Searching for a Saviour

by UnicornsThatGamble

After Ace becomes a well known pirate, Foosha Village is taken over by a Celestial Dragon aiming to make the whole town a slave market. Luffy, being labeled as a Devil for being related to the notorious Fire Fist Ace, barely escapes with his life. Now he has only two goals in mind; find Ace and save the village

6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Man I'm always exhausted when I post these things, it's such a damn long process.

Well, I don't know what to say besides that I know the chapter came out later than I thought.

When I said that it should be posted within the month, I totally forgot about the fact that June is exam, test and project month. That's right, that meant minimal writing time and more cellular respiration.

On the bright side, exams have just finished and now it's summer (whoopie!). That means a lot more writing time for me, and faster updates for you. So don't worry, the next chapter will be up a lot faster than this one.

But I'd like to take the time to comment on the fact that I now have almost 200 reviews on this story and over 300 follows. It means a lot to me you guys, and whenever I see a notification every time I go and write a little more of my story.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter.

And yes, this is the one where Ace appears.

DISCLAIMER

"Oi, wake up."

Luffy groans as something nudges his back. With a tired glance up he realizes it's Marco.

"Time to get up-yoi. We've arrived at the Moby Dick." The pineapple head says, then walks away to prep the boat for docking.

After a minute of inner deliberation, Luffy assumes the Moby Dick is their ship's name. A slight prick of excitement run through his veins. Ace is right there!

The teen shifts his head to look at the ship, and his eyes widen into saucers.

The Moby Dick is huge! No, that word doesn't even cut it. Luffy thinks he can fit all of Foosha Village on the deck.

Wanting to get a better look, he pushes himself up in a sitting position.

Luffy's stomach does a roll and he immediately clutches it. The pain spikes and he scrunches his face up, hoping it will stop.

'What's happening?' There's a scratch in his throat and Luffy suddenly starts having a coughing fit. He presses a hand to his mouth in attempt to muffle the noise, but a few strangled wheezes still escape.

"Are you okay?" Luffy snaps his eyes up to Thatch, who is looking at him curiously. Luffy just nods, his hand still at his mouth.

"I'm fine." He mumbles. Thatch stares at him for a bit then walks away.

"We'll get the nurse to look at you when we get on the ship." He says over his shoulder. Luffy doesn't answer, but when Thatch is gone he removes his hand from his mouth.

'No way.' He examines his hand. Luffy thinks he must have put his hand in red paint because that blood didn't come from his mouth, did it?

With a grimace, he wipes it off on his cloak and doesn't think twice about it.

They finally reach the ship, and Luffy has to crane his head back to see the top. "That's amazing.." He says in pure awe.

Luffy immediately changes his mind. He can't fit Foosha Village on there, he can fit that plus the entire world.

When he gets his own ship, Luffy wants it to be as big as this one! Also with cool gadgets...a laser maybe.

Hearing the comment, Marco smirks knowingly then knocks on the side of the ship.

"Bring it down!" He yells. At first nothing happens, but then a rope ladder drops from the deck down to their ship.

Luffy moves to stand up but a blast of nausea forces him to delay. He holds onto the railing for balance and hopes his legs will stay straight.

Thatch and Izou don't wait too long before they climb up at masters' speed. Luffy watches them go and realizes another problem.

'How am I going to climb that with one arm?'

"Are you coming-yoi?" Luffy jumps at Marco's voice. He forgot he's still here.

"You can go first. I'll be right behind you." He says nervously, finally letting go of the railing. It's drenched in sweat.

Marco doesn't seem to notice though. "I can't do that-yoi. You're technically a prisoner so I can't leave you alone."

Luffy curses to himself and walks to the ladder. He grabs the rope, tugs on it experimentally, then looks up. That climb suddenly seems a lot longer than he originally thought.

He gulps in nervousness when he hears Marco's impatient toe tapping.

"Is there something wrong-yoi?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. Luffy scrambles his brain for an excuse. If they find out about his arm, they'll tell Ace! And he doesn't want Ace to worry about him!

But he doesn't know what to do. It doesn't look like there is any other way to get on the ship except for the ladder.

"I-I um," Think Luffy, think! "I injured my arms and I can't climb with them." Perfect! Luffy sticks out his bandage covered arm and flaunts it so Marco can definitely see the evidence.

"You didn't have much trouble with them when you were destroying our flag-yoi." Damn it! Just believe his story!

"I can handle a simple thing like throwing a rock, but my arms can't take lifting my own body weight." Luffy says innocently, shrugging his shoulders. He hopes his bad lying skills have improved at least a little bit.

Based off of his crossed arms and blank expression, Marco looks like he doesn't believe any of it. But to Luffy's surprise, Marco smiles at him. Although it doesn't look super friendly.

"No problem-yoi, I'll take you up another way."

"Another way?" Luffy repeats confusedly.

Marco snorts. "Well yeah. Did you think I was going to carry you up on my back or something?"

Yes, Luffy honestly did.

"Then how are we going to get up?"

Marco smirks then suddenly spreads his arms out.

Luffy has to wipe his eyes again and again because he thinks he's definitely gone insane now.

There are blue flames coming off of Marco's body in waves. They envelop his arms and body like a silk robe. Gradually they grow and swallow him whole into a fiery cocoon.

Luffy can't help but gape when he shifts and grows into a huge bird thing. Marco (or is that even Marco anymore?!) screeches loudly in bird tongue and flaps his wings to show off their flames. The straw hat teen clenches his fist and bobs it up and down excitedly.

"AMAZIIIIING!" He yells in awe, stars surrounding his head.

After Marco is finished with his little show, he settles himself on the ground and extends an inviting wing.

"You want me to get on?" Luffy guesses. The bird Marco nods and Luffy slowly reaches out to it.

To his surprise, the flames don't hurt in the least bit. They are actually quite cool and soothing on his skin.

Luffy cards his hand through the soft flaming feathers and chuckles at the funny texture. Marco makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a purr, but he chokes it down last minute and caws harshly at Luffy to get on.

The boy delicately sits on Marco's back and clings onto his neck with his arm. He wraps his legs to the sides of the bird and hopes his leg strength can keep him stable.

With Luffy finally on, Marco stretches his neck then spreads his wings wide. After a couple of flaps, they're hovering above the boat.

Luffy grips Marco tighter as they levitate higher and higher. Then suddenly, Marco's wings give a single powerful flap and they shoot forward.

"Woah!" Luffy screams in amazement. Marco flaps his wings and they circle above the Moby Dick, providing an A-class view of the deck.

Without warning, Marco swoops downward. Luffy buries his head in the bird's neck and feels his stomach toss and turn as they plummet.

Marco screeches a bird call. He slowly guides his body horizontally until hey are gliding smoothly across the ship. Once they are in the centre of the deck, Marco flaps his wings to bring them to a stop.

"That was..." Luffy mumbles, his hood falling back on his face from when it was blown off. Marco gently nudges Luffy off of his back. The teen wobbles a moment while Marco transforms back to his human form.

"AWESOME!" He finishes. Marco's face is neutral and his lips are tight, as if he is trying to hold in a laugh.

"It's my devil fruit-yoi. I ate a Mythical Zone type and now I can transform into a phoenix."

"So cool!"

The pair have caught the attention of everyone on deck by now. Most are confused that this flamboyant and 'short' person is the one who has been wrecking their flags.

The remainder of the crew are pulling out their weapons.

"So you're the one who's been causing a ruckus." Says a burly man with fuzzy black hair. Luffy doesn't even hear him, he's looking around the deck distractedly.

"Commander, why don't you let the 7th division take care of this little problem?" Another one says, unsheathing his blade. Several members growl in agreement.

"No! Let the 9th division take care him. The 7th division has been on way more missions than any of us. Give our division a chance to prove ourselves!" Men from the other side of the deck cheer in unison. Members of the 7the division growl at them.

"No way! Let the 11th division deal with him!"

"5th division! We're the best!"

"Commander Marco is our leader, so let 1st division do it!"

The whole crew is arguing amongst each other, deciding who will have the honour of bringing down their enemy. Marco observes all the idiots around him, his lazy eyes annoyed. The noise is getting atrocious.

He glances to Luffy, wondering how he's taking it. But the guy doesn't even look like he notices a thing. His head is swerving around the crowd and he's on his tip toes looking for something.

Marco raises an eyebrow. Luffy is definitely not as cruel as he had made him out to be. Actually, he's nothing like Marco had anticipated.

But he can't forget the chaos Luffy caused. No matter what the guy's personality is, he still put their islands in danger. They had to stop too many un-allied pirates who were trying to raid them. There were a lot of close calls, and they almost lost a few crew members.

The only part that confuses Marco is that this is all to see Ace. Or is it? He just said he wants to see Ace, but is this really all for him? What is Luffy's relation to him?

"Oi."

Marco focuses back to the object of his thoughts.

"Yes-yoi? Make it quick, I've got to bring you to pops so he can decide what to do with you."

"Where's Ace?" He asks bluntly.

"He's on a mission right now-yoi, but we called him and he'll be back in a few hours." Luffy physically deflates. "So until then, you're coming to meet pops."

Marco beckons the now quiet Luffy along and they push past the arguing crew.

Across the deck sits a large chair on top of a small staircase. On the 'throne' is none other than Whitebeard. His expression is neutral, and he regards Luffy with a small frown. IV's and different medical tubes are attached to his arms and under his nose, giving him the impression of a weak old man. But everyone knows better.

He's not called the strongest man in the world for nothing.

The crew has stopped arguing at this point and have crowded around Whitebeard, Luffy and Marco. Their once loud shouts have reduced to anxious murmurs. Surrounding the captain are the different commanders, including Thatch and Izou.

Marco walks up to his captain with a compliant Luffy trudging beside him.

"Marco," Whitebeard booms, his voice shaking every corner of the deck. "Is this the brat who's been destroying our flags?"

Most of the crew look over to see Luffy's reaction to Whitebeard's obviously intimidating stature. But to their surprise, he looks calm; standing straight with no indication of emotion under his hood.

"Yes-yoi. His name's Luffy and he says he has an important message for Ace." Marco responds.

"And what is this message Luffy?" Whitebeard asks, a serious expression on his features.

Everyone turns to the teen, expecting an answer. But Luffy doesn't say anything and gives no indication that he heard them.

"If you're going so far as to provoke us, there must be an urgency to this message. Am I right?" Whitebeard presses. Luffy remains quiet again and Marco frowns.

"Oi. My captain is talking to you." He says with a nudge, irritation bubbling up. Luffy keeps his silence for a little longer then finally speaks.

"I'm not going to say anything until Ace is here." He says stubbornly. Whitebeard raises a giant eyebrow and leans forward in his seat.

"We're his crew, you can trust us with whatever information you need to tell him." He says calmly, trying to persuade Luffy to talk. There's a pause, and everyone thinks Luffy is about to comply.

Instead he stomps his foot and turns his head away. "No!"

'So childish!' The entire crew thinks in unison, falling back comically on the deck.

"First the rope ladder and now this? You're being pretty demanding for someone who's supposed to be a prisoner-yoi." Marco points out, a frown forming on his lips.

Luffy ignores him and stomps over to a railing. He plops on the deck with an audible thump, officially starting his silent rebellion.

The crew look curiously at Luffy and break out into mutters over his odd behaviour. Whitebeard watches him for a moment then settles back into his seat.

"Everyone get back to your duties and no one disturb the brat. Marco, Thatch and Izou remain here." The crew breaks up reluctantly, shooting the occasional glare at the huddled Luffy.

"Do you all know why he is behaving this way?" Whitebeard asks the commanders. Marco rubs his aching head.

"No-yoi. In fact he was quite talkative when we first met him. It's just when I told him Ace wasn't here, he shut up and won't say a word until he comes."

"So he says. Whatever he has to say to Ace must be quite important to him..." Whitebeard trails off and takes the time to analyze the boy.

From what he sees, Luffy isn't in the best of health. His gangly and pale legs are pulled up to his chest. Whitebeard can only see one arm, but the amount of bandages on it suggests no light injury.

"He seems young." The captain says. The commanders briefly glance over at Luffy.

"I thought so too-yoi." Marco says. He can guess that easily from the kid's stature and voice.

"Hey guys, you don't think that's him, do you? I mean, it's a long shot, but they resemble each other in some ways." Thatch says quietly, making sure Luffy can't hear him.

"I don't know, their mannerisms are completely different." Says Izou, catching on. Whitebeard settles further into his chair. The friction makes a squeaking sound against the wood.

"Who is this your talking about?" He asks. A seldom look passes through each of their faces.

"Before we caught Luffy we met a slave boy in the city-yoi."

"Slave boy?"

Marco nods in confirmation. "A slave trader tried to take him, and we went to go help him out."

"Although he didn't need it, he escaped pretty easily." Thatch admits.

"But he was so thin and sick, we didn't want him to be left on his own. So we tried to convince him to come on board." Marco pauses. The waves crash against the Moby Dick and a seagull caws somewhere. "His eyes were terrifying-yoi. He said he would never trust us or anyone for as long as he lived."

Whitebeard says nothing, just listens to the story with a grim expression.

"He was really angry too, not just at us, but at the world. If he really was a slave, I honestly don't blame him." Izou says, brushing a hair out of his face.

"But do we really think Luffy is the boy from the market?" Thatch asks his friends. "He seemed to dislike us a lot back then..."

Whitebeard lightly taps his giant staff on the ground. It's not loud, but it's enough to grab all of their attention.

"No matter who he is, he still deserves punishment for destroying our flags. But since he is so adamant on waiting for Ace, I will hold off on any decisions until the brat can speak for himself." The commanders all nod, but do not dismiss their original suspicions. "Thatch, can you get the brat something to eat? He probably hasn't had a good meal in awhile. Also, when your done, send a nurse to check up on our guest." Thatch nods and skitters to the kitchen.

"You two can go back to your duties, I'll keep a good eye on the brat." Hesitantly, Marco and Izou leave the captain to his devices.

The crew carries on as usual, but they always keep a wary eye on their prisoner.

The breeze is cool as it drifts over the deck. It ruffles Luffy's cloak and he struggles to keep it from flying away. Once the wind passes, he curls into a tighter ball, trying to get some warmth.

'Why am I so cold?' Luffy wonders angrily, just as another set of chills hits him. It's 30 degrees with no clouds!

Trying to get under the warm sun, Luffy lifts his hood slightly. Instead of having the warming effect that it should, his mild headache turns into a full on migraine. He immediately retreats back into his cloak and holds in a moan of pain. Luffy brings a hand to his forehead only to yank it back. To his surprise, it's drenched in sweat.

'But I'm freezing!' Luffy doesn't understand what's happening, so he sets on distracting himself.

Keeping his head semi down, he traces lines in the deck with his eyes.

'Maybe I should ask for a blanket?' He wonders to himself. Then he shakes his head. 'No! I'm not talking to them! They lied about Ace being here!' He pouts and resumes tracing the deck.

Luffy doesn't know how long it has been, but his eyes start falling shut. For some reason his energy keeps decreasing, leaving him struggling to keep his eyes open.

'I can't fall asleep, I have to wait for Ace.' He slaps his cheek and forces his brain to be alert.

"Easy there Luffy, don't want to hurt yourself."

A pair of feet appear in his line of sight and Luffy looks up to a smiling Thatch.

Who is holding a plate of rather delicious looking food.

Saliva pools around Luffy's mouth. Unknown to Luffy, Thatch is peering at his hood trying to see the face hidden underneath.

"You must be hungry, so I brought some food for you!" He says, smiling a little too wide. Luffy ignores the oddness of Ace's crew mate and sniffs the delicious aroma.

Or should be delicious aroma. Instead sickness bubbles up in his stomach and Luffy has to hold in a gag.

He honestly doesn't think he can stomach the meal. He hasn't eaten in forever, the kabob is now a distant memory. Now he thinks if he takes one bite he will puke it all up.

With Luffy distracted, Thatch leans closer, trying to peer under his cloak. But when Luffy reaches a hand up, Thatch snaps back and whistles an innocent tune.

Luffy selects a single bun off the plate and nibbles on it slowly. Thatch quirks a brow.

"Surely you can't just be hungry for that measly thing." He protests. Luffy feels bad for not eating the extravagant dish, it goes against his 'eat everything' philosophy.

"I'm not that hungry. I'm sorry for wasting food." He says quietly. Thatch's eyes go wide, and Luffy doesn't know if it is because he didn't take the food, or that he actually spoke.

"Don't worry about it." Thatch assures him, smiling lightly. "Someone else will definitely eat it."

Luffy sighs in relief. "Sorry again."

"It's fine, just let me know if you change your mind." Thatch says, walking back to the galley.

The straw hat teen watches him leave, then sinks further back against the railing and goes back to pecking away at his snack.

Line here

Thatch closes the door to the galley behind him, then leans up against the cool metal with a frustrated huff.

"I thought you were going to bring Luffy that food-yoi?"

Thatch turns his head over to see Izou, Marco and several other crew members sitting at the bar in front of the kitchen. They're all quiet and have their gazes locked on Thatch.

"I did bring it to him." He says with a sigh, leaning off the door and walking behind the bar. "But he said he wasn't hungry and only grabbed a bun." Thatch sets the plate in front of him. "So does anyone else want it instead?"

Vista, the 5th division commander raises his hand.

"I'll eat it, your meals are so good I can't let any of them go to waste." The man says, his large moustache twitching in amusement. Thatch smiles and slides the plate over to him.

"You should have made him eat it all. He's been making too many demands to the pirates he's trying to provoke." Izou says with a scowl. He taps his coiffed fingernails over the wooden bar rhythmically.

"That just seems like his personality. He might be the slave kid and still have a grudge against us. Besides, he says he did this all for Ace." Thatch replies, grabbing a cloth and wiping the counter. Izou stops tapping.

"Well I'm not treating him different than the enemy. By the way, did you see under his hood?" He asks.

"No," Thatch sighs. "He kept his head hidden the entire time."

"We're probably just being paranoid-yoi. We left the slave kid on bad terms." Marco says, frowning.

"Honesty, what's stopping us from ripping the hood off of his head and taking a look for ourselves?" Izou huffs.

"Because-yoi, if Luffy is the slave kid, the last thing we want is for him to have the same reaction as before. On a ship. Where he'll be trapped. And have nowhere to run."

"Yeah yeah," Izou waves a dismissive hand. "But I feel like we're putting too much thought into this. Their personalities are polar opposites. Just leave the guy alone like pops said until Ace gets back. I for one am treating him like an enemy." He sees the troubled faces of his comrades and sighs.

"Look, we'll go back for the slave kid after this whole ordeal is settled, okay?"

"I decided to go anyway-yoi. Like it or not, he's joining our crew. Although it may take a little convincing." Marco says, swirling a finger on the rim of his water glass.

"Hey, if we got Ace to join once upon a time, then this shouldn't be that hard." Thatch chuckles. All of them smile at the memory. Ace was definitely quite the handful, but some will argue that he's still trouble.

"Oh right!" Thatch exclaims, smacking a fist in his palm. "I have to get a nurse to check Luffy out."

"I wonder how he hurt his arms." Marco ponders aloud.

"He was coughing a little bit back there too. Wonder if he came down with something." Thatch slides from the back of the counter and jogs to the door.

"Get Anna!" Izou shouts after him. "She isn't too gentle."

Line here

Luffy is roused from his daze when he hears the tapping of high heels on the wooden deck.

'Damn it! I almost fell asleep before Ace got here!' He reprimands himself. Arriving at his feet are Thatch and a tall blonde lady with a small case in her hand.

"Luffy?" Thatch asks, leaning forward. Luffy raises his head and the two pirates know he is listening. "This is Anna, our ship's head nurse. She's going to look you over." Luffy frowns under his hood. He can't let her see his injuries, or she'll tell Ace and he'll think Luffy's weak!

"Do I have to look after this guy? I mean, he deserves any injury he's got." Anna snorts, assessing Luffy with a harsh glare.

"Yes, on pops orders." Thatch says, nudging her. "It's just a check up." Anna grunts in annoyance and crouches down to Luffy's eye level.

"Yo, can you tell me if there's something wrong with you?" Luffy remains silent, staring at her through his hood.

"Uhhh," Thatch rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "He refuses to talk to anyone on board, guess I should have warned you."

"Seriously?" She says, eyes narrowing dangerously. Thatch nods and slowly backs away (definitely not to escape the potential rage of his beloved nakama! Never!).

"Well, I guess I'll leave it to you! Bye!" He runs to the galley before anyone can even blink. Luffy remains the same, keeping his arm tucked under his stomach stubbornly. Anna stares mutely at Luffy, waiting for him to say something. When he doesn't, she leans forward. Time to make him talk.

"I know there's something wrong with you. Pops wouldn't have me check on you for nothing, especially an enemy." Luffy keeps his lips sealed. He won't tell her his head hurts, or that his arm feels like it's being scrubbed off with sandpaper, or that he's about to puke just from a little piece of bread.

Luffy's not going to tell her anything. Not even Ace.

"Look," her sudden change in tone has Luffy's eyes widening. "There are flags on these islands for a reason, and do you know what that is?"

When Luffy doesn't respond, she jabs a finger to his chest.

"Protection. One of those islands you 'visited' has my little cousin on it. When you destroyed the flag it left them, including her, vulnerable to pirate attacks. We were lucky to get there just in time before something bad happened." Anna leans in until she is right in front of his face. "So I don't like how you're going around, thinking you can do whatever you want without consequences both on this ship and off of it. You're a prisoner. So you're going to listen to our rules, got it?"

Anna glares at Luffy, panting lightly. She didn't mean to rant to him, but the fact that her little cousin had come so close to death because of this man has her temper flaring.

"Well?!" She says expectantly, getting angrier by Luffy's silence.

To her shock, Luffy bows deeply from his sitting position.

"I'm sorry." He apologizes meaningfully, ignoring the dizzy spell brought on by the movement. He hadn't realized until now how much danger he was putting those islands in. Luffy had only thought of his island alone and discarded worry about any others. "I feel bad, and I'm sorry I put your family in danger."

Anna blinks, not expecting the profound apology. Certainly not from a child, she notes from the higher voice. Catching herself staring, she waves her hands.

"I-it's alright. You don't have to bow." Luffy raises his head up. "As long as you regret your actions, I accept your apology. Unfortunately, that won't be enough for the rest of the crew."

"I didn't think so..." Luffy trails off, looking at the ground dejectedly. He doesn't want Ace's nakama to hate him!

Anna stares at him intently for a moment. "You really want to make it up to this crew, don't you?" She asks. Luffy just nods his head, trying to muffle a cough. "I just don't see why. You destroyed our flags with the intent of damaging our crew, and now you want to be friends with us?"

"That's because-" Luffy slaps his hand over his mouth. "I forgot! I'm not going to talk until Ace gets here!" He shouts, voice muffled by his hand. With that, he brings his knees back up and tucks his arm behind them, now silent.

Anna can barely contain a roll of her eyes. "C'mon kid, I don't want to deal with your games." She waits for a response, but he has sealed his lips together.

"Fine." She says bitterly, but with more softness than last time. "I'll look you over myself."

She moves to grab his arm, but Luffy stubbornly pulls away. A vein throbs on Anna's forehead.

"No, no way are you going to do that." Luffy just watches her warily from under his hood. "I'm going to find out what's wrong with you, one way or another." She goes for Luffy's wrist, and he flinches away. But at the last second, she grabs his hood and moves it back slightly-

Luffy's migraine throbs and he desperately yanks it down again, but not without Anna seeing his face.

'He's younger than I thought!' She thinks in astonishment, watching Luffy fumble with his hood. 'And cute too. Like a teddy bear or something.'

Luffy on the other hand, is trying to push away the deep ache and nausea. He crushes his eyes shut and grits his teeth in pain.

"Do you not like the light?" Anna asks, oblivious to the boy's issue.

"Yeah." Luffy grits out. Little by little the migraine becomes manageable, and Luffy can focus back on the nurse.

Anna nods and opens up the small kit at her side. She shifts a few objects around until she selects a roll of bandage.

"I see your arm is wrapped, is the injury severe?" She asks, trying to look him in the eye. Luffy ducks his head a little.

"N-no it isn't." He lies. His hand is badly burnt from throwing flaming rocks. Anna raises a disbelieving brow.

"Oh really?" She asks, slowly tugging away at the bandage around his finger tips. Luffy snatches his hand back and sticks it between his thighs.

"Mhm that's right." He says a little too fast. "But I...um... hurt my leg awhile ago, and it doesn't feel so great." And It's true. The wolf bite on his calf is wide and scabbing over. That wound is the least of his troubles, but Luffy hopes it's enough to keep her away.

Anna shifts her squatting position to where she is right in front of Luffy's shins. She holds his leg with great care and extends it slowly, exposing the entire limb.

"You didn't do a great job bandaging it." She scolds. Anna peels the bandages off until the entire wound is exposed. "My my. This is something." Taking a moment, she steals a cloth from her kit and immediately sets to dabbing off the dried blood.

Luffy watches her with curious eyes. With the tender way she works, Anna kind of reminds him of Makino. Well, a kind of tough Makino.

A stitch of pain hits his heart, but then he remembers he's just a step away from bringing her and the entire village back.

"All done." She says, finishing off her treatment. Luffy looks down at his leg and rolls it around experimentally. The bandage is secure, and it's not too tight.

"Thank you!" He says, grinning widely. Anna swears she can see the gleam of his teeth under his hood.

"Your welcome." She says, eyes a lot kinder than before. "Are there any more injuries I should know about?" Anna eyes his bandaged arm.

Luffy shakes his head. "I'm okay now." Then he abruptly shuts his mouth again. 'Stop talking stupid self!' Anna notices his silence with a heavy sigh.

'He's not going to talk again is he?' She thinks exasperatedly. "Well, the bandages on your arm don't look too shabby so I guess I'll leave them." Luffy mentally raises a fist victoriously. "I would check your other arm, as I assume it is in the same condition as your right..."

'If only you knew.' Luffy says mentally.

"...however, judging how you were before, I'll leave it alone too." Luffy smiles in relief under his hood. "BUT!" Anna shoots forward until their noses are almost touching. "You better tell me if there is any pain. As a doctor I absolutely positively cannot leave a wound unattended. Understand?" Luffy nods quickly, slightly intimidated.

Anna smiles lightly and pats his head. "If you're really adamant about making it up to the crew, I wish you good luck Luffy."

"Thanks!" He grins in a D-shape. Anna smiles a bit wider, then something catches her eye.

"Haruta!" She yells, shooting up and pointing. "What are you doing out of the infirmary?! And- DID YOU TAKE YOUR BANDAGES OFF?!"

Luffy leans over to look around the raging nurse. He observes where she is pointing and sees a short brown haired girl in a green outfit. She's all the way across the deck, though Luffy can see her sweating bullets.

The girl in green stutters something that is too far away to hear and starts creeping away slowly. Anna's jaw flexes angrily, and she jerkily bends down to collect her box of medical equipment.

"GET BACK HERE BEFORE I CHOKE YOU!" She hollers. 'Haruta' screams in panic and runs somewhere into the ship. "OH NO YOU DON'T! GET BACK HERE!"

The nurse takes off chasing her at lightning speed, pumping her arms intensely. In a second she is gone, and in her place a stray breeze swishes Luffy's cloak.

The teen watches where she left, then chuckles. Ace's crew is so funny! He keeps laughing to himself until his stump gives a hard sting.

'Ouch!' Luffy cringes and shifts himself so that his shoulder isn't touching the railing. He leans back and sighs, trying to keep his high temperature down.

"Come on Ace...come back." It takes all his willpower to keep his eye lids from falling shut, but eventually his exhausted gives in and Luffy allows himself some rest.

Line here

"He's here!"

"Someone bring down the rope for the striker!"

Loud shouts and boots clapping against the deck break Luffy from his slumber. With bleary eyes, Luffy notices how darker everything is and realizes it's later in the day.

'I must have slept for hours.' He cringes at the noise around him. It's killing his head!

"Commander Ace!"

"Welcome back!"

Luffy's breath hitches and he snaps his head around so fast that it makes a large cracking sound. But just as he turns, his vision turns spotty and he falls face first on the deck.

'Ughh...' Luffy moans, barely pushing himself back up on his knees. He watches as the crew flocks around an area further down the ship and furrows his brows in frustration.

Ace is right there. Luffy will absolutely wait not another damn second of his life.

He wobbles to his feet, ignoring the blur on the edges of his vision. Taking a step forward, Luffy knows it's too unsteady and he should grab a railing for support.

Instead he walks another step. Then another. Then another.

Line here

Marco walks through the throng of his excited brothers and sisters. He steps up to the railing and peers down.

Low and behold, is the person he has been 'impatiently' waiting for these past hours.

Ace finishes tying his striker to the side of the ship, then readjusts his orange hat back on his head of black wavy hair. He looks up, and a big grin splits his face.

"Marco!" He shouts happily, waving to his closest friend. The phoenix allows himself a smile, pushing his annoyance away for just a moment, because Ace's smiles are so damn contagious.

"Hello-yoi. You might want to hurry up here." He calls down, lazy eyes looking serious. Ace nods and blasts up on the deck using the fire power on the soles of his feet. The crew near the railing all disperse to give Ace room.

The fire user lands on the wooden deck with a 'clack' then brushes his hands on his shorts.

Line here

He sees him. He's exactly how Luffy remembers.

It's him. His brother. His life.

His saviour.

Luffy's legs push even faster, and since no one looks in his direction, they don't see the sparkling tears blowing in the wind.

The teen doesn't notice the single pair of eyes watching him carefully from the throne.

Line here

"Nice to see you everyone!" Ace greets with a grin, freckled nose crinkling. The crew all shout their hellos, and then Ace walks up to Marco and smacks him on the back.

"Hey Marco! You look like you've got your feathers ruffled!" He laughs. Marco peels Ace's hand off of his back and sighs.

"I asked you to get here as soon as possible-yoi. What took so long?" He grumbles. Ace scratches his nose sheepishly.

"Haha, well I kinda sorta almost got killed by a sea king." He smirks proudly. "But I ate it instead."

The entire crew sweat drops. Only Ace can turn a situation around like that and still manage to eat an entire sea king.

Line here

"Ace..." Luffy calls softly, but his voice cracks.

"Ace..." He tried again, but louder this time.

"ACEEEEEE!"

Line here

"But anyway," Ace changes the subject. "What was so urgent that you had to call me back?" Marco opens his mouth to answer.

"Well, there is-"

"ACEEEEEE!"

Everyone turns in shock to where the caterwaul came from. Suddenly, something blurs past all of them at high speed and shoots directly at Ace.

The fire user barely catches himself as he's tackled right in the stomach. He blinks in bewilderment at the small black figure attached to him like a leech.

"Oi." Marco starts, about to grab the kid who's hurting his brother. But Ace isn't injured, Luffy has an arm tight around Ace's torso and his head is tucked into his chest.

He's embracing him.

Ace is beyond confused.

Looking down, he examines the small figure holding him like his life depends on it.

"I finally found you..." The warm breath tickles Ace's bare stomach.

Then it hits him. Ace doesn't believe it, but his instincts and honed brother senses are all screaming that it's damn true.

Ace puts both hands on the teen's shoulders and pushes him back slightly to see his face.

"Luffy?" The hooded figure nods, but Ace still has to ask again. "Is that really you?"

Luffy steps out of Ace's grip. With his sole arm, he reaches for his hood and pulls it back to expose his teary eyed, pale face to everyone.

Most of the crew has shocked expressions that the offender is such a young kid, a sickly one at that.

Marco feels his eyes widen in recognition and he exchanges looks with Thatch and Izou, their shocked expressions mirroring his own.

'So we were right, Luffy is the slave kid.' He thinks in bewilderment, watching Ace as he goes on his knees. 'Ace knows him?'

"Luffy..." He says again, like he can't believe it. Then suddenly he shoots forward and pulls his brother into a tight embrace. Luffy would have complained about the grip any other time, but right now it feels like heaven. He buries his face in Ace's neck to breathe in the comforting scent.

"What...what the hell happened to you?! You're so thin and pale! And what are you doing so far from Dawn Island?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack you stupid little brother?!" Ace demands, worry and concern seeping into his voice. He curls his hand protectively in Luffy's fluffy black hair.

A collective gasp goes through the crew at the news. This is Ace's little brother?! Thatch looks like he's about to faint while Izou's mouth is gaping like a fish.

Marco watches the kid-no, Ace's brother- sniffle as he's trying to keep the tears at bay, but failing miserably.

His eyes aren't cold and harsh like back on the island, they're full of sadness, anguish and finally relief as he soaks in Ace's embrace.

Luffy's no angry offender, Marco realizes. He's a scared kid.

"I'm sorry." The whimper draws Marco's attention back to the conversation. Everyone is listening in by now. "But I had to. I had to find you. I-it's Dawn Island. Those stupid nobles wanted to take me, but the whole village ended up getting in trouble! Now Foosha Village is all captured and they sell us all as slaves." Luffy refrains from saying that they primarily came to the island to get revenge on Ace. Instead, he tells him it is Sabo's dad who started the whole thing.

"It's Sabo's dad's fault." Luffy sniffles and rubs his wet eyes on Ace's shoulder. "He wanted to get back at us for getting rid of his blood heir. He sneers, then his expression softens. "I'm so glad I found you Ace."

Ace doesn't say anything, he's shocked speechless. He chokes on his words and his pupils shrink.

"That bastard." he finally growls. "Why didn't he just leave us alone? Why didn't he leave you alone?! Damn...I can't believe this is happening." Ace rests his forehead on Luffy's shoulder. The straw hat teen snuggles further into his brother. "What about Gramps? He could get those bastards to back off." Luffy shakes his head slowly.

"...he didn't even pick up the phone." His voice is hollow with disappointment. Ace feels his arms tremble in anger. "You're the only one left."

Rage pulses through Ace's veins. Despite being absent for most of the time, Garp was still family. But now...Ace just sees how easily disposable they are to their grandfather.

Himself, he couldn't give two shits about. But Luffy...he's Garp's blood grandson. The thought of the old man leaving him there to be tortured brings Ace into an unfathomable rage.

Bastard. Fucking cowardly bastard.

Marco watches the brothers with a new perspective. So that was the brat's story, and why he wanted to see Ace so much. The phoenix focuses his gaze on the flame-user.

He hadn't taken Ace for a person who was close with his family, much less a big brother. Ace always has been the littlest amongst them, and Marco can tell it's a bit surprising to his siblings.

Plus there was how Ace acted when he first arrived on the crew. He was so dark and angry at the time and wouldn't trust a soul.

With a look to the side, the commander notices his captain. He's sitting calmly at his throne, observing what's happening with a calculating look.

Honestly, now it surprises Marco that Ace would throw away his life so easily doing assassination attempts on pops when he apparently had a little brother to consider.

Marco smirks and shakes his head in disbelief. Ace is such an idiot sometimes.

"Can you believe it? That they're brothers?" Thatch whispers harshly, him and Izou walking up beside Marco.

"I see a resemblance now, how could we not have known they were related?" Izou scoffs.

'They aren't.' Marco thinks to himself. 'Ace only told me and pops about his heritage, and with that it's impossible. There must be something else at play.'

"Shh," Marco hushes them. "I want to hear what they're saying."

"You don't have to be alone anymore, Lu. I'll help you." Ace says, determination in his voice.

"...thank you." Luffy whispers. All the weight of the past months falls off of Luffy's shoulders and now he can finally breathe.

Ace frowns at the shakiness in his little brother's words. He pulls Luffy into a tighter hug, protecting him from all of the dangers that have been eating away at his spirit.

Then he notices something wrong.

He pulls away to examine his little brother. The first thing that catches his eye are the bandages covering his arm. Quickly, he unravels them from a weirdly compliant Luffy.

"A seastone band." He says to himself. His theory is verified when he touches the cuff experimentally and his energy is drained immediately. "That's why there are bruises on your skin," Ace realizes. "Your power hasn't stopped it. When did you get this on?"

"At the village. The first day they took over." Luffy replies, tone seldom. "It's a pain in the ass."

"Don't worry Lu, we'll get it off." And they better soon. Luffy doesn't look so good from Ace's view, and he can't stand seeing his brother suffer anymore.

With another quick examination over Luffy's arm, he just finds the burns. To Luffy's relief, Ace seems to think he's solved the root of the problem. He discretely pulls his cloak further over himself, hoping to hide everything underneath.

Ace is about to pull away and call for a nurse, but when he sees Luffy fiddle with his cloak, he senses the seastone is not the only thing wrong with his little brother.

He kneels back down and tries to pull back the cloak to look over Luffy's body, but the straw hat teen pulls away. Luffy swallows the rising panic in his stomach.

Ace raises an eyebrow at him and reaches out again, but Luffy shifts out of the way. They have an intense stare-down for a few seconds, then Ace springs toward him.

The struggle doesn't last long, Luffy is only using one hand and Ace is way stronger than him. Finally Ace grabs ahold of Luffy's arm and tries to pry it away from his cloak.

"What are you hiding?" Ace grits, actually having a little difficulty trying to move the limb out of the way. Luffy doesn't say anything, but just tries with all his might to keep Ace from seeing.

A heating pulse from the sun has Luffy faltering, and in that moment, Ace rips past his defences.

They still. It feels like Luffy's underwater and everything is in slow motion. Ace is just sitting there with his eyes fixed solely on his missing arm. Seeing his brother's reaction, he feels like he's losing his arm all over again.

Ace thinks Luffy's weak, he knows it.

A bead of sweat rolls down Luffy's face and he doesn't feel so good.

"Oh my god." Izou whispers, hands coming up to his mouth.

Ace still hasn't said anything yet, scaring Luffy to no end. Eventually, his brother reaches an arm out slowly for his wound.

Luffy holds in a hiss of pain as Ace touches the delicate skin, mouth agape in horror.

His gaze flicks desperately up to Luffy, as if to ask if this is some kind of sick joke. But Luffy looks solemnly at the ground and away from his brother.

"No..." It's almost inaudible, but Luffy can hear the whisper from Ace's mouth.

With much difficulty, Ace turns his attention from the stump to the bunch of bones that is his brother's torso. Now that the cloak is gone, Ace can see the clear signs of malnutrition on Luffy's body. It becomes more apparent when Ace lifts up his shirt to get a better look.

"Shit!" Thatch curses out loud. That kid is damn starved and Thatch had tried to serve him a full meal. He would have puked it up before he even got through a quarter of it.

'I almost hurt Ace's brother!'

Since everyone is fixated on the figure under the cloak, they don't notice how Luffy's eyes start to flutter and roll upwards.

'...I can't...it hurts...' His focus slips and Luffy struggles to keep it in line. But the sun is too intense, the pain in his arm is too much, Ace's silence is too much and everything is just too much.

Whitebeard stands abruptly from his throne and shouts something that sounds like a warning.

But Luffy doesn't hear it, he's too busy falling into the comforting darkness of unconsciousness.

Line here

Ace's eyes grow impossibly wide as Luffy falls into his arms, unmoving.

The word floats around in his head as he kneels, paralyzed by shock.

"Someone get the nurses!" Marco yells. The crew breaks up and scrambles around deck, shouting for doctors and gathering equipment.

"Ace!"

He doesn't say anything. His mind forces him to stare and stare at the figure in his arms.

Luffy lost his arm. Someone did that to his little brother. Someone touched him, someone hurt him.

And now he's being removed from Ace's arms. He watches numbly as the nurses carry Luffy off to the infirmary.

"Ace?! Can you hear me?!" Marco shouts at him.

The fire user stands up slowly, his eyes shadowed by his hat. He bites his lip and his arms shake.

"Ace?"

Burning with rage, he sprints off the deck to an isolated part of the ship. As soon as he gets into the hallway, he punches the nearest wall and splits the wood.

'Damn it!'

Ace brings fire to his feet and swings around to cause more destruction. Smoke and dust hover around him.

'I shouldn't have left!'

He punches harder and harder, everything starts to blur around him.

'I'm so weak!'

It's unforgivable. They are unforgivable. Ace is unforgivable.

Something slams into his side and pins him against the crispy wall. Ace struggles in the iron grip trying to break free.

"Ace! Stop-yoi!"

Another hard shove makes Ace's struggling gradually cease. He's left a panting mess, a frown still deep on his features.

Marco's grip on his shoulders is still as hard as before. Smoke and the distant cracking of fire are the only noise in the hallway.

"Ace." Marco prompts. "Oi." He drops his head to catch Ace's eyes that are directed to the floor, but Ace turns away. "Don't do this Ace."

"...do what?" Ace mumbles.

"Try to close me off-yoi. Ace, destroying the ship and giving me more paper work is not going to make this situation any better." Ace doesn't react to Marco's attempt to lighten the mood.

"Why did I let this happen to him?"

Marco stares at his best friend, then sighs and lets go of his shoulders. Ace slumps a little, but remains on his feet.

"Idiot. This was out of your control, stop blaming yourself."

"But it wasn't out of my control Marco! I could have sent a letter to him, I could have visited...I could have just stayed home!" His head snaps to the side. Marco's hand is raised, red.

"Don't you dare say that Ace. Do you regret having an adventure? Meeting us? Meeting me?"

"No...but Luffy..."

"What happened happened Ace. I saw the kid before he got on this ship, and he looked like the coldest son of a bitch I ever met." Marco's hands settle on Ace's shoulders again, this time gently. "Ace, he doesn't trust as much anymore. He came all this way just to see you and get help-yoi. Don't bury yourself in self regret instead of helping your wounded brother."

Ace flinches a little, pain pinching his heart. He's suddenly overcome with a need to see Luffy's bright grin.

"I need to go to Luffy." He says, face grim in the lowlight. Marco smirks, then leads him away with a hand on his back.

Line here

Luffy wakes up to banging.

"Oh good your awake."

A crowd of nurses place him on a white cot. The light isn't as intense as outside, so Luffy's headache isn't as bad.

"What...what happened?" Luffy asks them. They begin to remove his cloak.

"You fainted on deck." Anna says, stepping into view. Luffy watches longingly as they place his treasured hat to the side. "And with good reason too. You're the definition of sour health." She looks angry for some reason, but Luffy doesn't ask why.

The noise of boards breaking makes Luffy flinch. Sounds of the crew shouting fills the silence until another set of crashes overwhelms them.

"What's happening?" Luffy asks Anna innocently. She doesn't say anything, and keeps her mouth in a firm line as she examines his arm. He cringes as the nurses sit him up to get a better look at his injuries.

The breaking sound stops, and Luffy watches the door for his brother to reappear.

First he sees pineapple-head at the entrance. They meet eyes for a second before Ace comes in and sits down numbly beside his brother. Marco lingers for a moment, then leaves them to the nurses.

Ace doesn't meet his gaze, but Luffy keeps staring at him as the nurses check over his body.

'I feel like such a horrible big brother.' Ace broods, looking at Luffy's stump. He doesn't know what scares him more; seeing what's there, or not seeing what's there. 'As soon as I leave, the whole village falls apart and Luffy loses his arm for Oda-sakes.'

Luffy has gone through so much suffering and yet he persevered to find him.

The nurses start removing the stitches from Luffy's arm. He sucks in a breath as the red and itchy skin is irritated even further.

"This probably hurts a little doesn't it? You have an infection here and I need to apply new stitches and clean it." Anna says, gathering her tools together. "You probably haven't had them changed at all, am I right?"

Luffy doesn't answer, and keeps his gaze trained on Ace's black locks as his anxiety builds. Anna mutters something under her breath then gets to work on it.

Two more nurses get to work on the seastone bracelet on Luffy's wrist. With silent efficiency, they produce a small saw and stick it in the key hole.

Ace watches with blank emotion as they attempt to saw through the cuff. The nurse makes a sound of satisfaction when the saw stops. The other fiddles around with it and the cuff finally pops off Luffy's wrist.

'Mmmmm...' Luffy sighs and visibly sags, the energy feels like magic thrumming through his veins. His pale skin brightens up immediately and the sickness fades to a dull irritation.

Luffy sits with eyes closed and a content smile as the nurses finish fussing with him. Anna flicks her eyes up to his face, then stifles a chuckle when she returns to her task.

"Alright then," Anna stands up and wipes the sweat from her brow. "You don't make it easy kid, but we've finished." Luffy watches the nurses put away equipment into different drawers. "All you need to do is rest, eat a semi decent meal, and not be disturbed." She eyes Ace still silently slouched in his chair. "Got it?"

Luffy nods enthusiastically. "Thank you Ama!"

"It's Anna!" She shouts, a tick mark appearing on her head. She gathers her nurses and they head out the door, likely reporting to their captain.

Luffy watches Anna until she is gone. Something is still bothering her, he can feel it.

He pouts, then remembers the other person in the room. Silence presses into them as Luffy grips the bed sheets. He works his jaw up and down, tension building in his shoulders.

"Ace I-"

'I'm sorry for being weak!'

"I'm-" His words are muffled as he's pulled into Ace's chest. The embrace is so tight and he almost pulls away in surprise, but suddenly he feels his brother's frame shake as sobs rack his body.

"I'm sorry!" Ace blubbers. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry Luffy!" His arms curl protectively around his light, his sunshine.

If anyone outside hears Ace cry, he doesn't care.

Luffy lifts his head out of Ace's chest to see him. His eyes water looking at Ace's tear sodden face. Luffy instantly feels guilty for doubting his brother even a second.

"Ace, it's just an arm. Besides," Tears slip down Luffy's face, falling down to his shaky smile. "I look just like Shanks."

Line here

The soft pitter of waves against wood pulls Luffy into awareness.

'Ngh, am I there yet?' He wonders dazedly. The next island shouldn't take that long to get to.

A firm squeeze on his hand brings it all back. Luffy opens his eyes and immediately recognizes the Moby Dick infirmary.

'Right, I found the Whitebeard Pirates.' A soft gasp escapes his lips and he turns his head sharply to the side.

Tears of relief form in Luffy's eyes as he gazes at Ace's sleeping face. The fire-user's upper half is laying on he bed while his lower is still sitting on a chair. Drool pools out of his mouth and wets the bed sheets being crushed by his cheek. One arm is extended out and is holding Luffy's hand in a loving grip.

Luffy struggles to sit up in bed without rousing Ace. Luckily, he only grumbles and holds Luffy's hand tighter.

Luffy chuckles, Ace's narcolepsy is so funny!

"You look better already."

Anna walks into the infirmary, accompanied by Marco, Izou and Thatch, whom is holding a steaming bowl.

"Mmhm." Luffy nods. "I feel ten times better than yesterday!"

"That's good to hear. The sea stone was putting a serious damper on your healing process. But, considering the fact that you have two infections; one on your former arm, and one on your leg, serious malnutrition, a bad fever and a bad burn on your hand, you have healed considerably well. You should be able to make a full recovery in about a week." Anna says, shifting her glasses on her nose. Luffy blinks at her.

"You're mad at me." It isn't a question. Anna raises a thin eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"Is it because I lied?" He asks, face completely neutral.

"Luffy," she starts, removing her glasses. "I asked you to tell me if you had anymore injuries. It's my job as a doctor to make sure everyone on this ship is healthy. So when you hid all these wounds...it just made me upset Luffy. I'm not mad."

"I'm sorry." He bows from his sitting position. "OW!" Luffy rubs the newly formed bump on his head.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm still annoyed. Thatch, make sure he eats that entire bowl. Slowly. Last thing we want is him throwing up everywhere." She places her glasses delicately back on her nose and turns back to Luffy."If you're anything like the one asleep on the bed right now, I implore you not to exert yourself."

Anna struts out of the room with her nose high in the air.

A wisp of her hair slaps Thatch on the nose and he crinkles it, barely containing a sneeze.

"Anna sure is good at her job." Izou comments once she is gone.

"Her attitude could use a little help." Thatch mutters, rubbing his itchy nose. "Anyway, here's a nice small meal for you."

Thatch swings a tray around so that it is hovering above Luffy's lap. He delicately places the steaming soup on top with a spoon at the side.

"Ohhhh thank you so much big hair guy!" Luffy exclaims gleefully, carefully pulling his hand out of Ace's grip so he can attack the meal.

"It's Thatch." He corrects, but it goes unheard by the teen. "You should eat that slowly, or you're going to-and you finished already." Luffy licks his lips and sighs in content.

"Delicious!" A gurgling fills the air and Luffy's complexion turns a little green. "I feel sick."

"I just told you not to eat it so fast!" Thatch yells. After a collective moment, he sighs and looks at the ground guiltily. "Look, I'm sorry I tried to give you that meal earlier. I should've known what state you were in sooner."

"Nuh-uh. You shouldn't be sorry for giving me food! Food is great! It's my stupid tummy's fault for making me sick." Luffy pouts at his stomach and pokes it as if dealing a punishment.

"Still, why didn't you say you were hurt earlier? We could've helped you." Says Izou, frowning. He feels bad for thinking ill of the kid earlier.

Luffy pushes the tray off his lap then slides his hand back into Ace's. Thatch and Izou smile softly at the show of affection.

"Because you lied! You said Ace was on the ship, but he wasn't! So I got mad." Luffy looks down at his bed sheets. "And I didn't want Ace to know. I was afraid he'd think I'm weak."

"Think you're weak? You're just a kid and yet you went through so much, not to mention with one arm and sea stone, just to find your brother instead of running away. I don't know how he could ever think you're the tiniest bit weak." Thatch says sternly, mad that the kid hid his suffering for such a delusion. Luffy shrugs.

"Ace always calls me weak, I just didn't want anyone else to turn their back on me and the village back home."

"Oi I'm sure that Ace doesn't call you weak in a mean way. He's probably just worried about you." Izou says. They feel the same way about Ace since he's their youngest. On several instances have they felt worry when he'd go on a mission alone or took on a whole enemy pirate ship by himself. He's just so reckless that it drives them all up the wall sometimes.

Marco has remained silent this entire time, observing Luffy quietly with his arms crossed and back up against the wall. His gaze flicks down to the drooling flame user. Marco watches how his face would scrunch up, then relax when he squeezes his brother's hand tighter.

"Earlier," Marco starts, gaining everybody's attention. ",on the island, you said you couldn't trust anybody-yoi. I hadn't thought much of it then, but I heard you say you'll only trust one person."

"I meant Ace." Luffy says, now touching his brother's hair. He somewhat still can't believe Ace is here with him.

"I'm sorry we didn't take you with us then. It would've saved a lot of unnecessary inconveniences." Luffy rolls his eyes.

"Enough with the sorry's! It already happened so stop going on about it. Apologizing won't do anything at all."

Marco blinks at him through lazy eyes, then exhales with a smirk.

"Yes, I guess you're right-yoi." He likes the Luffy of the 'now', more than the 'then'. "But I have one more question. Why did you bother hiding who you were this whole time? I mean, you knew we wouldn't harm you. So why didn't you show us who you were while you were on the ship?"

All the commanders turn to the kid, all immensely curious at what his answer will be.

"Huh? I wasn't hiding who I was. I told you my name didn't I?" Luffy replies, head tilting in confusion. The commanders exchange looks, also confused.

"Well yeah, but you kept your hood over your face the entire time. We couldn't recognize you from before." Izou points out.

"That's because my head was hurting from the sun. It made me sick so I kept my hood up!" He smiles, for some reason proud of himself.

"But why didn't you just tell us?" Thatch asks, gesturing his hands out. Luffy blinks at them owlishly.

"Because you never asked."

...

"Oh."

Izou sucks in his cheeks and looks at the ceiling. Thatch rubs his nose sheepishly while grinning like an idiot. Even the normally composed Marco is flustered, looking to the side with a light blush dusting his cheeks.

'How did we not think of that?' He inwardly scowls. 'We were tip toeing around him like idiots.'

Thatch coughs to ease the tension. "Hm, anyway, pops wants to meet up with you later to discuss some...things."

"Things?" Luffy asks.

"Well, we don't exactly know yet." Thatch chuckles nervously. "But I'm sure you'll be fine. Pops is pretty forgiving when he wants to be." Luffy nods.

"Thank you so much for taking me here!" He bows deeply, remembering Makino's manner lessons. A hand pats his unruly black hair.

"No problem kid." Marco says as Thatch and Izou walk out of the infirmary. He follows them soon after with a smile on his face. Marco likes how much happier Luffy is.

Luffy watches the commanders leave with a lingering smile. He has almost reached his goal.

"Mmm..." The groan reverberates around the room and Luffy looks down at Ace with amusement.

Ace's obsidian eyes flutter open to crumpled white sheets. He grumbles in distaste when he feels how sticky his face is.

'Why do I always drool when I have narcoleptic attacks?' Ace lifts his head off the wet spot on the bed and wipes his face vigorously.

"Shishishi!" The chuckle snaps Ace's mind back into focus. He looks at his 'real' and 'not a dream' brother. "You're so funny when you sleep Ace!"

For some reason Ace can't bring himself to laugh along. "How are you Luffy? Are you feeling okay?"

"I feel a million times better! Alla is a great doctor!" He waves Ace's concern away with a chuckle. "Do you think she'll join my crew? Oh wait! I wanted Alice to join! But she doesn't want to. Hmm..."

Ace sweat drops. 'I think he means Anna. But who's this Alice person?' He shakes his head to clear the confusion.

"Why didn't they check your injuries earlier? If Anna had seen your state sooner she would've dragged you over to the infirmary first thing." Suddenly the bed sheet seems very interesting to Luffy.

"I hid them from her. If she knew, then she would have told you about them."

"And why wouldn't you want me to know?" Luffy's head bows even further.

"Because I didn't want you to think I was weak. I-I couldn't afford to have you leave me so I pretended to be okay." Ace frowns and grips the bed sheets in his fists.

"You are such an idiot." He spits. "I am your brother. You're supposed to be weak, and it's my job as the older one to protect you. Not turn you away because you couldn't do something for yourself." Ace reaches forward and grips Luffy's shoulders. "Please don't ever feel that way again."

Luffy's lower lip trembles and he nods vigorously. He leans his head into Ace's shoulder in a comforting matter.

"Thanks Ace." He mumbles into his brother's shoulder. Ace smiles and copies the gesture. They stay merely basking in each other's presence.

"So," Ace lets up off of Luffy's shoulder to look at him seriously. "How did you escape Foosha Village?" Luffy sighs tiredly.

"We all tried to escape, but an Admiral named Akana, no...Akainu! Yeah, Akainu had magma powers and he captured everyone but me. I managed to escape, but not without losing this*." Luffy nods to his missing arm. Ace scowls and adds one more person to his 'beat the shit out of' list.

"Did they get Makino? And the bandits?" Luffy nods, a sad look drooping his features.

"I miss them Ace. Even the bandits."

"I'm sorry Luffy." Ace sighs guiltily.

"Why are you apologizing?! I found you didn't I?" Luffy yells, annoyance evident in his voice. "I can't waste anymore time! I've got to save everyone soon!"

Ace blinks at his outburst, then snickers. "You really are an idiot." He stands up and grabs Luffy's straw hat on the table, then shoves it on his brother's head. "We dumbass. Not I. You came here for my help, didn't you?"

Line here

Despite Luffy's urgency to get going, he had been restricted to bed rest after he fell on his face after trying to sneak out of the infirmary. The nurses had found him a shivering mass on the floor and after a quick reprimand from Anna and Ace, he was forced to comply to their demands.

Marco had informed Luffy that they were sailing in the direction of the East Blue full speed. Luffy had felt his spirits lighten up a little at the news, but he still felt something nagging at the back of his head that would only clear up if he talked to their captain.

Due to his little episode, Anna told everyone on board that Luffy was not to have any visitors, only with the rare exception of Ace. Anna claimed that they would only crowd him and bombard him with questions.

However, it became apparent that three commanders in specific still had things to ask and they often tried to sneak in, only to be beaten and thrown out again.

The straw hat teen had pouted at the thought of being left alone for the entire day, but Ace assured him he would be there most of the time. Luffy had endured the long days of recovery until he was nursed back to health.

So here Luffy is, emerging from the infirmary for the first time in days with his hat planted firmly on his head to prevent any migraines.

"I'm finally letting you out of bed, so don't make me regret it by making yourself worse again." Says Anna, fiddling with his bandages last minute and straightening his clothes. Kind of like a mom.

"Shishishi I won't! I just gotta talk to Banana Moustache-Ossan." Luffy giggles as she squeezes his nose playfully.

"Exactly, so that's why you've got to look in tip top shape."

"But I see Pops all the time, and I've never bothered with my appearance." Ace objects. Anna eyes his orange cowboy hat and shirtless ensemble.

"That's because you'd look odd wearing anything else. Besides, you'd burn anything else way too easily." She finishes tying the ribbon on Luffy's cloak and pulls it tight. "This guy, on the other hand, has caused a lot of trouble. Pops is doing him a favour so he should at least look presentable."

"Favour?" Ace snorts. "He's my brother, of course he'd let him stay on the ship!" Anna stands up and looks at Ace seriously.

"That may be so, but the crew is still pretty angry with the little guy. It wasn't a small thing he did." Ace swallows and draws his lips in a firm line. Luffy watches them with a frown, then sets his shoulders back.

"Let's go." He's pretty much talking to himself, but Ace follows him as he walks in Whitebeard's direction.

"Good luck!" Anna shouts behind him. Luffy smiles a bit, but it soon melts into a frown when he comes upon the man who controls the fate of the village, and himself.

Their gazes meet instantly and forcefully, neither showing an ounce of weakness. Brooms drop and laughing stops as all activity on deck gradually slows to a halt. The crew watches attentively from their posts with different expressions of curiosity.

The commanders slowly make their way to the main deck, wondering about the sudden quietness. When they catch a glimpse of Luffy for the first time in days, they inch closer to their captain.

The silence stretches out as future Pirate King and strongest man in the world clash in a battle of wills.

Eyes widen as Luffy suddenly bows deeply.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble!" He yells, making sure his words are heard by everyone on the ship.

"You admit to being the brat who destroyed our flags?" Whitebeard questions. Luffy nods, still bowing. Ace eyes his brother and captain nervously.

"Yes it was me." He stands up and meets the gaze of each crew member. To their surprise, he goes down on his knees and bows with his head to the ground. "I'm sorry everyone for putting your friends in danger! Flags are a symbol of pride for a pirate and I just defiled it without care. I hope you all can find some way to forgive me!"

"Oi, Luffy..." Ace leans toward his brother. "you don't have to-"

"But!" Luffy interrupts. He lifts his head to look Whitebeard directly in the eye. "I don't regret it. I needed to find Ace, and if I went back in time, I'd do the exact same thing."

Whitebeard watches the boy with a calculating look. He can feel something in him that he also senses in Ace. Making a decision, he thumps the bottom of his staff on the wooden deck. The air vibrates and Luffy wobbles from his spot on the ground, falling to the side with wide eyes.

"Gurararara! Brat, that's all I wanted to hear. I accept your apology on behalf of the crew and myself." Luffy's eyes widen even further.

"The crew too?" Luffy asks, looking around at everyone hopefully. One of the men steps forward and snorts.

"Yeah kid. Do you really think we would still be sailing towards the East Blue if we thought otherwise?" Several other men laugh in agreement.

"Plus we couldn't just ignore all that you said happened to your island." Someone else says. Then they all start to laugh, and Ace pats Luffy's shoulder.

"See? Nothing to worry about little brother." Luffy smiles brightly up at Ace and starts laughing himself.

"Although," Luffy gazes up at Whitebeard, significantly more relaxed than before. "why didn't you just talk to one of our allied pirate crews? You surely would have met up with at least one on your travels."

"They ignored me cause I was a kid." Luffy huffs. "No one would listen to me!"

Ace snickers and pushes down on Luffy's large hat, causing the younger to cry out in protest. He can feel Anna's glare scorching the back of his neck but ignores it.

"I sorta don't blame them, you're too immature to take seriously." Luffy whines and re-adjusts his hat. "But I've been wondering this for awhile. If the Celestial Dragons fricking took over a whole island, why haven't we heard a lick of it?"

"That's just who they are. They probably didn't think it was even worth talking about. The marines like to keep this stuff under wraps too 'cause it makes them look bad." The fishman commander, Namur, informs them. Luffy walks up to Whitebeard until he is right in front of his feet.

"Ossan, I can't do this by myself." His eyes shine with determination. "So will you please help me free Foosha Village?"

Everyone laughs with Whitebeard's the loudest by far.

"I thought we already established this brat? Of course we will! You're forgetting that Ace is part of our family, and we don't let anything bad happen to one of our own." The crew cheers in unison. Ace steps next to his brother with a relieved smile.

"Thanks Pops. This means a lot." He blushes and bows. Whitebeard smiles and waves his hand dismissively.

"It's no problem at all brat. Anything for my sons and daughters." Whitebeard knows how much Ace hates being dependant. He's glad he has gained the sense to not rush in recklessly by himself without asking for help. He doesn't want to think of what would've happened if Ace and Luffy left to handle the situation themselves.

Luffy can't seem to stop grinning. Finding Ace gave him more than what he had expected. One by one the crew comes up to greet him and apologize for being hostile when he first came on deck. Then everyone goes off on their own, and the atmosphere is natural as if nothing ever happened.

"It's impressive you came up with that plan by yourself-yoi." Marco smacks Luffy's back, making him stumble forwards. Ace laughs and tackles Luffy in a hug from behind.

"Yeah impressive...considering how thick-headed you are." Luffy struggles in his brother's grip.

"Baka! I'm not thick-headed!" He kicks Ace's shin and he lets go with a howl of pain.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Ace pounces on Luffy and they fall down on the deck, wrestling.

'They're practically the same.' Marco sweat drops. Thatch and Izou appear next to Marco, laughing.

"Haha! Ace you're getting beat by a kid!" Thatch mocks. Ace pauses in his ministrations and glares at the chef.

"What was that?!" He growls, pressing a hand on Luffy's face while he flails like a fish under Ace's body weight.

"ACE! WHAT DID I TELL YOU AND LUFFY ABOUT TAKING IT EASY?!"

A chill runs through everyone's spine as the devil herself appears. Ace stutters something incoherent and scrambles off of Luffy.

"Wha-what are you talking about Anna?" Ace straightens out Luffy's clothes and hat while sporting a serene smile. "He's perfectly fine! Right Lu?"

Luffy starts to sweat when Anna's beady gaze lands on him. He shifts his gaze to the side and puckers his lips.

"Y-yeah! Ace and I totally weren't wrestling or anything!" Ace feels like face-palming. He had forgotten about Luffy's inability to lie.

"Is that so?" Anna rips Luffy's cloak aside to see his bandages all tangled around his torso and hanging limply off his hand. "As I thought. SIT STILL WHILE I TRY NOT TO KILL YOU."

Luffy cries out in terror when she grabs his shirt collar and drags him to the ground. She begins to reapply the bandages while muttering something about 'idiots everywhere she looks.' And 'why am I even here?' Once and awhile she'd yank hard enough to make Luffy cry out but then she'd reprimand him for squirming.

"She's a force of nature." Thatch whispers to the trio. They all nod vigorously. Anna draws another whine out of the teen when she pulls particularity hard on a piece of bandage.

"Hey Ace, did you know your brother has a good singing voice?" Izou asks. Ace turns to him with a baffled expression.

"Yeah, but how do you know that?"

"We heard him singing at a restaurant." Thatch claps his hands together and sighs dreamily. "It was great! He sounded like an angel!"

"Luffy sang in front of a crowd? On stage?"Ace splutters then laughs mockingly. "Oi Luffy! You sang in a restaurant?!"

"Shut up!" Luffy snaps with a light blush adorning his cheeks.

"Stop moving!" Anna pulls on a bandage and Luffy cries out indignantly. "But do you really sing?" Luffy mutters a little 'maybe' to the floor and ignores them.

"Aw don't be like that Lu. I was just joking!" Ace plops next to his brother and pinches his cheeks. "I'm proud of you. Soon, we'll be back at Foosha island to deal with those damn marines and show 'em what we've got." He lets go of Luffy's face and holds out a fist.

Anna finishes tying his bandages and Luffy connects his fist with Ace's while grinning like a maniac.

"I hope you're ready to take them on. But maybe you've been slacking off in your training..." Ace teases, nudging Luffy's side with his elbow.

"No way!" Luffy protests. "I'll show you just how hard I've been training and beat you!" Ace snorts and pulls on Luffy's cheek and it stretches and stretches and stretches...

Wait.

All three commanders including Anna stare blankly as Ace releases the skin and it comes back to smack Luffy in the face.

"Beat me? Dream on!" Ace sneers. Then he jumps off to another part of the deck to escape his brother's wrath.

"I'll make you see! Come back here and fight me!" Luffy bounds up and chases his brother to where he disappeared.

The remaining pirates with the exception of Marco watch Luffy leave with their mouthes hitting the ground. Anna blinks a few times then snaps out of her stupor.

"Wait! DO NOT AGGRAVATE YOUR WOUNDS! LUFFY!" She runs after the duo with a fist raised in the air.

"Luffy! What was that I just saw? Hold on!" Izou follows close after, immensely curious about the teen.

Marco and Thatch watch them run through the crew who are trying their best to get out of their way. The phoenix looks over to his still gaping brother and closes his mouth with his index finger.

"Looks like we figured out what Luffy's devil fruit can do-yoi." Marco sighs.

"Holy crap! I wonder what the hell that was!" Thatch yells, clearly enthralled by Luffy's powers. "He probably kept that in for a long time, poor kid was probably so irritated."

Marco nods, silently agreeing. There is nothing worse than having your powers taken away by seastone. It takes away something so vital yet you can still feel it coursing through your veins, just a breath away from being let out. Like teasing a dog with a treat and never letting him have it.

"Good thing he found us!" Thatch continues, running a comb through his pompadour. "I'm glad that he and Ace are so close. It was probably difficult, searching for his brother when he had no idea where he was."

Marco stares past Thatch, to where Ace and Luffy are battling despite Anna's warnings.

"No, Thatch. He wasn't just searching for his brother." Thatch cocks his head to the side. Marco smiles and turns back to his confused brother.

"He was searching for his saviour."

Line here

"Pops! Pops!"

The lookout scrambles down from the crow's nest, telescope in hand.

"What is it Calvin?" Whitebeard asks, chugging down some sake.

"The Red Force is approaching!"

Whitebeard pauses in his drinking.

"What is that red-haired brat doing in the East Blue?"

Line Break

That's right, I decided to add Shanks in here after so many requests. I have a little more sorting to do to make him a large part of the next chapter, but I'm determined to do it!

BIG THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO FAVED, FOLLOWED AND REVIEWED!

REPLIES TO REVIEWS:

q. feuille7: No problem! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Lunaxel: Oh no! I'm glad my story brightened your day, and I hope you found your dog! I would be sad forever if mine ran away!

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Valeries26: Thank you so much!

Guest (One that screamed like a fan girl): Ha H Yes I can! And it makes me really happy to hear you say that! Hope you liked this chapter!

Phonenix: Heh torturer…

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Starelight: Tee hee thank you for the great review! Honestly tried hard on Ace's reaction and I hope you liked to a lot!

SEllen23: Nope! Ace has been found, hope you liked this chapter!

CSTheng: Cliffhangers are what I love, and I'm judging by how long it took me to update this you lost your sanity.

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EnixFairy: HAHA ASTHMA ATTACK (sorry, I shouldn't be laughing about that…tee hee) Sows for the late update, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

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Guest (One that is crying): Yes! He finally met up with them, and I hope you enjoyed their reactions and such!

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Pikachu-naruto1: Hope you liked the reactions! Thanks for the review! And yes, I am adding Shanks in.

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LuffyLover27: Here y'all go! Thanks for the review!

Cotton Candy Lover – Chopper: Of course I remember that review! You're one of my fav reviewers! Hearing you say that I'm your favorite writer literally has me smiling like an idiot and I feel so happy, so thank you so so much for reading my stuff! (btw, the Luffy x Vivi pairing on Kidnapped was a literal phase I had. I actually don't ship them at all either lol). Really Really hope you liked this chapter and happy reading!

Kurogitsune Yue: Thank you thank you so much! Glad you like the story and hope you read it from here on out!

Godviligs: True true, good thing Whitebeard is helping them every step of the way! Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

22: Here y'all go!

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Resha Tsubaki: Of course I take them into consideration! They were great and I need them to improve my story as it goes. As for your concerns about if Marco knew that was the cloaked culprit, they already were expecting him to pop somewhere around to cause trouble (because what idiot (excluding the slave trader) would try to cause trouble when they all knew the Whitebeard pirates were on the island?). Thanks for the great feedback and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

LoganAlexander: I warned you everyone at the beginning of the story, there was gonna be some changes that didn't happen in cannon in this story (and that includes when Ace joined the Whitebeard Pirates). As for Garp, if you have a problem how he acted in the original series, take it up with Oda, not me. Lastly, If you read this story until the end, I'm actually giving Garp a chance to redeem himself.

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ParrotsRAmazing: I really hope you like how I decided to officially add Shanks into the plot! And as for Garp, I have plans for him to help out in taking back the island. I also don't like how he could just sit back and do nothing without at least a little it of sabotage. Thanks for the long review and I hope you liked this chapter!

Carol Zoldik: (Eu escrevi isso em Traduz Google, então eu espero que isso não soa muito estranho...) Obrigado por a revisão e eu espero que você gostou do Ace - Luffy reuinion !

Smoochynose: Haha hope your emotions didn't get shredded in this one!

Guest (one who loves the story): I'm glad that you do!

Yuzukikuran476: Trying my best at the moment :)

Natieland: Thank you so much! I honestly hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!

Everlight28: Yes, the island situation is a hard one with the nobles who can do a buster call at any moment, but I have a solution on how they may be able to take back the island… Thanks for your awesome review! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

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Guest (one that wants update): tryin'

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Guest (One that said …Ace…): I'm tryyyyyyin''''''

Guest (cliffhanger): Tryyyyyyyyyyiiiiiiinnnnnnnnn'''''''''

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ILearnedItFromThePizzaMan: Thank you, here is the update!

I do not complain about reviews, honestly who would? But if you leave one that just say 'please update' or something like that it's like, I know I have to update. It's alright if you put a little input on the story along with it, but please don't just put a request for me to update. A review means an opinion on the story, and that is what should be seen.

Thank you!

Next time; Revenge is a dish best served 'hot'.

~a lot sooner than this chapter