Sorry for the wait everyone. I've been working on the OPbigbang a lot on top of life. And by that I mean whenever I wasn't working 10 hours a day and driving 2 hours at least I was writing. Then my cat died, and he was my baby... And I've been ill myself. So. Writing when I can. Which is sometimes only a few moments at work. This has not been a good few months for me... Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter! And sorry for not answering reviews like I normally do. I did get them, I just wasn't feeling up to it... I love you all though.
ATMOS
The raid on the merchant ship had gone smoothly. Pathetically smoothly, if you asked Atmos. Glaring down at the captain of the ship, he delivered another kick to the man's ribs on principle. After he was convinced his vic- er- opponent wasn't going to be getting back up he turned his attention to the rest of his division, many of whom were waiting for orders.
"Alright, you know the drill, sack and scuttle this scow. Don't leave a barrel behind! I mean it this time you bastards! We need to refill the larder again." He urged, earning half hearted laughs as everyone got to work. It seemed to be a merchant vessel of some sort. Well stocked will a variety of goods. Atmos didn't have time to conduct a full inventory but he thought there was enough to get them to the next harbor. Plenty to sell as well. This was the part he wasn't quite as fond of: digging around in the other ship. The fighting was fun, and he definitely enjoyed seeing what the haul was, but getting it all on their ship and then back safely to the Moby Dick was a right pain in his ass. Once onboard the larger ship he'd have the space and time to go over everything and divvy it up properly.
One of his brothers went by with what seemed to be a cage with a skeleton in it, of all things. Atmos blinked, staring in surprise after the man who continued to load their boat with the unusual good as he tried to figure out what the hell was up with it. In the end he turned his attention back to a particularly large barrel that was giving another some trouble. At best the remains were some kind of rare artifact; at worst it was a poor soul who needed to be laid to rest. A wicked grin crossed his face as he carefully handed off the barrel below deck. If nothing else, it would make an excellent prank for Thatch. He still owed his brother for somehow bending the horns of his helmet.
"Hurry up, you lot!" He hollered, grin still stretched wide across his thick teeth. Atmos couldn't wait to return to the ship.
*BREAK*
"Thatch!" Atmos waved, getting the fourth division commander's attention.
It took a moment for the man to extract himself from the Strawhat brat, who had been clinging to him like some kind of sea star. With the smiles both wore, the leader of the thirteenth division was slightly worried for whomever their newest victim was. Thatch seemed happy enough as he came jogging over, though the wide smile slipped from his face the moment he was out of sight of Luffy and he let out a sigh.
"What, the brat tiring you out already?"
"Hardly. I just feel bad for him; he's not a complete idiot, Atmos. He knows you went on a raid today. Poor brat is feeling a bit cooped up on the ship and I can't blame him. He's a pirate, after all. Adventure's in his blood."
Atmos couldn't argue that point. Even if he doubted the sanity of any crew who'd follow the Strawhat brat, it was obvious that he did have a crew if the reindeer and swordsman were anything to go by. That didn't mean he thought particularly well of the crew, not with the risks they were bound to take with such an energetic idiot leading them. "What I don't understand is how his crew just goes along with his dumb ideas. He's tried no less than three times to pick a fight with ships passing in the distance."
"Ace says that's just how he is."
"It's dangerous and stupid. I can see how younger crewmen might respect that as brave or something, but surely he has a few seasoned members on his crew? Why do they let their so-called captain get away with this shit?"
Thatch offered a shrug, but his look became guarded. Apparently the little shit was getting to him. After a moment the fourth division commander spoke. "So you call me over here just to bitch or to show me the haul?"
Atmos broke into a wide grin, thoughts of the annoying rookie banished temporarily from his mind as he slapped his brother on the back and steered him towards the stairs. They'd already stashed the haul below deck, as per Oyaji's orders, and everything was set up for the prank he had been planning since he saw the remains. "Right this way. Got some good stuff this time- wait till you see."
Thatch followed him easily, not suspecting a thing. Atmos had to fight to keep the grin off his face as he turned on the lantern in the cargo hold. Everything had been neatly arranged based on size, and labeling of the goods hadn't quite officially begun. Still, he knew where the particular item he was looking for was. He was the one who had arranged where the cage would be put, after all.
"Wow look at these fabrics! Don't let Izo see them or we'll never be able to sell them." Thatch joked, fingering a colorful brocade.
Atmos pointed to the pile of fabric boots, "I'm sure we can spare one or two for him."
"Just one or two?" Thach joked, moving on. "Nice spices. Not top of the line, but still some I could use."
"Well, anything we don't need we'll just sell." He agreed, slowly drawing his brother towards his goal. A quick glance showed that the cage was still covered with the burlap he'd placed over it. On the opposite side of the narrow walkway between goods he had been sure to place a set of nice swords that were to attract Thatch's attention. The moment the fourth division commander spied the hilts he abandoned all pretense of exploring and made a beeline for those swords, just like Atmos knew he would.
"Would you look at these beauties!" Thatch grinned, reverently holding up one of the blades to the poor light provided by the lantern. "Looks like full tang. Good, solid work..." He muttered, backing up till he was nearly against the cage for the room to give the blade a practice swing. Atmos took advantage of his distraction and yanked off the burlap. One good swing later and Thatch turned towards him - and the cage- undoubtedly to ask for the swords. Instead he shrieked like a green marine on their first mission, nearly dropping the blade as he flailed and stumbled back away. "What the HELL is that?!"
"What, don't you like it?" Atmos laughed.
"No, no I don't! Not funny, you asshole!" Thatch growled out, punching him in the arm before looking at the remains with a shudder. "Poor bastard."
Atmos nodded, deciding to answer the unasked question, "We're going to give him a proper burial at sea as soon as Jonny picks the lock. Horrible way to go, caged like that."
"Wonder who he was." Thatch sighed, turning away and picking up the other sword. "These? These are mine now, you bastard."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He laughed, turning to go only to be stopped by a skeletal hand on his shoulder. "Really, Thatch?"
"T-t-t-that's not me." Thatch squeaked out.
"Excuse me, but could I have something to drink, please?"
Turning his head slowly he saw the dead body standing up, with his other hand resting on the cage door that now stood open. Empty eye sockets stared at him and he swallowed. "Uhhh..."
"I was having a nice nap, but that screaming could wake the dead. Yohohoho!"
"Sorry?" Thatch tried.
"Oh not at all. I must continue my search for Luffy-san. Getting mistaken as a demon set me back. Especially when they sold me. Lucky for me I had a skeleton key. Skull joke!"
Atmos started to back away slowly. Either he was hallucinating or there was a walking, talking skeleton, which could be an improvement to seeing things... or worse. As the thing took a step forward he decided it was definitely worse. He made the sign of the cross, which had no effect other than earning a laugh.
"Are you-" Thatch cleared his throat and tried again, "you're Brook, right? The musician of the Strawhat crew?"
"Ah, you've heard of me? That gives me such a warm feeling in my heart- but I don't have one!" Atmos glared at Thatch while the now identified Brook went on about a skull joke.
"What? If you spent any time with the brat you'd know this." Even though Thatch was still pale he reached out and put a hand on the taller… man… before grinning up at the skull. "Well you are in luck, my boney friend. Luffy just happens to be here and I'm sure he'd love to see you... after we take you for a quick tour around the ship, right, Atmos?" Thatch smirked at him.
It took the larger man all of three seconds to figure it out. If they'd been freaked out a little, just think of how those who weren't division commanders would react. His answering grin was just as wide and had the bone man nervously laughing. "Sounds like a fantastic plan."
SABO
"Moby Dick is in sight; we'll be pulling up alongside it shortly." He said, poking his head in the cabin to let Robin know. "So you can ask about your captain and I'll just wait—"
"You'll be coming with me, of course." Nico Robin smiled politely at him, closing her book as she stood. Most people wouldn't dare cut him off, but then again, she wasn't most people. The resistance had quickly learned that her reputation was well deserved and Robin was not a woman one wanted to cross. They were still all trying to figure out how she ended up serving under Strawhat Luffy. Given what they knew of his personality, it was more likely she'd have murdered him in his sleep than willingly gone looking for him. That was Luffy for you, though.
So here she was, bossing around resistance members and forcing them to tangle with the Whitebeard pirates on a whim. At least, that's what he thought. Kuma had sent each of the Strawhat pirates to where they'd both be the safest and grow in strength, so he was sure Luffy was fine. It didn't make much sense that so far the resistance had reports of two Strawhats making contact with the Whitebeard pirates before leaving hours later. If anything, he'd have assumed they all would have headed back to the archipelago. Robin, however, had just smiled and said they must have gone to see Ace. Because, for whatever reason, the hothead should know where his little brother was, even though he'd never much seemed to care before. Or even after Luffy'd gone out to sea. Obviously he didn't know, because if he did, the Strawhats wouldn't have left. He pointed this all out to Robin, even going so far as to suggest all of them popping in was just going to upset Ace more if he knew anything about the guy, and she'd overruled him, going straight to Dragon. Even their leader didn't mess with the woman once she'd calmly threatened his life if he didn't let her find her captain- his son.
By the time they'd pulled even with the ship a good size crowd had gathered, looking down at them. A good many of the crew had weapons drawn already and looked ready to defend their ship. Robin didn't let that deter her, walking over to the outer wall of the Moby Dick and ignoring the shouts from above. "I really don't think that me going with you is a good idea…" She didn't answer, just started to climb up the limbs she had sprouted from the side of the much bigger vessel. Each hand waved at him to hurry up. "They're pirates, I'm a rebel. This is going to end badly."
"As Luffy-san would say, it will be an adventure." She really wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. Luckily no one decided to shoot them on their way up, and before long he was standing right behind Robin as she faced a more-than-slightly-hostile crowd. "May I speak with your captain, Whitebeard-san?"
"I thought we were here to see Ace?!" He hissed. If he had to choose, he'd rather face Ace and get killed quickly, thank you very much.
"Since I never met him and at the time he met up with Captain-san I was an enemy, that might not be the best idea." She replied, a knowing look on her face.
A man pushed his way through the crowd. He had a pompadour and wore a chef's outfit. Somehow he wasn't surprised the fourth division commander had taken an interest. The man had an easy smile on his face, despite one hand resting on the hilt of one of his swords. "Nico Robin, right?"
"Yes."
""I'm Thatch. I bet I know what you're here for." He grinned, "I'll take you to see Oyaji, the both of you if you're willing to vouch for this guy."
"No, no, that's quite alrigh-"
"If you could. I have a feeling Portgas-san would be very interested to meet the second in command of the resistance." He didn't have to see the look on her face to know that she was smug. It was written all over the curious look Thatch was giving him as he lead the way to an oversized chair on deck. The man ignored the crowd that followed them, which was most definitely not an honor guard, and kept his attention on the two of them.
"Why is that?" He squinted slightly, "You're name is Sabo or something, right? Don't act so surprised, of course we've heard about you. Oyaji likes to keep informed about what's going on in the world."
"Cuts down on snot-nosed brats getting into trouble over their heads. Gahahahaha." Whitebeard boomed, overhearing them as they approached. The man really was impressively intimidating even in his old age. Just like Dragon had said. "Doesn't always work, though. Some of my sons still need a helping hand every now and then."
Thatch grinned, "Even if they don't know they're your son, Oyaji?"
"Hush, brat." Whitebeard admonished, leaving Sabo to wonder exactly what the other had meant by that. "So you're the infamous Nico Robin. We've been expecting you. I'm sure some of my children are less happy to see you than others. There has been quite the betting pool on which of you Strawhat brats would be the next to show up."
"Then that makes this easier." Robin smiled back up at the man. "Can you tell me where he is? Captain-san."
Whitebeard had a twinkle in his eye when he replied, "At the moment, no."
"I told you this was a waste of time. We should go. Now. Now would be good." Sabo griped, shifting from foot to foot. If they waited too long Ace might show up. Something told him Ace would blame him for Luffy going missing, too.
"Impatient, aren't you, brat?"
"Don't call me that."
"Gahahaha."
"Well, could I speak with Portgas-san?" Robin asked, ignoring them both after a hand rose out of Sabo's shoulder and covered his mouth.
"I don't mind." Whitebeard said, leaning back and picking up a tankard. "When he realizes we have company, you may speak with him."
Sabo bit the hand covering his mouth, causing it to vanish. "Really, that's not necessary-" When everyone stared at him, Robin with a creepy grin, he swallowed convulsively. He didn't want to meet Ace right now. His brother was going to kill him for not telling him where the hell he was all this time. Sabo wanted to live a little bit longer, thank you very much. He still needed to see Luffy become Pirate King. Besides, being burned to death by Ace sounded exceedingly painful even if he might –okay, totally- did deserve it. "There's no need to wake him. I'll leave a note. That would be fine, right miss Robin?" A note would give him a head start.
"He's not sleeping." Thatch said, giving him an odd look, "He's off playing with Haruta and the other brat."
Other brat? "Oh. Well. No need to interrup—"
"TWO AGAINST ONE ISN'T FAIR!" A shout rang out, the sound of footfalls making their way over to them.
"PIRATES!" Two voices chorused.
"HEY! No hiding behind giant Mustache guy!"
"OYAJI! HELP!" A flash of orange, tan, and black darted past, skidding to a stop at the far side of the chair. "SAFE!"
"Oyaji…!" One of the other voices whined from within the crowd.
The old man laughed, "That's enough, you three. We have guests." A large hand nudged the orange hat. Sabo swallowed convulsively and tried to duck behind Robin, only to find his feet held to the floor by hands. She was an evil, evil woman. "Ace, they are here to speak to you."
"Oh?" Ace turned and faced them and Sabo's heart did a strange little twist. He'd never seen his brother so happy looking, so… content. Even looking at the wanted poster he'd still imagined his brother to be the angry youth he remembered, full of hate for the world, and for himself. He's finally found himself. Grey eyes flitted over him with a frown before settling on Robin. The smile broke into a wide grin. "Hey! You're Robin! Lu won't shut up about you and your books." He bowed, "Thanks for trying to save my brother from himself. I know he's a bit of a lost cause, but—"
"No, no, Luffy-san saved me." Robin answered, a look of pure happiness on her face. "I take it Luffy-san is alright?"
Ace smirked, "You could say that." His eyes trailed over to Sabo again and he frowned. "Who the hell are you?"
"Uh- I'm—"
"Portgas-san, Sabo-san insisted on giving me a lift. He was very concerned about your younger brother." Robin lied smoothly, "He refused to stay in hiding any longer while his brothers might need him."
Ace blinked in surprise before his expression darkened, flames licking at his skin as the rest of his crew wisely took a step back. Sabo wished he could. Even with Robin no longer holding him in place, he knew running would just make it worse. "Hiding?! YOU WERE IN HIDING?!" A flaming fist came flying at his face. Just before it connected the flames went out, still leaving Sabo to face a brutal right hook that sent him sprawling. "We thought you were dead, you asshole!"
Sabo looked up, holding his cheek when the next blow didn't come. He'd never realized they thought was dead. He was going to have some words with Dragon when he got back. He was shocked to see that Ace was being held back by some brave fool. Still, he wasn't going to let the moment go to waste. "I'm sorry! Ace, I thought you-"
"Dogra saw your ship go down, Sabo!" Ace cut him off, murder in his eyes. "We mourned you, you bastard!"
Sabo slowly got to his feet, reaching out towards his brother who was now staring down at the deck, fists clenched. He hadn't ever meant to hurt Ace like that. And Luffy! He couldn't imagine what his little brother thought. No, he deserved Ace's hate. If they never wanted to see him again, he'd understand. "I'll- I'll just g-"
"You-" A hand shot out, and Sabo found himself pulled against Ace's chest, his brother's face against his shoulder as the other openly cried. "You stupid-fuck, why didn't you tell us?"
"It…. I…." He didn't have an answer, not really. Not a good one. "I didn't think you'd have known about the ship." He finished lamely.
"Idiot." Ace huffed out, letting go and wiping his tears away. Just in time too, as something hard collided with Sabo's middle. "Hey, don't break him! We just got him back!"
"IhoughtyouweredeadandIwassosaaaaaaddddd!" The burr that was actually his little brother cried, almost hugging the life out of him.
"Can't-breathe!" Sabo wheezed out just before the arms loosened slightly. He'd forgotten how dangerous being hugged by Luffy could be. "I'm sorry. I miss you, too, Luffy. Both of you." He said, hugging the youngest back. He blinked. ""L-Luffy! What are you doing here?!" Sabo stammered, gaping down at the straw hat.
"Mmmm, well…." Luffy said into his shirt, "They were trying to sell Cami and-"
Robin chuckled, "I believe he meant how you ended up here exactly, Luffy-san. I've already told him about the attack."
The teen looked over at Robin before looking up at Sabo with a wide smile on his face, refusing to let go. A glance over at Ace showed his other brother had this pained expression on his face. Sabo remembered him wearing a similar expression when dealing with Luffy as children. "Oh! I crashed here, Shihihihi."
He felt sorry for the crew. Though it was a bit difficult with the death-grip Luffy had on his waist he managed something of a bow towards the Whitebeard Pirates, "I'm sorry you had to put up with Luffy."
Ace growled at him before lashing out and whacking Sabo on the head, sending his hat to the ground. "Damn right you should be sorry! You left Luffy with me! You're supposed to be the responsible one! I nearly got him killed by a bear thanks to you going off!"
"How is that my fault?!" Sabo sputtered.
Ace colored slightly, suggesting he was possibly jealous of all things of Luffy still hugging Sabo. It wasn't like Sabo asked for Luffy to hold on! "You left! You didn't even write!"
Desperately he worked on getting the rubber idiot to let go. "You didn't either!"
"I gave him a vivre card in Alabasta." Ace sniffed, looking smug.
Sabo saw red, thinking about what Robin had told him about Alabasta. Talk about your irresponsible big brother! "You left him to face a Shichibukai alone in Alabasta!" Finally he managed to pry Luffy off, which was good since right now he was reminded about how he'd wanted to beat the shit out of Ace for that.
His brother gave him a look like he was stupid, "I stopped a marine!"
"Shichibukai, Ace!"
"He could handle it! Luffy's fine!" The other protested, arms crossed as he looked away.
Sabo grabbed him by the shoulders, remembering when it had been easier back when Ace had worn a shirt and shook him. "He stuck a hook through his guts, Ace! And poisoned him! What the fuck were you thinking?!" It made him feel better when his brother blanched for a moment before that old spark of anger came rushing back.
"Shihihihi! I still won-"
"STAY OUT OF THIS!" They chorused like they had many times in their childhood.
"I was busy!" Ace protested.
"Doing what?!" Because what could be more important than protecting their precious baby brother?!
Ace waved a hand vaguely at his crew before pointing at Luffy and it clicked right before he said "Protecting Luffy!" making Sabo feel a little like an ass, but still, it could have waited! Ace wasn't done though, he snarled right back into Sabo's face, "And you, where the hell were you and your precious resistance when he declared war on the world, huhhhh?" Ace's hand fell onto the hilt of his dagger as he leaned forward getting right into Sabo's face.
"Oh don't you even go there!" He snapped back, hand on his pipe, "We at least got him out of Sabaody-" He swung the pipe around only to have Ace counter it with a small blade. The bastard had expected him to try and attack first for a change. "YOU should have known him being there was a bad idea!"
"Since when does he listen to anyone?!" Ace growled, countering with a blow of his own.
For a few moments, the sound of metal on metal was all that could be heard. Sabo and Ace were still evenly matched, and both grinned viciously at each other as they closed once more, trying to force the other to the ground. Sabo thought he just might have had the advantage as he felt Ace shift slightly under him when they were both tackled from the side, sending them both the the ground. "I win!" Luffy cheered as he perched on top of them both before hugging the two older men close.
"You cheater." Ace smiled at Luffy, eyes soft before looking at Sabo. His expression was guarded for a moment before he offered a warm smile that felt like home to the blond. "He's missed you."
Sabo heard what Ace really meant, though. He always did. "I missed you two, too."
A giggle interrupted them, "Sabo, hey. Wanna join my crew?"
"No."
"Stingy." Luffy pouted before laughing as he sat up, dragging them both with him. He turned to Robin, "Nee, I'm gonna stay here a bit and get stronger, Robin. I'm gonna get so strong that nothing like that will ever happen to us again!" He grinned.
"I'm sure you will, Captain." Robin's look was the most content look he had seen on her face. "Then I should get stronger, as well."
If he had been expecting Luffy to protest that she was strong enough, or that she didn't need to go to the trouble, Sabo was out of luck. Instead his brother nodded, looking serious for the briefest of moment. "We'll all meet again at Sabaody, in about two years time, alright?"
"I look forward to seeing how much you've grown." Robin smiled, "Do the others know?"
"Mmmm, Well, I've talked to Zoro, Chopper and Brook about it already. But I don't know where Usopp, Franky and Nami are. Do you?"
"Well, I'm sure they'll find their way to you." Robin offered a slight shrug, "I wouldn't worry too much."
"Right!" Luffy nodded, "But while you're here we should have a party!"
"Hey, you brat! Oyaji's the one who decides stuff like that!" Thatch grumbled, smiling all the same.
"Gahahaha, of course we can party, brat." Whitebeard laughed, grinning down at Luffy and Ace, "You don't find a brother every day, son. Of course this calls for a party."
As Sabo was nearly strangled again by Luffy's enthusiastic hug and Ace's only slightly more restrained one, he had to wonder just who, exactly, Whitebeard meant by 'son'...
