Chapter 21

Be thankful for the hard times.
They are heaven sent to
teach you lessons,
make you stronger,
and ultimately lead you to a better destiny.

- unknown

On the next island, while looking in a bookstore, Luffy excused himself from his three brothers, stating that he saw something he wanted. It took a while of whining that he's a big boy and that he could go out on his own, before they relented and let him go alone. There were a couple of presence that he vaguely recognized from long, long ago. Ones that he wished to never come across ever again. He wanted to investigate alone as to not worry his brothers, hoping he was wrong. If he was wrong, well, he's sure that he could beat these people up.

He followed the presence to a nearby alley to see a very pale-skinned, green-haired woman and a very large man wearing a golden helmet and a weird skirt waiting for him.

"Hello there, little one," Monet greeted. "Enjoy your brief freedom?"

"Who are you?" Luffy asked with his guards up. He could tell they weren't good people

"You don't remember us? After we took such good care of you, too," the woman said with her hand to the side of her face. "I'm Monet, and this is Pica."

"What do you want?" Luffy growled, vaguely remembering the names that connected to Doflamingo.

"Why, to bring you back to where you belong, of course," the woman laughed. "Young Master has been worried about you when you just upped and disappeared seven years ago."

"I'm not going back. You can't make me," he growled with his fists up.

"Oh? What about your friends?" She pointed to the bookstore. Pisca had moved under the rocky road and appeared next to the bookstore where his brothers were.

Luffy's eyes widened, understanding what Pisca is about to do. "Wait! Leave them alone!"

"That can be done. Young Master only needs you. The others are dispensable. I'll come pick you up later tonight, little one. Enjoy your last day of freedom," Monet giggled as she walked deeper into the alley, and Pisca disappeared back into the ground.

-*/-*/-*/

The next morning, Ace walked into the galley and looked around, looking confused.

"What's wrong-yoi?" Marco asked as he entered behind him.

"Morning, Pops. Have you seen Luffy? He was already out of bed by the time we woke up. Thought maybe he was hungry and came to get breakfast before us," Ace asked as he continued his search.

"No, haven't seen him," Marco mused with a hand to his chin. "That's very strange-yoi. He's never up before you three. As a matter of fact, it's hard to get him up at all-yoi."

"Ace!" Sabo's head popped up from the floor board of the galley, causing everyone to turn to him. "Luffy's hat is still down here!"

"Not only that," Law popped his head from the same hole, "our boat is missing. He even took off our flag." He held up the black flag.

"What?!" Ace screamed. "Are you sure?"

"I just looked, dumbass. It's not there."

"We better tell Pops-yoi," Marco turned to leave the galley, the three teens followed.

Whitebeard looked pensive as they reported to him. "Something isn't right," he said. "Something must have happened. Who was in charge of watch last night?"

"Rakuyo. I'll go get him-yoi," Marco said and returned not too long after.

"I've already asked all my men who were on watch with me, Pops," Rakuyo said. "No one saw anyone leaving or coming near the ship all night. I had men in all three crow's nest, and men stationed in every corner of the ship. There was no blind spot. There's no way Little Luffy could have left without someone noticing."

"But he's not on the ship," Law said. "We've looked everywhere and asked everyone. No one's seen him since last night."

"Maybe he left before we departed from the island last night," Rakuyo suggested.

"No," Sabo interjected. "He went to bed with us last night, and that was well after we left the island. Before that, we were eating some snacks."

"All four of us were together when the ship departed," Ace said.

"Wait," Law said thoughtfully. "There was a few minutes where Lu-ya went off on his own yesterday. Remember? It was when we were in the bookstore."

"But he said he saw snacks he wanted," Sabo said. "He even came back with two bags full of them, and he wasn't gone that long."

"Was he acting strange when he came back-yoi?" Marco asked.

"No," Ace answered.

"It's Luffy, we're talking about," Marco said, running a hand through his hair in worry. "He must have snuck out when the watch shift changed-yoi."

"The newspaper," Whitebeard said slowly in thought. "It could be Doflamingo. He must have predicted where we would land next after Fishman Island and sent his men there. They must have threatened him to go with them."

"I know most of Joker-ya's men, and I know for a fact that Lu-ya could have beaten most of them up if he wanted to," Law said, "or at least make enough noise that we'd notice."

"That may be, but what if they struck him where it hurts the most," Whitebeard said sadly. "Think about it. What could possibly cause the boy to follow them willingly?"

Law, Ace, and Sabo slowly came to the realization of what must have happened.

"That's right-yoi," Marco said. "They must have threatened you three somehow, without you boys realizing."

"Dammit!" Ace cursed. "We have to get Luffy back."

"Dressrosa," Law said. "Joker-ya is in Dressrosa, been there for years. We know where he is, and I know the fighting styles of all his family members and the top three executives."

"We know where he's been," Jiru said. At some point, by word of mouth, everyone had gathered around on deck in worry, while the commanders stood around Whitebeard's chair on the upper deck. "That's why we've avoided Dressrosa the whole time you boys have been with us."

Jozu nodded. "We can't act too rashly. He practically has the citizens of Dressrosa as hostages. That's why the government can't do anything about it, not to mention his position as a Warlord."

"Don't worry, my sons," Whitebeard said. "We will make plans, and we'll teach the world why you don't mess with us. We will get our youngest back."

Everyone cheered at that with their weapons drawn and up in the air, a declaration of war against the one that has wronged them.

"I know this isn't the best time for this," Whitebeard looked to Ace and Sabo, "but with the situation as it is, we need to be at our best. Ace, Sabo, I want you both to be commanders of the second division."

"Us?" the both said. "Why us? There are plenty of people that have been here longer."

"It is precisely because it is you two," the captain smiled at them. "Marco has been taking care of both his own division and the second division. We both decided that this position would be perfect for you and started teaching you the ropes in hopes you would be ready to take over in a few years. Why else would he let you take care of some of his duties? With things as it is now, I believe now is a good time for you to take the reins."

"What about Trao?" Sabo asked. "He's older than us, and he's smarter."

"I can't," Law said with a smirk, "because I plan on leaving the same day Luffy-ya leaves. Not to fight him for the seat as the Pirate King, but because I want to have my own adventures with my own crew. Also, to support him when I can. I also think you two would be perfect for the position."

The whole second division below them roared their own approval, having known about it since Marco asked them their opinion about it a couple years back. That was why they've been spending as much time as they could individually with the two boys, so that they would understand each of their strength and weaknesses.

"So what do you say-yoi?" Marco asked.

"If that's what it takes to get our sun back, then we accept," they both grinned.

-*/-*/-*/

After Monet picked him up from the boat he'd stolen, she flew him towards Dressrosa. Now, he was standing before the man who he'd never forget, no matter how young he was when they first met. There was no way to forget that hideous pink feathered coat.

"I'm so glad to have you back," Doflamingo cooed. "It's been so boring without you to entertain me. You are, after all, my prized possession. I heard about how Glem treated you boys horribly. Aren't you glad that he's been disposed of?" The Warlord continued on, not waiting for an answer. "Don't you worry. I won't let anything like that happen to you again. You will be staying here in my country, where I will be taking good care of you. You will always have a comfortable bed, fed to your content, and be trained to be my right-hand man." Doflamingo laughed. "Now then, why don't we have Violet show you to your living quarter. You remember her, right? Of course, you do. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call for her. She will be your caretaker from now on."

Luffy didn't even get a chance to say anything. He didn't feel like saying anything. He could feel the sadness all around the seemingly happy island. He felt like his heart was being crushed. It took everything he had to not shed a tear at the sadness that tried to seep into him. Who knows how Mingo would react to that.

Instead of a room in the castle, like he had first thought, he was led down under the large building and into the prison area. In each of the cells were many sleeping large muscular men, all bandaged and looking worse for wear. They stopped at an empty cell at the end of the corridor. Like promised, there was a large comfortable bed that was out of place in the cold dungeon.

"This is your room. Make yourself comfortable. Breakfast will be served in a few hours. I suggest you sleep until then." She then closed the bars behind him and locked it before leaving him alone.

Luffy looked out the small barred window to see it was still dark out and crawled into his bed, trying to make himself comfortable, but he couldn't sleep. His brothers weren't there with him. The thought of being alone made him cry. At least here the feeling of sadness wasn't as strong. It was more tolerable.

He was startled by the jangle of keys and the creaking of bars. He hadn't noticed it was already morning, with all the tossing turning he did under the plush cover.

"Your breakfast," Violet greeted him with a large plate of fancy omelet and a large cup each of orange juice and milk. "Eat up. Training will start in two days. You can rest until then and get used to your living situation."

There were shouts from all the other prisoners next to him, demanding where the kid came from and why he gets real food while they only get a plate of mush. The glare she sent them had them shut their mouths and turned their glare at him.

Luffy sent his plate a forlorn look before slowly eating. It didn't taste as good as Thatch's, but he was hungry. Thatch had taught him to never waste food, so he ate everything he was given, even if it didn't fill him.

He ignored all strange looks sent his way. He didn't even bother looking at them and kept to himself. What was the point? There was no need to talk to them. The only ones he wanted to talk to right now weren't with him. He looked to the window and hoped Doflamingo kept his promise and his family were safe.

Violet returned with clothes for him to change into and once again left him, only to come back with his extravagant lunch and dinner. How was he supposed to get used to his surroundings if they don't let him out and walk around and explore? At least there was a clean toilet he can use in his cell. He can't even stick his head out the bars too look down the hall. The cell bars were made of seastone to ensure he wouldn't be able to escape. Is this all he's allowed to see?

If it is, then he's already used to it. There's nothing to do. It's boring. The least they can do is give him a good book to read or a game or something. He decided to ask Violet for something the next time she returned the next morning. He hates being bored.

"A book?" Violet asked in surprise the next morning when she brought him his breakfast.

"Yeah. I'm bored."

She laughed. "Young Master would be thrilled to know that you've taken to reading. I'll bring you something from the library. Next time, you don't have to wait for me to come to you. Just say what you want, and I'll come."

Violet brought a few books for him to keep him occupied. Satisfied, he settled down on his plush bed to read, ignoring all the questions from the other prisoners.

He laid in his bed, trying to sleep. After a few hours, he gave up and lit the lamp on the small table next to him and read through the night. No matter how nice and warm the blankets were, it was too cold for him to sleep, having gotten used to always sleeping with someone next to him. It was usually Ace and Sabo and sometimes Trao or Pops.

-*/-*/-*/

The next night, after all the other prisoners had fallen asleep, Luffy tossed and turned. Giving up, he got up and walked along the cell perimeter. One wall made of bricks that would make a lot of noise if he broke it, the other wall that lead to the outside was made of strong rocks that he was sure he could break but would also make a lot of noise, the bars that lead to the hall with the door was made of seastone, and the last one, the one that separated him from the other cell with the prisoners were just regular iron bars.

Luffy thought about it a bit before shrugging and pulled two of the bars on the bottom apart wide enough for him to slip through. He's too tired to go another night without sleep. Once he was in the other cell, he didn't bother to look around and snuggled with the closest person. He was so used to sleeping with his brothers and thought maybe he couldn't sleep because he was alone. The problem was this guy smelled like he needed a bath, not like Ace and Sabo, who always smelled clean. He just sighed and tried to make himself comfortable and finally fell asleep, too tired to care about the smell.

The next morning the prisoners woke up to find Luffy sleeping in their cell. The man Luffy went to sleep with cradled the boy, not wanting to wake him yet, since the kid looked so comfortable, and they all saw how tired he looked yesterday. They were all worried about having someone so young in the prison with them. They tried to get the boy to talk, but he would just ignore them.

"What are you doing with the boy?" They all looked up to see Violet glaring at them, with a plate of breakfast in one hand.

At the sound of her voice, Luffy stirred. "Food?" he mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. His nose picked up the smell of eggs. Still not fully awake but hungry enough to want food, he reached out towards where the smell was coming from.

They all stared with wide eyes as the arm stretched over two feet longer than it should be able to reach, only for it to snap back when it touched the bar separating them from Violet.

Now wide awake from his arm snapping back, Luffy sat up and took in his surrounding.

"What are you doing there, Luffy?"

Luffy turned to look at Violet and pouted. "I don't like sleeping alone." He got up and apologized to the guy he snuggled with before crawling back through the iron bars he bent and back to his cell.

Violet entered his cell and set his plate of breakfast on the small table for the boy. "Why didn't you tell us you ate a Devil's Fruit?"

"I thought you knew, that's why there's seastone in here," he pointed to the bars leading to the prison hall.

"All the cells have seastone," she explained. "Anyway, eat your breakfast. I'll be back in an hour for your training."

An hour later she brought him to an armory filled with different kinds of armors and weapons.

"Young Master wants you to disguise yourself. You've already made a name for yourself, and we don't need mass panic once the citizens find out that one of the Demon Children is here on this island," Violet explained. "That and Young Master wants the people to get to know you before he announce you as his right-hand. So a disguise and an alias."

"Aliens?" Luffy tilted his head to the side.

"Alias, it's a fake name so the people doesn't know it's you."

"Oh~" he sang before scrunching his face in thought. "Lucy," he said. Something short and simple, and yet similar to his own name so that his brothers would know it was him.

"All right, Lucy it is. Now you need a disguise."

Luffy immediately picked up a gold helmet and put it on, smiling widely. "I've always wanted to wear one of these," he laughed. "Oh! And this! This is so cool!" He picked up a white beard and mustache that just happened to be here. "It's like playing dress up," he cheered, feeling at lot better about his situation after a night of sleep.

Violet smiled at the boy fondly before leading him out to a colosseum-like arena for his 'training.'

He walked out on the round stage surrounded by water. There was a crowd of spectators to watch. He could feel it again. The sadness he felt when he first set foot on the island kingdom, but it wasn't as strong. He did his best to suppress his haki and the urge to cry. There was no need to make Mingo mad at him for something he can barely control. He gritted his teeth in an attempt to control himself, thinking to himself that this would be good training to control his emotions.

The announcer announced the fighter's name, and Luffy knew what kind of training he was doing. He's fighting, not training. Joker just wants to see what he had learn after being away from his watchful eyes for so long.

His first opponent appeared with a sword. It was the prisoner that kept him warm while he slept. Luffy wasn't too keen on beating the guy up after helping sleep, but he didn't have a choice. He looked up and saw Mingo watching him.

Violet didn't give him a weapon, so he suppose this training required him to fight a swordsman barehanded. It didn't take very long at all. All it took was a few dodge and a single punch to the man's face, and the show was over. He did his best as to not hurt the man too much.

The man was dragged off the stage and another took his place. This went on for a few hours before he was led back to his room, tired and exhausted from fighting that many alone. They weren't strong, but fighting for that long tired him out. At least he won each match. Doflamingo wouldn't be able to get mad at him if he won.

"You know, kid," the first man he knocked out said, "you're more than welcome to sleep here with us. We have no idea why Doflamingo would keep a kid like you here with us, but if it helps you sleep, you're more than welcome to." The other prisoners nodded their agreement.

"But I beat you guys up today," Luffy said softly, feeling guilty.

"You didn't have a choice, did you?" Luffy shook his head. "Then no hard feelings. You're really strong for a kid."

Luffy lit up at the compliment, and they all chatted merrily, with Luffy telling them stories of his trainings and adventures with his brothers and the rest of his family.

-*/-*/-*/-*/-*/

A/N: I hate getting old. The older I get, the more I find out how much my body hates me. Friday, I learned that my muscles are lazy. Damn droopy eyelids. Makes me wonder what's next to fall apart on me. I'm not even that old yet! I suck at this whole getting old business. T_T Sorry for the rant. It's bothering me more than it should. At least I don't have anything life threatening. As they say, 'Not everyday is a bad day, ...' I prefer laughing and happy things anyway.

On a happier note, or not, we're now dealing with the Pink Bastard. And the next chapter is a little longer. ^_^v