the side.

"What do you mean?"

"You're- you're smiling! I just told you that we're on a slave ship, we're going to be sold! Our lives are over!", Coby yelled, seemingly forgetting to stutter for a few moments. Luffy just smiled.

"Nope, they aren't," Luffy told the shocked boy. "I'll escape, and then I'll train, and then I'll set sail for the Grand Line!"

Coby's eyes widened, more shock entered his features.

"Grand Line, why would you ever want to go there?!"

"To become the Pirate King, of course!"

Everything became quiet for a few seconds. Coby's mouth was touching the floor, his eyes wide, before he broke out of his daze.

"But, but to become the Pirate King, you, you would have to stand on top of the Great Pirate Era, to find the One Piece!"

"Yup."

"Impossible! It's impossible, you'll die! It's completely impossible. Impossible, impossible, impossible-"

Coby was once again hit on the head, cutting him off. He looked up, and shrieked when he saw Luffy glare at him.

"I don't care. Becoming the Pirate King is my dream, and if I die trying to reach that dream, well, then I'll die!"

Once again their cell became quiet. Coby was staring up at Luffy with a look you would give a loon combined with the look you would give if you saw a miracle. Suddenly, Coby felt how something inside of him changed.

"I've always wanted to become a Marine," Coby confessed, looking down in his lap, twiddling with his trousers, before he once more looked up at Luffy. "Do you think I could?"

"How should I know?"

But Coby didn't seem to hear him, as he was filled with determination.

"No, I will become a Marine! And I'll catch bad guys and make this world a better place!", the eleven year old exclaimed.

"Well then, Coby, I guess that the next time we meet, we'll be enemies-" Coby opened his mouth to object, but Luffy raised a hand and silenced him. "-and I'm looking forwards to fight you on the Grand Line. But, be sure to be strong, got that?"

Coby's cheeks hurt from how big he was smiling.

"Yes, Luffy-san!"

"And, another thing. Have you seen my hat?"

The next three months went by quite fast. Luffy found that Coby, under the layer of cowardice, actually was a funny boy. He always made jokes and tried to make Luffy smile, and in return, Luffy did the same. They also talked about their dreams. Coby's simple dream of joining the Marines, snowballed into becoming him wanting to become the Fleet Admiral. He would tell Luffy all about the things that he would change and create, and Luffy listened carefully.

After coming over the panic of not having his hat anymore, deciding that he must have left it at the Party Bar before his memory became blank, he'd told Coby about everything he would do when he became a pirate. Obviously, the first crew mate he would recruit was a musician, because every crew needed a good musician, and maybe after that a skilled cook, and then they would travel the seas, going from adventure to adventure.

But, they didn't only talk about. They had also created a plan of escape. They knew that they couldn't escape the cell, as Luffy was unable to touch the cell's bars without losing his strength, and Coby was too weak to bend the bars. So, they would have to escape when they were to be transported to the Auction House. Luffy would cause a distraction, and when everybody was distracted they would make a break for it. It may not be a foolproof plan, but it was the best they could come up with.

And soon, the day of the Auction came.

Coby was shaking as the guards came into the room, and started to unlock the cells. They forced the people out of their cells, and pulled out the people that had bitten their tongues off. When the guard opened their cell, Luffy and Coby went willingly, without any protests. If they didn't, the guards would keep an extra eye on them, and they had only one shot at this.

They were transported out of the ship, and were temporarily blinded by the sun that they hadn't seen for three months. When their sight came back, they were met with an island made out of trees and bubbels. Luffy marveled, having stars in his eyes as they were transported around the island. Coby had had to hold his friend back numerous of times. The guards hadn't noticed, as the two boys were in the middle of the group of the prisoners.

When they saw the Auction House, they let their plan go into motion. Luffy let out a high pitched scream and pushed all of the prisoners that were around him. The rest of the prisoners started to panic as well, and the guards, caught off guard by their screaming, wasn't able to react as fast as they should have, and when they started to take down the scared prisoners, they had already gone from mildly spooked, too hysteria.

Luffy took hold of Coby's hand as they navigated through the panicked group, making sure to dodge any guard that were in their way, and soon they were in the outer circle of the group. And then, they ran.

At that moment they had been completely free. There had been nothing to hold them back. And then, that moment had passed.

Coby gasped when he fell to the ground, which alerted Luffy. He'd been a few steps ahead of Coby, and hadn't noticed when the boy had tripped. He turned around, seeing his fallen friend, and, in the background, five guards running towards them.

Before he could think, he'd crouched down beside Coby, helping him up. He noticed a bleeding cut, gushing blood down the young boy's leg. He wouldn't be able to run like that, and the guards were soon on them. He looked into the terrified eyes of his frie- no, his Nakama, and made his decision.

"Coby, run to the nearest Marine base, and tell them to call Garp "The Fist", and if they don't, give them this," Luffy took of the necklace Garp had given him as his birthday present. It was a Marine emblem with the signature of the Fleet Admiral himself. "When you speak to Garp, tell him that Monkey D. Luffy sent you and that I believe you can take my place in the Marines, alright?"

"I-I can't just leave you here!", Coby cried, tears starting to run down his cheeks.

"I'll meet you there, alright?" Luffy knew Coby thought he meant the Marine Base, but Luffy meant something else. Something the two had discussed the first time they had met. He turned towards the guards running towards them. "I'll hold these guys off, so don't worry. Now, run, Coby. Run!"

Luffy heard as the boy sobbed, before he heard him limp away. He took a deep breath, taking a battle stance, glaring at the guards in front of him.

"Let's do this shitheads."

When he came too, for a few seconds, Luffy thought he was still in his cell with Coby. The floor was cold, and it was dark, and for a few moments everything that had happened had just been a bad dream. But then, he remembered.

He'd fought, he'd actually been able to knock out three of the guards, but, more had come. Luffy may be strong, be he couldn't fight against a dozen guards with a starved and tired body. He'd fallen, and they had put something on his wrist. It had been like touching the bars of his cell, only now he couldn't escape. He could still feel the bracelet cutting into his skin. It hurt.

He put his hands under his body, trying to sit up, but it was to no avail. He couldn't move. Guess he could lay where he was.

He looked around his surroundings, trying to see if he could see where he was. There was a small window, and if Luffy could move, maybe he'd been able to escape through it. But he couldn't, so.

Light came from outside the window, balty lighting up the box he was in. Because, that was what it was. A box. And he'd thought the cell had been claustrophobic.

Suddenly, the loud sound of trumpets was heard, breaking Luffy out of his thoughts. The small chatter that had been outside the box became quiet.

"My Lord," A shrill woman's voice broke the silence. "As my first birthday present for you, My Lord, I wanted to make it count. I know that you don't like replacing your staff, but I can promise you that I'll be the best trainer you've ever had. And now, let me show you what I have for you."

Suddenly, light erupted into Luffy's sight, blinding him. He tried to cover his eyes, but his moves were sluggish at best. Someone took hold of his legs, pulling him out of the box. When he was free, they took hold of his arms, dragging him forwards.

"Let go of me, ya damn bastards, or you'll fucking regret it!", Someone threatened, the voice coming from Luffy's left side, and Luffy couldn't really had said it better himself.

"Oi, what the hell is this!?", Another voice roared at Luffy's other side. He tried to see who it was, but his vision was still blurry, but he did distinguish something green.

"They're very fiesty," a man in front of them said, making Luffy turn his gaze forwards, staring up at a man. Luffy couldn't see any details.

"I wanted to show you that I'm a good trainer, Your Wholeness, so I made sure to take the most problematic ones. Plus, I've heard you like it when they break," that same woman's voice stated.

"What a beautiful maiden~," the voice coming from Luffy's left exclaimed. Luffy turned his gaze to the left, and was actually able to see a few details, like that the other boy's eyebrows were, swirly? Alright, maybe Luffy's sight hadn't come back entirely yet.

The woman ignored the gushing teen, instead bowing low to the guy in front of them.

"Bring them forwards," the man ordered, and Luffy saw two guards come forwards, taking hold of his arms dragging him forwards with the two other boys.

Luffy could now see the man clearly, and Luffy wished that his sight hadn't come back to him. The noble was sweating heavily, drool running down his chin, his hair heavily waxed back and he was incredibly obese. Luffy usually don't judge people by appearance, but this guy looks way too much like the rich people in Goa for Luffy not to.

"Bring the green haired one forwards," the man ordered. Luffy turned his gaze to his right, and looked as the green haired boy was pulled forwards. He was growling and snarling, seemingly trying to bite off the guard's hands.

"Hmm, quite wild, almost like an animal. And it's not much to look at, if not for its green hair. I think I shall call it… Beast."

The whole room erupted with applause and cheers, but Beast spluttered, before clear rage overtook his features.

"My name is not fucking Beast! It's-"

"Not anymore," the woman interrupted. "You are Beast, God has spoken. Bring it away."

Luffy looked on as the green haired was dragged out of the room, and why hasn't Luffy noticed that they were in a ballroom?

"Bring the blonde one forwards," the mans booming voice cut Luffy from his thoughts.

Swirly eyebrows also put up a fight, but stopped the second the woman told him off, starting to give her compliments instead. He was weird.

"What a lust filled creature, and it is beautiful, but it does have a foul tongue," the man muttered to himself.

"What the fuck did you just say, you-"

"Shut it!"

"Yes, my splendid mistress! ~"

… What was wrong with this guy? He was flipping between emotions faster than Ace eats his lunch!

"Yes, that would work!", The man exclaimed. "A foul, lust filled creature, hiding underneath a beautiful body. Its name shall be Demon!"

Once again, applause and cheers erupted in the ballroom. The blonde boy opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when he saw the woman clapping. He didn't fight back when he was dragged out of the room.

"Bring the last one to me," the man ordered, and once more, Luffy was dragged forwards. One of the guards took hold of his hair, pulling his head backwards, showing the man his face. "Why isn't it moving?", the man nagged, looking at the woman.

"It's a devil fruit user, Your Splendidness. It's wearing sea stone," she explained.

He bent forwards, looking at Luffy with interest. Before he made eye contact, and suddenly the whole atmosphere of the room change.

"Give it to me," the man ordered, earning a gasp from the ballroom.

"But, My Lord! You can't touch-"

"I said, give it to me!", the man screamed, and before Luffy knew what was happening, he was seated in the lap of the man.

The man tilted Luffy's chin up, and he stared into his eyes, as he stroked his thumb over Luffy's scar. His other hand started to pet Luffy's lower back, and lower, before he gripped Luffy's behind. If Luffy had had the energy to move, he would have flinched away, and then probably punched this man in the face. Hard.

"Absolutely beautiful," the man sighed, a small smile spreading over his lips. His eyes looked hungry, but for what, Luffy didn't know. Luffy's eyes widened when he felt something hard push against his thigh. Why was this man's thing-

"I've never seen such a fine specimen," the man murmured. "Such hope, such innocence. And it's completely mine." The way the man said it made Luffy want to shiver in disgust.

"My Lord, I don't think-"

"Silence trash!", the man snapped. "Don't you see I'm admiring this Ang- Yes, that's it!" The man's gaze returned to Luffy, his crazed smile becoming bigger. "Your name will be Angel."

Luffy wanted to scream, to cry, to do anything, but he could only stare up in horror. He wanted to go home now, he wanted Dadan to yell at him, wanted Makino to hug him, wanted Mayor to hit him, wanted Ace to sing to him, wanted Sabo to read to him, wanted Garp to hit him with one of his fists of love. He wanted anything but this.

"Bring it away," the man ordered, even though he seemed hesitant when he let Luffy go. "Put it with my other toys."

And as Luffy was dragged away, trying to ignore the disgusting feeling running through him, he heard it.

"Make sure that you break Angel, woman. I want to keep it for a long time."

Anger coursed through Luffy. No, they would never be able to break him. He was strong! He was going to be the next Pirate King! And nothing they did could change that.

...

Right?